# Obrir La Vela Pétillant Naturel (2024)

- **Producer:** Domaine de L'Astré
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** sparkling
- **Grapes:** Sémillon
- **Region:** South West France, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.0%
- **Average price:** €33
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 6–8 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apple, lemon, grapefruit, blossom, biscuit, bread

## About this wine

Domaine de L'Astré was created in 2017 by Aude Duval and Sylvain Ohayon in Fougueyrolles, situated on the border between Gironde and Dordogne in South-West France. Sylvain brought oenological experience from Bordeaux and Argentina, while Aude contributed her expertise from the Libourne wine trade. Together they steward an eight-hectare contiguous estate on a limestone cliff overlooking the Dordogne River Valley. The name Obrir La Vela translates to Open the Sail in the regional Occitan language.

## Interesting facts

- The cuvée name Obrir La Vela means Open the Sail in Occitan, signifying a natural and adventurous spirit.
- Sourced from 40-year-old Sémillon vines planted on a limestone cliff 80 meters above the Dordogne River.
- This ancestral-method sparkling wine is produced in a limited run of just 1,800 bottles for the 2024 vintage.

## Food pairing

The natural vibrant acidity and fine carbonation cut through rich, fatty, or salty foods like goat cheese and charcuterie, while the bone-dry nature and clean minerality highlight delicate fresh seafood.

## Wine making process

Crafted via Méthode Ancestrale from 40-year-old Sémillon vines managed with organic and biodynamic practices. Whole clusters undergo direct pneumatic pressing before fermentation starts spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. The fermenting wine is bottled mid-September 2024 without added sugar or yeast to capture natural effervescence in bottle. It ages on lees for roughly 12 months prior to disgorgement. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, and made without added sulfites.