Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2024 Côtes de Provence Rosé Cuvée Prestige Caroline combines aromas of red berries, vanilla, pomegranate and spring flowers with a gently delicate oaky profile. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and fleshy, it's framed by a gentle tannic structure and racy, mineral acidity, concluding with a long, spicy and ethereal finish. A rosé built for the cellar, it pairs beautifully with both the simplest and most elaborate Mediterranean dishes and will richly reward those with the patience to allow it to mature gracefully over the years.
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Wine Spectator
A sturdy, savory rosé, with a creamy cascade of zesty citrus, burnt orange peel, dried rosemary and thyme, all buttoned up with a fine, tannic grip. Salty and mouthcoating, showing hints of cigar box and smoke on the long, saline, full-bodied finish. Spicy and rich. Tibouren and Grenache.
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.