Lace-like mountains, rolling and rising vineyards. This is some of the best wine-producing country in France’s southern portion of the mighty Rhône Valley. It is here that the Domaine Brusset wine estate works its magic. The house has been in the Brusset family since 1947 and today has been under the helm of Laurent Brusset, the third generation, since 2008. The house produces a selection of the great wines of the Rhône like Gigondas, Cairanne, Côtes-du-Rhône, Rasteau and Ventoux  Their vineyards — making the noblest of wines — are nothing short of spectacular, spread out over nearly 100 acres (70 hectares) that are made up of nearly 175 acres (18 hectares) of vine plants growing on terraces and plains of Jurassic and Triassic limestone-clay soils.  The terraces of the Brusset wine estate are among the most dramatic in the region. The vineyard has been certified with the French label HVE which is the French acronym indicating that the estate has embarked upon practices that respect the environment. 

The house recently brought out its splendid Cairanne Les Travers Blanc, a powerful white wine that surprises splendidly. Les Travers is the part of the estate that is devoted to the vine plants for the estate’s Cairanne wines. The grapes are hand picked and rigorously selected and are grown on 30-year-old vine plants. It is rich, highly aromatic and fruity. It has a light color but shiny with a few reflections of a golden eye. It remained full-bodied and suave throughout the meal. And clearly earned our Fine Wine Find designation.

Les Travers Cairanne white wine from the Domaine Brusset wine estate.  Photo courtesy Domaine Brusset. Handout via The Gourmet Gazette 

Made with a blend of the region’s traditional grape varieties for the whites —Clairette, white Grenache, Roussanne, Viognier— this is a powerful, serious wine that can be paired with taste-rich foods like heady shellfish, fish in a rich sauce and goat or veined cheeses. At The Gourmet Gazette we paired it with fresh cod simmered in a lobster bisque followed by a Fourme’d’Ambert AOC (the French acronym for a controlled designation of origin) blue cheese from the Auvergne region. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette.Domaine Brusset, 70, Chemin de la Barque 84290 Cairanne – France
Tél. (+33) 4 90 30 82 16 – contact@domainebrusset.com – https://www.domainebrusset.fr/en/domain.php

See also: https://thegourmetgazette.com/2023/02/10/a-gourmet-gazette-fine-wine-find-a-great-gigondas/