Plou & Fils Tuffeau Brut Rosé 2024, Loire

Plou & Fils Tuffeau Brut Rosé is a dry sparkling rosé from the Plou family estate at Chargé, on the banks of the Loire close to Amboise in Touraine. It is the pink companion to the family’s Tuffeau Blanc de Blancs, and like it takes its name from tuffeau, the soft, creamy white chalk stone of the Loire that underlies the vineyards and into which the family’s troglodyte ageing cellars are carved. The grapes are grown on the estate’s clay-limestone and flinty clay soils, and the wine is made to be fresh, crisp and fruit-driven.

In the glass it is a lively pink sparkling wine. The nose is fresh and fruity, with red berries, raspberry, crab apple and pink grapefruit, plus a touch of herbs. The palate is refreshing and lively, with a burst of vibrant red fruit flavours and a dry, crisp, clean finish.

Serve well chilled, at around 6–8°C. It is a cheerful aperitif and works well with charcuterie, soft white-rind cheeses such as Brie and Camembert, smoked salmon, prawns and summer berry desserts. Drink it young, while its fruit is at its most vibrant.

Domaine Plou & Fils is a family estate in Chargé, a village on the banks of the Loire a few kilometres from the Château d’Amboise in Touraine. The Plou family has been making wine here since 1508, passing the domaine from father to son and adding to the vineyards over the centuries; today it is in the hands of brothers Mathieu and Guillaume Plou. The vines grow on tuffeau chalk from the Paris Basin, with clay-limestone or flinty clay subsoils, while the terraces along the river are sand and gravel. The family makes Touraine, Touraine-Amboise and Crémant de Loire alongside its Tuffeau sparkling wines, combining temperature-controlled stainless steel in the cellar with ageing in troglodyte caves carved into the tuffeau. The estate is certified HVE (High Environmental Value).