2021 Bainbridge & Cathcart "Rouge aux Lèvres" VDF Red

A juicy expression of Grolleau, a grape variety that when it hits, it surely does scratch an itch. We like to describe the grape as the love child between Bordeaux and Beaujolais. 

Toby and Julie are incredible friends who have the most kind and endearing spirit of anyone I know. They are honest, hardworking, winemakers who look at their trade with the patience and serenity of a master craftsman, and the humbleness and tenacity of your neighborhood milkman. Toby's an ex-pat from the UK, and Julie found him working on a harvest crew in Protection, Kansas. After a long courtship they have settled in Anjou with their two young children.

The topic of much conversation and instagramming were Toby's new sheep -- a project he seems quite pleased with. "I've always wanted a passion outside of my profession -- a hobby," he told us, and maybe shepherding is going to be that fit. Of course, the sheep are really just another aspect of the viticulture. The sheep are essentially wooly lawnmowers that trim the herbs between the vines. Otherwise, there are plans for olive trees and fruit trees. All their vineyards are worked organically. They focus on wines for drinking: fresh, bright and natural.