ABBOTTS & DELAUNAY PINOT NOIR

LIGHT-BODIED, RED CHERRY, RASPBERRY, OAK

A reliable, food-friendly Languedoc Pinot from a well-regarded négociant house — Abbotts & Delaunay draws from cooler Aude Valley sites at around 350m elevation in the Pyrenean foothills, where the grape keeps its bright fruit character. About a quarter of the production sees 6-9 months in oak, adding vanilla and darker berry depth the rest of the blend doesn't get.

Laurent Delaunay is a fifth-generation Burgundian winemaker who brought a Burgundian instinct for parcel selection to the Languedoc — the kind of rigor that was unusual in the south when he started. Doesn't try to be Burgundy, but earns its place on the table.