Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
Rié and Hirofumi Shoji of Pedres Blanques became something of a cause célèbre when they were nearly deported from France two years ago, soon after their first vintage.
Here is their writeup from Becky Wasserman.
And Pascaline had this to say about them in a Facebook post from late 2018:
When I tried Rié & Hirofumi Shoji’s wine at Les Anonymes in Angers in January earlier this year, I knew I was tasting something special. It was 10.30am, the second vignerons of the day after having tasted the excellent wines of Rémi Sédès. I was with The Feiring Line and we looked at each other with a big smile. The wine was delicious, elegant, extraordinarily light on its feet for a Grenache from Collioure on these granitic and schist soils, and so accomplished for a sample example! We told them how impressed we were and how we would love for this wine to be in the US! They were not sure it could be possible... I am so glad to taste it again today, bottled and on this side of the Atlantic in NY, and enjoy again its pure beauty. @hirofumishoji & Rié, Bravo! It is a real pleasure to have your wine on the list Racines NY! For those who don’t believe in the beauty that can reach wines without any additives but with beautiful grapes from a special, carefully “gardened” terroir, treat yourself with a bottle of Pedres Blanques! And I am so glad Rié & Hiromi were allowed to stay in France, they will bring a lot with their talents!
To those unwilling to read the links, the couple only make a 100% whole cluster, indigenous yeast, no pumping, no sulfur added, unfined, and unfiltered Grenache from 3.5 hectares of vines planted on schist on a steep, windswept slope in Collioure, near Banyuls. Though neither Grenache nor the hotter climes in the south of France are usually my cuppa, curiosity got the best of an unresisting me and I sprung for an elusive bottle of the 2018:
2018 Pedres Blanques VdF 14.0%
Slightly liquorish blackberry aroma, delicate and refined, with attractive red florals. Embracing mouthfeel, with a little bit of alcohol sweetness, some heat, and a hint of concentration, bordering on jammy. No oak, of course, and a little bit of (completely non-nail salon) volatility to add zest to what might otherwise be an acidity-challenged experience. As fresh as perhaps this terroir can produce, but not really what I look for the most. But should be very pleasing to those partial to the southern Rhône.
Here is their writeup from Becky Wasserman.
And Pascaline had this to say about them in a Facebook post from late 2018:
When I tried Rié & Hirofumi Shoji’s wine at Les Anonymes in Angers in January earlier this year, I knew I was tasting something special. It was 10.30am, the second vignerons of the day after having tasted the excellent wines of Rémi Sédès. I was with The Feiring Line and we looked at each other with a big smile. The wine was delicious, elegant, extraordinarily light on its feet for a Grenache from Collioure on these granitic and schist soils, and so accomplished for a sample example! We told them how impressed we were and how we would love for this wine to be in the US! They were not sure it could be possible... I am so glad to taste it again today, bottled and on this side of the Atlantic in NY, and enjoy again its pure beauty. @hirofumishoji & Rié, Bravo! It is a real pleasure to have your wine on the list Racines NY! For those who don’t believe in the beauty that can reach wines without any additives but with beautiful grapes from a special, carefully “gardened” terroir, treat yourself with a bottle of Pedres Blanques! And I am so glad Rié & Hiromi were allowed to stay in France, they will bring a lot with their talents!
To those unwilling to read the links, the couple only make a 100% whole cluster, indigenous yeast, no pumping, no sulfur added, unfined, and unfiltered Grenache from 3.5 hectares of vines planted on schist on a steep, windswept slope in Collioure, near Banyuls. Though neither Grenache nor the hotter climes in the south of France are usually my cuppa, curiosity got the best of an unresisting me and I sprung for an elusive bottle of the 2018:
2018 Pedres Blanques VdF 14.0%
Slightly liquorish blackberry aroma, delicate and refined, with attractive red florals. Embracing mouthfeel, with a little bit of alcohol sweetness, some heat, and a hint of concentration, bordering on jammy. No oak, of course, and a little bit of (completely non-nail salon) volatility to add zest to what might otherwise be an acidity-challenged experience. As fresh as perhaps this terroir can produce, but not really what I look for the most. But should be very pleasing to those partial to the southern Rhône.