A pale rosé with a colourful past!
As many of you will know we don't just sell you a bottle here at Hattersley wines, as we believe there is much more to wine than that. And there's nothing that we like better than a great story behind a wine, and this is a GREAT story!
Maison Angelvin, located just outside St Tropez in the sun soaked hills of Provence, is a 4th generation family affair. Begun back in the day by Louis Angelvin, civil engineer by trade but a keen geologist, who knew the terroir of Provence and how to extract the subtleties of the earth and let them shine through in his wines.
Louis passed the estate onto his son Jacques and grand-daughter Véronique, and this is where the tale turns interesting.
Jacques Angelvin was at the time a well-known French TV personality. His notoriety soared after he was linked to the famous ‘French Connection' drugs smuggling case of 1962, on which the academy award winning film of 1971 starring Gene Hackman was based.
His was the Buick shipped to New York inside which was found 52 kilos of heroin (a sizeable bust for the 60's) and he indeed served 4 years in America for his role in the smuggling, receiving a lighter sentence by pleading guilty to his part.
It was believed that his celebrity status would allow him to fall outside any suspicion. It also seems that $10,000 helped persuade him to ship the car over. Angelvin claimed that the car had been tampered with without his knowledge, but this argument didn't hold up. The question was also asked as to why had he needed to have his car shipped to the USA? "A major company was paying my round trip in first class. For the same amount, I could take my car along by buying a tourist ticket out to the USA and a return ticket in first class. I bought gasoline in the USA which is half price. It was therefore not an expense, but an economy... “he explains in his book ‘Mes prisons américaines'.
On his return to France he lived in Port Grimaud and it may be in small part due to his out-going nature and notoriety that helped the wines of Angelvin's popularity grow beyond the bay of Saint-Tropez.
Its popularity continues to grow now the estate is in the hands of Louis' great-grandson Logan, born to a French mother and American father. Brought up amongst the vines of Angelvin, Logan has taken back the vineyards from the co-operatives and is firmly in control - producing a superb wine. With aims of being certified 100% organic by 2018 Logan has his sights set on great things.
And with a family name like ‘Angelvin' could they ever have done anything else?
Not only a great story, but a stunning bottle of wine and winner of a few gold medals this year too! To pick up your bottle why not have a look online or pop into the shop!
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