Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I consider Lafage's Grand Cuvee Rose one of the top efforts out there, and the 2014 Cotes Catalanes Grand Cuvee Rose does nothing to change that opinion. Loaded with lots of strawberry, mineral, white peach and bitter citrus, this beauty has medium-bodied richness, vibrant acidity and notable purity.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
TThe 2014 Domaine Lafage La Grande Cuvée Rosé, from the Côtes du Roussillon, is fresh and bright. The wine shows a light pink color and delivers fine elegance. Its red fruit flavors and crisp aftertaste make it a superb match with a roast chicken salad. (Tasted: September 6, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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.
Although it is a region predominantly recognized for fortified, vins doux naturels (a type of sweet wine), Roussillon is also ideal for the production of dry red, white and rose wines. To encompass all the dry wines from the surrounding region that are not the vins doux naturels of Banyuls, Maury and Rivesaltes, the appellation of Côtes du Roussillon was created in 1977. It covers the eastern half of the Pyrénées-Orientales (the eastern side of the Pyrenees Mountains) and lower lands of Roussillon. Côtes du Roussillon includes complex soils of schist, limestone, gneiss and granite and climatic conditions that support many grape varieties.
Côtes du Roussillon red wines are blends made from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and smaller amounts of Carignan, Cinsault and the lesser known, Lledoner Pelut. Rosé wines come from the same varieties, as well as may include Grenache Gris and Macabeo. White wines from Côtes du Roussillon are Grenache Blanc and Macabeo with small amounts of Marsanne, Roussanne and Rolle (aka Vermentino).