Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Coming all from the vines of the Grand Ferrage domaine in Provence, the 2016 Côtes de Provence Grand Ferrage Rose offers gorgeously pure notes of white peach, hints of strawberries and an undeniable saltiness that makes you salivate. It’s a beautiful wine that delivers everything you could want from a dry, Provencal Rosé.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is the third release of the rosé produced by Mathilde Chapoutier, whose father, Michel, runs the famed Hermitage-based M. Chapoutier. It is a light-colored wine, a typical Provence blend with the addition of Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruity and with great acidity, it is light in texture, just hinting at minerality.
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.