Winemaker Notes
Aromatic, frank and fruity. Flavors of fresh sherries with peach.
Blend: 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 5% Syrah, 5% Tibouren
This beautiful estate and vineyard are located in the heart of Provence. The estate combines a best of the people, traditions and nature to consistently produce great wine. The Chateau Montaud vines are grown on long schist and sandstone terraces in the heart of the Maures Mountains. The chateau is situated on the site of an old Roman "villa" the remains were found during the restructuring of the vineyard. For three generations, the Ravel family have carried on their traditions. Their iconic Chateau Montaud rosé is packaged in a Provencal bottle specially made more than 40 years ago for the Ravel family.
Chateau Montaud is home to Vignobles Francois Ravel, a family-owned company founded in 1964. Little by little, the family created a viticultural estate that today is one of the most important in the Provence region. The Domaine’s Permian soils are poor and thus require the vines to take root deeply; this allows them to benefit from the full characteristics of the land. Production adheres to the principles of low yields, no irrigation, and harvest at the point of perfect ripeness, advanced technology, and noble traditions.
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.