2019 Magellan Le Fruit Defundu Rose

When your father retires from his famous Burgundy domaine it creates a really big issue – Napoleon (that’s right—The Napoleon) mandated that the estate be split equally among all children. This is why you sometimes get lots of permutations of the same family name across different Burgundy estates – Anne Gros, AF Gros, Michel Gros, Francois Gros.

On the surface, this seems like a good idea that is fair for all. The issue becomes that Burgundy is small, the vineyards are smaller still, and the domaines may only own a couple of rows of vines in each vineyard. So what was once a 100-case production wine becomes a 50, then a 25, and then a 12-case production, for all the world’s wine lovers to split. Ultimately the wines become very hard to find and the prices skyrocket.

So when Rene Lafon of the ultra-famous Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault retired, Bruno and Dominique Lafon, his sons, decided to do something different. They both had been making wine with Dad for quite some time. But instead of splitting the estate in two, Dominique would continue in Meursault, and Bruno would head south, past the Rhone, and towards the Mediterranean coast.

When he came upon three vineyards clustered on a hillside—Le Pech Redon, Caves de Paris and Pezenas—Bruno knew he had his coup de coeur: century-old vines, ancient terroirs and, of course, his own serious level of talent. He purchased the Magellan estate and now makes several amazing wines. But I fell in love with this summer beauty, the one that Bruno and his partner Sylvie Legros call Le Fruit Defendu – the forbidden fruit you cannot forbid. And why should you forbid it? It’s so irresistible:

Fresh strawberries laying on a picnic blanket next to the sea, dusted with a little touch of mint. But even more than the flavor, it’s how drinking this wine makes me feel – utterly happy. The happiness of morning gardening in the sun, of swinging a young child at the park, or of getting boozy with a coincidentally met old friend on the train ride home. This wine does all that and more – it’s got enchanting fruit that makes it a great cocktail, but also zesty minerality to keep you fresh through these hot summer days. Yes, it is French rose, so you chill it like a white but it drinks like a red, and it is completely dry and utterly refreshing.

Sure, you could argue the price is cheap and we ought to be drinking more expensive things, but that would spoil the carefree moment of us sharing a glass of this delightful libation. Rejoice in the summer sun with this lovely rose.