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Le Sot de l'Ange

Trollinger 2016

Price: $26.95
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Tasting notes

Trollinger rarely leaves Württemberg, let alone ends up in the Loire in biodynamic hands. Bourse coaxes sour cherry, wild strawberry, and dried floral notes from the grape with nothing but indigenous yeasts and a light touch of SO2 at bottling. The acidity is bright and cutting, the body is feather-light, and the whole thing disappears from the glass faster than you planned.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
Sour CherryWild StrawberryDried FlowersMinerality
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied red; pale transparent ruby; sour cherry, wild strawberry, dried flowers; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Trollinger; biodynamic; Tuffeau limestone, perruches (flinty clay) and aubuis (clay-limestone) soils, Azay-le-Rideau, Touraine
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested, hand-destemmed; indigenous yeast fermentation in tronconic vat; 1g/L SO2 at bottling only; unfined, unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve at 55-58F; no decanting needed; drink now
  • Pairing: Charcuterie, rillettes, Loire goat cheese (Sainte-Maure, Selles-sur-Cher), roast chicken, grilled salmon
  • Similar To: For fans of Gamay and light Pinot Noir who want something truly off the beaten path

Trollinger, also known as Schiava or Vernatsch, is a grape with roots in South Tyrol that found its most prominent home in Germany's Württemberg region. Quentin Bourse of Le Sot de l'Ange planted it as Vin de France in Azay-le-Rideau, Touraine, where the soils shift between perruches (flinty clay), aubuis (warm clay-limestone), and aeolian sands over a Tuffeau limestone bedrock. Growing Trollinger outside its native Württemberg is a deliberate experiment in terroir translation.

Grapes are harvested by hand into small crates and destemmed by hand before pressing. Fermentation takes place in a tronconic vat using indigenous yeasts. Just 1g/liter of SO2 is added at bottling, with nothing added during the winemaking process. The result is as unmanipulated as red wine gets.

In the glass, this is a pale, transparent ruby. The nose leads with sour cherry, wild strawberry, and a thread of dried flowers. The palate is light-bodied with precise, electric acidity, minimal tannin, and a clean, dry finish. This is not a weighty wine; it is a precise one.

Bourse took over the estate in time for the 2013 vintage after stages at producers including Domaine Huet in Vouvray. His vineyards covering approximately 12 hectares are certified biodynamic, which is rare in Azay-le-Rideau. Copper sulfur spraying is limited to 500 grams per year, roughly 75% less than typical regional use.

This wine's low tannin and sharp acidity make it a strong match for charcuterie, rillettes, and pork rillons. It holds up to Loire Valley goat cheese like Sainte-Maure de Touraine or Selles-sur-Cher. Lightly chilled, it works alongside a simple roast chicken or grilled salmon.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Trollinger
Farming:, Organic and Biodynamic
Vintage:, 2016
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, France
Region:, Loire Valley
Appellation:, Vin de France
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

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Producer profile

Le Sot de l'Ange

Angélique and Quentin Bourse established Le Sot de l'Ange by taking over a friend's estate in time for the 2013 vintage in Azay-le-Rideau, Touraine. Before founding the domaine, Quentin worked in multiple capacities across the wine world, including a six-month stage at Domaine Huet, the famed Vouvray producer. The name Le Sot de l'Ange translates roughly to 'The Idiot Angel' or 'The Fool of the Angel.'

The estate covers approximately 12 hectares of vines and holds biodynamic certification, which is uncommon in Azay-le-Rideau. Quentin limits copper sulfur spraying to 500 grams per year, about 75% below the regional standard. Vineyard work is done entirely by hand. Soils include the region's characteristic perruches (flinty clay), aubuis (clay-limestone), and aeolian sands over Tuffeau limestone bedrock.

In the cellar, grapes are sorted four times and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Pressing is slow and gentle, sometimes lasting five or more hours. Aging occurs in tank, neutral barriques, or amphora depending on the cuvée. For red wines, no SO2 is added during winemaking; a small addition is made at bottling only. The Trollinger specifically is destemmed by hand, fermented in a tronconic vat, and receives 1g/liter of SO2 at bottling.

Wine region

Loire Valley, France

The Loire Valley stretches roughly 280 kilometers along the Loire River from the Atlantic coast near Nantes eastward through Anjou and Touraine to the Sancerre and Pouilly hills. It is France's third-largest wine region with 69 appellations covering an enormous range of styles and grapes. The region sits at the crossroads of oceanic and continental climate influences: winters are mild and temperate, summers hot and bright, with average temperatures between July and September around 20 degrees Celsius.

Touraine, the central zone of the Loire, is home to appellations including Vouvray, Montlouis, Chinon, Bourgueil, and the micro-appellation Touraine Azay-le-Rideau. Azay-le-Rideau sits between the Indre and Loire rivers, covering roughly 50 hectares across eight communes. The terroir is built on Tuffeau limestone bedrock formed approximately 90 million years ago, overlaid with three distinct soil types: perruches (flinty clay and siliceous conglomerates), aubuis (warm permeable clay-limestone), and aeolian sands with varying clay content. The Touraine Azay-le-Rideau AOC covers only Chenin Blanc whites and Grolleau-based rosés; wines made from grapes like Trollinger grown here are classified as Vin de France.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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