Domaine Rimbert 'Cousin Oscar' Vin de France NV

Jean-Marie Rimbert moved to the Languedoc over 35 years ago, working at another estate until he could save enough to purchase his first parcels of land. He settled in Berlou, a small village in the Saint Chinian area, in 1996, drawn not by the noble syrah or even the prosperous grenache, but a patch of old-vine carignan. Originally from a family farm in Provence, he views winemaking as an extension of general agriculture (“the vine is basically a small fruit tree, isn’t it?”) After 40 years of winemaking experience, he still refers to himself as a ‘paysan’ - a man of the countryside. His estate has been farmed organically since 2003, with certification in 2013, and Rimbert has expanded his grape varieties to include syrah and grenache, but also mourvèdre and the cinsault he uses to craft this cuvée. ‘Cousin Oscar’ is made primarily of organic estate-grown cinsault, with an additional amount of pinot noir (purchased sustainably grown fruit.) Grapes are destemmed, crushed, and gently macerated for only 3 days to keep extraction fairly low. Fermentation takes place spontaneously in tanks, where the wine is also aged, then bottled with light fining and filtration and a small amount of sulfur. Jean-Marie made the label himself, a collage of old posters from 1950’s magazines he chopped up with scissors. Named after his girlfriend’s cousin Oscar (apparently quite popular with the ladies), the phrase “on se l’arrache” (“we’re fighting over him”) is fitting for this bottle as well! Extremely quaffable, chillable, and easy-going, this juicy red delivers irresistible layers of spice and berry fruit, perfect for sipping by the grill or fire pit. Great with grilled chicken kebabs or quinoa salad with kale and mushrooms. Just try not to fight over it! Organically grown.