Flatiron Wines & Spirits NY

How does Thibault Boudignon, a master of Chenin Blanc, craft one of the Loire Valley's most coveted rosés?

It might seem surprising. After all, pink wine and white wine look pretty different at first glance. But Boudignon makes his rosé much like a traditional white wine. While some winemakers “bleed” a little juice off their red wine while it’s still macerating on the skins (which can make a darker, more powerful rosé), Boudignon works more like he’s making a white wine.

Should the great white wines of Campania be aged? Well, that depends on the grape variety. A top-quality Falanghina can use just a year or two in the cellar to blow off its reductive notes and harmonize its flavors. Fiano, meanwhile, with its coiled minerality and taut structure, is capable of aging beautifully for years.

López de Heredia was founded in 1877 by Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a Chilean immigrant of Basque origins, who came to Haro by way of France. After working as a wine merchant, he began purchasing vineyards that today are synonymous with quality Rioja. Like many producers at the time, his goal was to recreate the famous recipes of France with Spanish material — in essence, to make Bordeaux and Burgundy out of a hodgepodge of unfamiliar varieties, most notably Tempranillo.