Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Tavel—a rare appellation reserved for rosés only—has enjoyed a long-standing love affair with longtime wine aficionados. While this wine had lost some attention over the last two decades, there is a noteworthy revival now happening amongst young sommeliers and uber wine geeks. While this resurgence may well have happened because of the overall growth in worldwide rosés, Tavel producers are looking for techniques to improve the category. The 2015 Prieuré de Montézargues Tavel is simply an excellent wine. It shows bright red fruits, substantive palate presence, and a crisp, dry finish. Drinks well now. (Tasted: September 13, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine & Spirits
While this is lighter in hue than many Tavel wines, it’s also more refined, with lemony acidity tracing an elegant line through the ripe strawberry flavors. Those flavors feel grounded, an earthy richness giving them breadth and length.
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Wine Enthusiast
This isn't as big and burly as some Tavels, but it packs a lot of flavor into its medium-bodied frame. Crushed-stone sensations lead the way, followed up by ample fruit, which ranges from peach and melon to red plum.
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.
The only all-rosé appellation in the Rhone, a Tavel comes in many hues from light salmon to bright pink and is said to be the only rosé that can actually age—and improve. The rosé wines of Tavel have a great historic reputation, having been favored by King Louis XIV in the 18th century, as well as famous authors, Balzac and Mistral.
Tavel are always dry but the high percentage of the fruity Grenache (30-60% of the blend by law) and even Cinsault, give charming aromas and flavors that make them feel "almost sweet." A great Tavel rosé will have a bouquet suggestive of rose petals, apricot, strawberry and red currant. The palate may be fleshy, round and layered but is always fresh and balanced.