Winemaker Notes
Pale salmon in color with a light rose hue. The aroma is filled with fine and delicate fruits with hints of herbs, cranberry, and red currants. The mouthfeel is playful, yet well balanced and rich, reflecting the wonderful season. Beautiful, lush fruit with a lovely smooth tannin structure and refreshing light acidity and classic minerality. This is a perfect blend that is very sophisticated with beautiful layers and character. This rosé is engaging and delicious from start to the long finish. Great on its own but also a versatile food companion.
Serve chilled. It is the perfect partner to complement seafood, chicken, turkey, veal, pork and even spicy dishes. Charcuterie, cheese and most classically of course, a bouillabaisse. Or enjoy sipping it at a party with friends or treating yourself.
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.