- Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise Vineyards :
- they cover the communes Beaumes-de-Venise, Suzette, Lafare and La Roque-Alric in the Vaucluse "département". Soils :
- made up of soft limestone, interspersed with sandstone zones and sandy molasse, it is light, and stony. Climate :
- mediterranean and warm, with natural shelter from the "Mistral" wind. Surface area under production :
- 511 hectares/1,262 acres. Authorized maximum yield is 30 hectolitres/hectare (1,7 US tons/acre).
Appellation
Characteristics
The Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise "La Pastourelle" comes from limestonebased clay soils on the southern border of the appellation.
Grape Variety : White Muscat "à petit grain" (small grapes).
Average Delas production: 6,000 to 8,000 bottles (75 cl.) per year.
Wine Making
The grapes are picked by hand, through various pickings allowing each of them to achieve optimal maturity. After pressing and settling, the fermentation is carried out at a maximum of 59°F (15°C) for 21 days. Vierge alcohol is then added to stop the fermentation (fortifying), that's brings the wine to a minimum of 15°C/Vol alcohol content, and a residual sugar rate of 110g/litre.
Maturing
The wines are aged in stainless steel vats to prevent any oxydation. Bottling is carried out after fining and filtering during the spring season that follows the crop.
Tasting notes
The wine has a pale golden hue. The bouquet of this Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise shows intense fruity and floral aromas. On the palate, this wine has deliciously elegant freshness. It is full-bodied without excess, and has lingering fruity aromas on a melon and lemon-tinged finish.
Food and wine pairing
This very aromatic wine is ideal with fruit tarts.
