Another High School graduation and while it feels to us like another grandchild, it is actually The Wine Raconteur Jr.’s daughter and we have known him and his family for ages.  The story goes a long time and we are all pleased to get together whenever possible, he is much more on the go, then we are.  He and his Bride hosted an excellent party in their backyard with tables under  tents, with food, desserts and beverages.

As we followed our host into the kitchen, he wanted to pour some wine to help alleviate the summer sun, so that we wouldn’t melt.  He poured us some Gerard Bertrand “Cote des Roses” Languedoc 2022.  Gerard Bertrand, a former rugby player and an heir to a line of winemakers, and a committed ambassador the wines of Southern France.   In 1975, he had his first grape harvest at Chateau de Villemajou, in Corbieres; he began his apprenticeship with his father, Georges Bertrand. In 2002, he began a conversion of his properties to biodynamic farming. By 2024, he along with many others celebrated one hundred years of biodynamics, and that almost his entire 930 hectares have achieved this goal. The Art Edition of Cotes de Roses features the work of artist Morgan Jamieson, along with Emma Bertrand and features a rose-shaped base.  All the artwork is intended to recognize the two soils of schist and limestone and the undulating terrain.  The wine is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah; the different varieties are manually harvested and the whole bunches are left to macerate in a vat, and the juice is extracted after a short maceration, once the desired color has been achieved.  Initial Fermentation is done under temperature-control in Stainless-Steel vats, with a portion vinified in barrels; there is no Malolactic Fermentation, and the wine is bottled quickly.  This pale pink colored wine offered notes of strawberry, cherry and a touch of licorice.  On the palate this light-bodied wine and well-balanced wine displayed tones of strawberries and cherry and ended with a medium-count finish of the fruit and hints of shale and limestone.

After the first wine was finished, we enjoyed 2 Lads Rosé of Cabernet Franc Old Mission Point 2022 from the State of Michigan.  This winery sits on fifty-eight acres and they are a mix of traditional and new.  They use gravity flow and gentle handling techniques to keep the wines from bruising, and they believe in modern sustainability farming as well.  There are twenty-three meticulously tended acres, that were planted in 1999, 2001, and 2008; as they specialize in cool-climate red wines, sparkling wines and small-run white wines.  This wine is pure Cabernet Franc, grown on their 3 Little Bears Vineyard.  The grapes are hand sorted, crushed and destemmed, and pumped into the grape press, where they allowed the juice and pomace to soak for about four hours to enhance both the color and the flavor.  The pomace is then pressed, and the juice is settled for forty-eight hours prior to fermentation.  Fermentation lasts for sixty-five days, using a yeast strain isolated for the Cote du Rhone, and then the wine is aged for seven months in a Stainless-Steel tank.  This rosy-pink wine offered notes of pomegranates, peaches, raspberries, and strawberries.  A light to medium bodied wine that was well-balanced displayed tones of delicate and refreshing fruit, as promised from the nose and ending with a short-count finish of fruit.