Winemaker Notes
Founded in 2006, Coeur Clémentine is the result of the decades-long friendship of its founders, Steve Veytia and Pierre Arosteguy, their shared passion for the wines of Provence, and in particular, rosé. Steve Veytia of Napa Valley, and Pierre Arosteguy from France both grew up in the food and wine business. Veytia is from a grape growing family and has found himself drawn to France for the past 25 years while being a global brand builder in the fashion and sports industry. Arostéguy is from the oldest and finest family run epicerie in France, Maison Arostéguy. Five generations strong, Arostéguy has grown his family's business into a global brand distributing fine foods all over the world. Coeur Clémentine garnered tremendous success in France upon their first release in 2008 quickly becoming one of the best selling rosés from Provence.
Coeur Clémentine’s fruit is sourced from “The Golden Triangle” – the villages of PugetVille, Pierrefeu and Cuers – what many believe to be the best soil and sought after grapes in the Provence region. The wines are hand-crafted from start to finish. Using techniques that are both recent and part of the long tradition of making rosé in the Provence, Coeur Clémentine’s practices are natural and focused on providing the highest expression of the fruit when crafting their beautifully bone-dry, fruit-forward, and elegant rosés.
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.
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.