Félicette Wines

Félicette Wines

As is often the case with wine, the label is the first thing that hits you. We can't think of any other wines out there with a couple of space cats on the label! So what's the story behind the label? In 1963 the French entered the space race and were the first to send a cat travelling into space. Her name was Félicette. The Félicette wines pay homage to their namesake, memorialising a famous cat held in great esteem in France. Félicette Blanc Made from 85% Grenache Blanc and 15% Viognier grapes, grown in vineyards situated in the plains and foothills of France's south stretching from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean sea by Beziers. The soils are clay and limestone based. The two distinctive climates - Atlantic climate by the Pyrenees giving mineral notes and structure to the wines and the Mediterranean climate around Narbonne and Beziers, giving a roundness and ripeness to the fruit give perfect balance to the wine. Grapes are harvested and undergo cold skin contact and maceration before allowing free run juice to be collected prior to gentle pneumatic pressing. The two types of juice are cold-static settled then fermented separately under temperature controlled conditions in stainless steel tanks. There is no malo-lactic conversion to keep the freshness in the wine. This wine has a bright yellow hue and an intense nose of pear and apricot with some elderflower. The palate is dry, crisp, refreshing with some tropical notes of mango and a hint of spice. Félicette Rosé Made from 100% Grenache Rouge grapes grown in the same vineyards as for the Felicette Blanc. This allows for fruit giving both structure, minerality and ripe fruit character to the finished rosé The wine has a period of skin contact and maceration to extract some colour prior to allowing free run juice to be collected. The remainder is gently pneumatic pressed and the batches are fermented under temperature controlled conditions in stainless steel vats. The final wine is blended and aged for a short time in stainless steel before bottling. This wine is a salmon pink colour with subtle red fruit notes (raspberry and strawberry). The palate is fresh and fruity with a nice mineral core. This give many Provence rosés a run for their money. Félicette Rouge Made from 90% Grenache Noir, 5% Malbec and 5% Syrah from grapes grown in vineyards around Narbonne and Beziers. The soils are sandy and silty with some clay and chalk on the hillsides. This all leads to a firmly fruity wine with excellent structure. The grapes are harvested and de-stemmed. Some grapes are macerated at an elevated temperature to aid colour extraction and the remainder are cold fermented to to maximise the varietal character of the grapes. Pumping over of the wine in the vats aids extraction of better, softer tannins in the finished product. The wine has a bright purple colour. The nose is spicy, earthy with notes of rum and raisin. The palate is earthy and black fruited with notes of clove and vanilla in the background.