Famille de Boel France
St. Joseph, Rhône Valley, France
Famille de Boel France is a small family estate owned and run by an enthusiastic and inspired husband/wife team in the high elevations of Saint Joseph. This is a project born from passion, not born from inheriting vineyards or a cellar. Nelly France is from Brittany (France), Arnaud De Boel is from Belgium, and they met in 2009 in New Zealand where their love for food and wine brought them together and quickly found a love for one another. With their two young children Augustin and Margot, the family chooses biodynamic farming and winemaking, and owns vineyards in the Northern Rhone where they live (in Saint Joseph and Cornas), and some land in the Southern Rhone close to the villages of Suze-la-Rousse and Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes. They are completely dedicated to the celebration of how food and wine come together in so many magical occasions, and strive to make wine that is meant for the table, meant to enjoy with friends and family, and meant for all of the Bon Vivants of the world; something they can pass on hopefully for generations to come.
Our Selections
De Boel `Le gras c`est la vie!` IGP Méditerranée Rouge 2022
‘Le gras c’est la vie’ is a showstopper of a wine, with freshness and vivacity, as well as extraordinary value. Coming from a young plot of vines in the southern side of the Rhone Valley, this is a hand-harvested blend of Carignan, Grenache, and Caladoc (a cross between Malbec and Grenache). A delicate touch and a natural fermentation in stainless steel are the key factors that play into this wine’s bright approach, so that even after only a few months time in tank, the finished wine is ready for the bottle and immediate consumption. A bright and brambly nose lead to a palate that is exuberant with red and black fruits, full of spicy texture, and has just the right amount of meaty grip to play well with foods of many kinds or to simply invite the next sip. 13.4% ABV.
De Boel `Ars Magirica` Cornas 2022
'Ars Magirica’ Cornas begins life in a tiny, granite soil vineyard, in the commune of Clarencon just west of Cornas town. After natural fermentation in stainless steel, the wine is racked into 7-year-old barrique and demi-muids and aged for around 10 months before bottling. This youthful wine has a dark and complex core decorated by wisps of bright lively fruit. Smashed blueberries, graphite, rose, and soft meaty aromas fill the glass, leading to a rich palate of wild berries, minerals, fresh acid, and a lengthy finish of fruit, anise, and rocks that begs for food. 13.4% ABV.
De Boel `Rue des Poulies` Saint-Joseph Rouge 2022
‘Rue de Poulies’ Saint Joseph is a stunning example of how complex, deep, and lovely wines from this region can be. This cuvée is 100% estate fruit from communes of St. Jean de Muzols (young vines) and Tournon (a vineyard of about fifty years). All hand harvested, the grapes are fermented in stainless steel and see regular punch downs for the first week, and then gentle pump overs until complete. Half of the wine remains in tank, and the other half is placed into old French barrique for about a year until it is bottled. The result shows classic black and red fruits on the nose, as well as pork fat and peppercorns, while the palate follows with a deep core of minerality, ripe and fresh fruit, and is lined with spicy acidity. 13.2% ABV
De Boel `Rue des Poulies` Saint-Joseph Blanc 2022
‘Rue de Poulies’ Saint-Joseph Blanc comes from a small 40-year old parcel located in the St. Jean de Muzols commune. A 50/50 blend of Marsanne and Roussanne from granite soils, the grapes were hand harvested in mid-September. The wine is racked 3 times in total before bottling, once after the pressing, once after the natural fermentation is complete, and once before bottling. Aging with the lees, and then some added time aging in bottle gives extraordinary texture and nuance to the final wine. Aromas of honeysuckle, yellow pear, almond, and stone unfold from the glass with a barrage of depth; young and primary, yet quite deep and complex. In the mouth there is freshness, like mountain mist, but thick with the nuance that the nose gave hints of, riddled with fully ripe stone fruits, clean acidity, and a long mineral driven finish. 13.2% ABV