Claude Val Rose 2016
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Pair with: light dishes, grilled meat, salads, sausages, white meat, pasta "alla carbonara", soft cheeses.
Comprised of: 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 20% Syrah.
Jean-Claude Mas was born in a winemaking environment in the Languedoc, in Pezenas. At the age of 3, during harvest, he escaped from his mother and ran 2.5 km to meet his grandfather in the cellar. This was a moment that he never forgot, when his interest and passion for wine was born.
At school and later at university, he studied economics and advertisement, and wine was only a hobby. No matter where he lived, he was always involved in wine: in the North of France, he created a wine club, then in Englanc, he set up a small import company for organic wines, then in Miami he worked in the consulate to develop the import and distribution of French food & wine products.
In his professional life, he devoted the first 3 years of his career to his second passion: car and moto races, but not after long, he came back to his first love: wine.
At the beginning of the 1990s, he worked 4 years in Bordeaux. This experience in the wine world was determining, as he had his encounter with one of the most famous Italian winemakers, Giorgio Grai, in 1992. He taught him the art of blending and how to create wines with style. This teaching process has in fact never stopped.
In 1995, he did his first blendings for the family at Nicole Estate. Jean-Claude Mas is often described as a pioneer from the New Languedoc, belonging to the New wave of French wines, one who is on a mission to give back Languedoc its former glory in a region where wine production goes back to more than 2000 years.
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.
A catchall term for the area surrounding the Languedoc and Roussillon, Pays d’Oc is the most important IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) in France, producing 85% of this country’s wine under the IGP designation. (IGP indicates wine of good quality, not otherwise elevated to the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status.)
The near perfect Mediterranean climate combined with dry, cool winds from the north, optimal soils, altitudes and exposures make Pays d’Oc an ideal wine growing region. Single varietal wines and blends are possible here and while many types of grapes do well in Pays d’Oc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grenache and Cinsault are among the most common.