2023 Antech "Emotion" Extra Brut Rosé Crémant de Limoux

Antech makes several exceptional cuvées, and while Eugénie remains one of our top sellers, Emotion is personally the one closest to my heart. The Antech family has always been welcoming. We were working with them even before I took over buying their category, and they were one of the first producers to host me at their winery in Limoux. The region has actually been producing sparkling wine longer than Champagne—though Limoux didn't adopt secondary fermentation until much later. Before that, winemakers there used the Méthode Ancestrale, where fermentation finishes in the bottle, and the region became known for sweeter, brighter styles. By the time we started working with Antech over twenty years ago, they had honed in on their bubbles and were huge champions of this rosé. For me, it went with everything—food-friendly, great on its own, and always appreciated at every party or event I brought it to for its expressive, classy profile. This character-driven rosé still transcends its price point, delivering some of the best quality-to-price ratio of any sparkling wine—across all categories, not just rosé. White cherry, Red Delicious apple, and a touch of raspberry unfold on a slightly fuller-bodied frame, carrying through with delicious brioche notes and surprising length and presence on the palate. Since the winery lowered their dosage over the last couple of years, shifting toward Extra Brut styles, the wines have developed better tension while expressing more of the autolytic qualities I love in a great sparkling wine. Simply put: there is no other non-Champagne rosé that offers this level of character at this price point.