Chateau d'Esclans Garrus Rose 2016
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Considered Chateau d'Esclans' finest wine, made from a single vineyard of nearly 100 year-old Grenache vines, entirely fermented and aged in large French oak barrels, the powerful and elegant Garrus was at the heart to Sacha Lichine’s vision in 2006 to make Rosé grand. Today Garrus is firmly established as a world class, iconic luxury Rosé. It is an impressive and concentrated Rosé with a creamy finish featuring rich and spicy notes rivaling any top white wine or prestige Champagne.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A layered and fruity rosé with dried strawberries, lemons and hints of cherry skin. Some spices. Medium to full body. Lemony acidity. Stone and dried-peach character as well. A solid rosé with beautiful tension and focus. Fruitier style than in recent years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 70% Grenache for the 2017 Cotes de Provence Rose Garrus comes from the estate's oldest vines. It's barrel fermented with 30% Vermentino, resulting in a toasty, honeyed wine reminiscent of pink grapefruit. It's medium to full-bodied, round and ripe feeling, then finishes long, with echoes of pencil shavings, citrus and melon. It's a paradigm-shifting rosé, but one that resembles an excellent barrel-fermented white wine as much as anything else. I tasted a 2014 at the estate, which left me unconvinced about the cuvée's aging potential.
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Wine Spectator
This rosé feels more like a white Burgundy, offering creamy waves of white peach, tangerine, persimmon and mango fruit infused with bergamot and warm brioche notes. A light echo of wet stones adds length and detail on the showy finish. Distinctive and beautifully done.
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Château d’Esclans, a magical property, is situated in the heart of Provence, northeast of St. Tropez overlooking La Vallée d’Esclans (the Esclans Valley) with the Mediterranean coast in the faint distance. The vision of Sacha Lichine (Founder) with his acquisition of the Château in 2006 was to create the greatest rosés in the world igniting the “Rosé Renaissance”.
Patrick Léon (Founding Winemaker) became an essential part of the project bringing his many years of international winemaking experience to Château d’Esclans. He introduced new and innovative winemaking techniques to Provence which revolutionized the styles of rosés being produced from this appellation. This led to the creation of a world class rosé portfolio from Château d’Esclans including Whispering Angel, Rock Angel, Les Clans, and Garrus: a new generation of rosés characterized by elegance, depth, richness and complexity. Today, Patrick’s son Bertrand currently leads the winemaking team following in the footsteps of his father.
Sold in over 100 countries, these rosés are enjoyed globally from London to the Hamptons, and from St. Barth’s to the Swiss Alps. Whether you are relaxing by the beach, on a yacht, or in the mountains during “après ski”, Château d’Esclans rosés are a light and refreshing accompaniment to any destination. Whispering Angel is today’s worldwide reference for Provence rosé.
"In the Esclans Valley angels whisper. If you drink this wine, you might hear them… If you visit us, you might see them.” - Sacha Lichine
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.
Cotes de Provence is an extensive but valuable appellation that includes vineyards bordering the main Provencal appellations. Its sites vary from subalpine hills, which receive the cooling effects of the mountains to the north, to the coastal St-Tropez, a region mainly influenced by the warm Mediterranean sunshine.
Here the focus is on quality rosé, as it defines four fifths of the region’s wines. Following in the rosé footsteps, a lot of new effort is going into the region’s red production as well. A new generation has turned its focus on high quality Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan. Cotes de Provence white wines, which represent a miniscule part of the region as far as volume, are nonetheless worthy of consideration and can include any combination of Clairette, Semillon, Ugni Blanc and Vermentino.