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Southold, Rouge Clair, 2024

Red Wine from Bordeaux, France
$36.99
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A clairet - the old Bordeaux style that sits between a red and a rose, and the reason the English called the region's wine claret in the first place. Southold, the American couple who left Texas for roughly 5.3 hectares in Francs Cotes de Bordeaux, ten kilometers east of Saint-Emilion, make it from the same forty-year-old Merlot as their Le P'tit Rouge, but with only about 48 hours of maceration in concrete before pressing, then nine months in neutral French oak. The result is bright ruby, 12% alcohol, and built on limestone-driven freshness rather than extraction; farming is organic and regenerative in practice, fermentations are native, and nothing new-oaked goes near it. Only about 2,700 bottles exist. Serve it properly cold, like a light red, and it will do everything a rose does and a bit more.

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More about Southold Farm & Cellar

Few winemakers have followed terroir as far as Regan and Carey Meador. Southold began on Long Island's North Fork, moved to the Texas Hill Country, and since 2023 has been rooted on Bordeaux's Right Bank, where the couple make light-footed, organically farmed wines that look more like old Bordeaux than modern Bordeaux.

Regan traded a New York desk job for a cellar job on Long Island in 2010. In 2012 the couple bought land on the North Fork and planted unconventional grapes such as Lagrein and Teroldego, opening Southold Farm + Cellar in 2014. A zoning fight with the town pushed them out, so they moved to the Texas Hill Country. There Regan worked with grapes like Picpoul Blanc and Mourvèdre and with adventurous field blends.

In 2023 they settled in Francs, a small hillside corner just east of Saint-Émilion, with Merlot and a little Chardonnay, since joined by new plantings of Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. The limestone soils and late ripening give the wines tension. Farming is organic and the grapes are picked by hand. Regan does all the cellar work himself in a converted stone barn, with native yeasts and small, parcel-by-parcel fermentations. Look for Le P'tit Rouge and Rouge Clair, a revival of Bordeaux's old clairet style: fresh, lower-alcohol reds best served with a chill.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Merlot

  • Vintage

    2024

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

  • Style

    Fruity

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Light Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

What Bowler Wine has to say about this wine:

Clairet, a traditional Bordeaux style that sits somewhere between red and rosé, used to be produced throughout the Côtes de Bordeaux, but has since vanished. Rouge Clair offers a fresh take on that classic style. 100% merlot from 40-year-old vines grown in clay and limestone soil. Fermentation in concrete tanks, following a 48-hour maceration. Aged for nine months in neutral French oak. 2,740 bottles produced.

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Charcuterie, salmon or tuna, roast chicken salad, pissaladiere, or grilled vegetables with goat cheese.

Tasting Profile

Strawberry, raspberry and cherry with floral and faintly herbal notes over a mineral base. Light-bodied, nervy and dry, with bright acidity, barely any tannin, and a clean refreshing finish.