Winemaker Notes
A rose petal, herbs and tangerine leads off before giving way to pretty white cherry and peach flavors. A subtle bead of acidity supports the sneakily long and stylish finish. This wine is made alongside the Bieler ‘sabine’ and in the same philosophies. We are trying to find the balance between the savory, citrus and light red fruit with enough palate weight to be mouth filling but not heavy. Acidity is of course a must. The ‘sabine’ bottling has a greater percentage of the young vine rolle and cinsault that we’ve planted over the last 10 years giving the wine a bit more floral lift and high tones.
In 1992, Philippe Bieler founded Chateau Routas in Coteaux Varois – a small appellation in the middle of Provence. The winery focused on Grenache based red blends and rosé. His children, Charles and Mira got involved in the mid 90’s when they developed, through unorthodox winemaking and creative marketing and selling, one of the more dynamic rosé brands in America at the time. In 2005 there was a great opportunity to sell the winery and estate and they took it. They founded Bieler Père et Fils that same year they sold Routas and focus 100% on making rosé.The dry rosé category has developed quickly over the last handful of years, though the Bieler family has been banging away at it for a decade plus. Dry rosé not only remains one of the fastest growing wine segments in the US wine market but has even accelerated further this past year and Provence, France remains the standard for what consumers are buying and drinking.
A fantastic source of dry rosés from the usual red Rhône varieties, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence is a coastal, hilly region whose variations in elevations and microclimates make it ideal for viticulture. Red and a small amount of white wines, also made from Rhône grape varieties, are found here as well.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.