| In the last days of June, I spent it in blissful dancing. I’m talking balance and swing, up a double and back, that sort of thing. In the country. On a pond. Revisiting my youth. But I chose the wrong wines. Maybe it was the heat? Nothing performed. It was humbling and disappointing. Yes, the wine was in question. So when I came home I wanted something affirming. With authority, I reached for a hidden bottle in my wine fridge. It whispered, “Get the corkscrew.” I thought, it’s my birthday week, so why not? It was then that I uncorked the Clos Roche Blanche 2013 pineau d’aunis. As soon as the cork eased out I had a panic attack. Why did I not realize that bottle was the last of the stash? Clos Roche Blanche shuttered its winery after the 2015 vintage. I was in love with the place, the people, the vines and the wine, way before I stepped foot in Mareuil-Sur-Cher. I have a few more bottles of other cuvées laying down, but no more of their iconic rosé. In the moments before I poured a glass I realized I hadn’t prepared for this kind of sentimental journey. | 
