Fly Fishing

 

Nothing much to do with wine, but Fly Fishing is a grapecircus passion. #justsaying

 

The Catch
The Flies
The Patience

Renardat-Fache

The teeny-tiny Bugey appellation is quite literally at a crossroads: Jura and Burgundy are to the north, Rhône is to the south, Beaujolais to the west and Savoie to the east. Borrowing a bit from each of these regions, the varieties grown here include gamay, poulsard and chardonnay. Domaine Renardat-Fâche are widely regarded as the best producer in Bugey, and for very good reason.

en blanc aussi

Chardonnay Mousseux 'En Blanc Aussi'

A gorgeous, lithe sparkling chardonnay in a brut nature style. Like the Cerdon, this is made using the méthode ancestrale, but left on the lees for a year for added savoury complexity.

quick facts

APPELLATION: Bugey
VINTAGE: 2018
STYLE: sparkling white
GRAPE: chardonnay
FARMING: organic
FERMENTATION: stainless steel
MATURATION: stainless steel, bottle
FILTRATION: filtered
ALCOHOL: 10.5%
CASE SIZE: 6

cerdon

Cerdon

The out-and-out star of the Bugey region, this sparkling pink wine is made using the methode ancestrale, where the wine is bottled with some unfermented sugar and active yeast, allowing the fermentation to continue in the bottle. The lack of secondary fermentation means the wine has more fruity, grapey aromas than tradtional method sparkling wines.

quick facts

APPELLATION: Bugey
VINTAGE: 2018
STYLE: sparkling rosé
GRAPE: gamay, poulsard
FARMING: organic
FERMENTATION: stainless steel
MATURATION: bottle
FILTRATION: filtered
ALCOHOL: 8.5%
CASE SIZE: 6

Renardat-Fache

The teeny-tiny Bugey appellation is quite literally at a crossroads: Jura and Burgundy are to the north, Rhône is to the south, Beaujolais to the west and Savoie to the east. Borrowing a bit from each of these regions, the varieties grown here include gamay, poulsard and chardonnay. Tucked up against the southern slopes of the Jura mountains, the elevation is not high, but the vineyards are scattered about the appellation on steep inclines, making vineyard work very difficult.

Domaine Renardat-Fâche are widely regarded as the best producer in Bugey, and rightly so. Despite the difficult terrain, Alain Renardat-Fâche and his son Elie, harvest by hand all the grapes from their 25 different parcels scattered around the village of Cerdon. Where other producers ripped out poulsard in favour of the higher-yielding gamay, Renardat-Fâche persisted and are one of the only producers to blend this grape into their Cerdon, a sweet, bubbly pink wine that has been described as “the happiest wine on earth” by Jon Bonné (and he’s a man who knows a thing or two about wine). This refreshing méthode ancestrale wine is true farmer’s fizz: low in alcohol at around 8.5% abv, and combining vivid wild berry flavours with refreshing minerality.

Since 2011, the domaine has been certified organic, with some promising research into biodynamics. Additionally, when Alain took over from his father, he pioneered the use of temperature control for maceration and fermentation. The wine can now undergo a three-week cold maceration for maximum berryliciousness while minimising the use of sulphur and avoiding oxidation.