Winemaker Notes
The classic Provence Rosé profile is what every serious winemaker around the world attempts to mimic and for good reason. The goal is to find the delicate balance between floral, herbal, wild red fruit (not overly ripe), stone fruit and acid. Enticing aromatics of peach, white cherry and wild raspberry that are balanced by summer flowers, white tea and Provence herbs. These delicate flavors carry through to a creamy yet lifted palate that’s interwoven with rose petal and wet stones. The wine is in no way heavy or fat on the palate, but rather the palate has tremendous length in addition to the raspberry, cherry, peach, herbal, citrus and mineral core.
Blend: Grenache 41%, Syrah 27%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%, Cinsault 12%,
Rolle 5%
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesLimpid onion skin. Fresh red berries, citrus fruits and floral notes on the fragrant nose. Dry and energetic in the mouth, offering lively strawberry, cherry and tangerine flavors that flesh out through the mid palate. Closes long and subtly spicy, with repeating citrus fruit and floral character
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.