Panel tasting PROVENCE ROSE The consistent style of the dry rosés in this beautiful, sprawling part of southeast France can make nuances hard to distinguish. But there are quality cues to look for, explains Elizabeth Gabay MW rovence runs from the PROVENCE ROSE: Mediterranean coast ITALY A8 KNOW YOUR VINTAGES A8 Fréjus FRANCE Nice in the south to the Notre-Dame N COTES DE Rhône des Anges Marseille foothills of the Narbonne 7 PROVENCE 2019 A good vintage, in terms P A57 southern Alps in the of both size and quality. Good to MAURES Perpignan Mediterranean Pierrefeu DES north, from the Rhône valley in Sea MASSIF age, with some showing better SPAIN La Londe the west to Italy in the east. Mediterranean after a year in bottle. Saint-Rémy MONTAGNE DU LUBERON ILES Sea Winemakers work to reconcile VAUCLUSE DÕHYERES LES ALPILLESLes Baux ‘Provence’ as a unifying brand 5 Durance 2018 A small, weaker vintage A7 expressing regional identity. A54 2520151050 where négociant wines saved the 2 A51 Aix-en- There are eight appellations: River Provence kilometres day with strategic blending. A8 MONTAGNE Côtes de Provence, Coteaux Rhône Particularly pale colour. Most to 8 STE-VICTOIRE Sainte-Victoire d’Aix-en-Provence and Coteaux Palette drink up, but some surprises with Etang 3 Varois-en-Provence are the three de Berre A8 To Fréjus a few ageing well. PROVENCE main producers. Bandol, famous 1 Marseille Notre-Dame for big reds, was traditionally a Provence Rosé wine regions des Anges 2017 A small vintage due to 1 Côtes de Provence A50 producer of structural, ageable 2 A57 spring frosts and a hot, dry Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Cassis A50 rosés, but today many are lighter 3 Coteaux Varois en Provence 4 Pierrefeu summer. Good quality, good fruit. 4 6 Bandol La Londe in style for early summer drinking. 5 Les Baux-de-Provence Toulon Ageing well. 6 Cassis Bandol Tiny Palette and Bellet, in the 7 Bellet 8 Mediterranean city of Nice, both produce some Palette Sea 2016 A small, dry vintage with rosé, as do Cassis, known for its concentrated berries resulting in white wines, and Les Baux-de- fruity rosés, although some lack Provence. There are also a essential freshness and acidity. number of IGP labels, with IGP PROVENCE ROSE: THE FACTS Best to drink. Méditerranée covering the entire region. 90% of production is rosé. ha Domaines Cooperatives % rosé 2015 Small vintage but Côtes de Provence 20,100 420* 39 90% excellent quality. Ageing well, Essential Provence Coteaux d’Aix 4,127 65* 12 82.5% drink up. Côtes de Provence covers a large Coteaux Varois 2,633 77* 10 90% area, with regional sub-zones Bandol 1,600 59 4 73% 2014 A cool vintage which identified: La Londe and Pierrefeu, Les Baux 243 11 0 45% resulted in fresh vibrant rosés. just inland, are both on schist soils, Cassis 200 12 0 27% Ageing well, drink up. typically giving their wines a Bellet 58 10 0 33% mineral edge. The limestone Palette 45 4 0 15% slopes of Ste-Victoire produce Source: CIVP; *Includes >100 négociants wines with broader, fresher acidity, emphasised by some altitude. Fréjus, on the red volcanic slopes the appellation itself – their Sauvignon, Mourvèdre and Syrah Provence offers dry rosés, the of the Esterel massif, produces reputation based on history rather variously contributing blacker fruit simplest balanced by ripe fruit, wines with more structure, while than commonality of terroir. notes. Braquet is unique to Bellet. the more complex having weight the newest region, Notre-Dame Wines with denomination de A quarter of production is made and structure. It is usually this des Anges in the warm central terroir, cru classé, and from the by family-owned estates, the rest latter style which best handles the valley of Provence, produces smaller appellations of Cassis, Les by cooperatives and négociants use of oak – contentious, with rounder, ripe fruit. Baux and Bellet are often pricier. who blend across the region, claims its heftiness masks the Coteaux d’Aix, equally diverse, Coteaux Varois, Coteaux d’Aix and giving a single Provence style. delicacy of a true Provence rosé. has no indicated sub-zones. the IGP wines offer excellent value, Most rosés are pale, historically Most wines are able to age well for Coteaux Varois is based on cooler with IGP sometimes a second proof that the wine was not a two to three years, some for uplands stretching to the north. label or a more experimental wine by-product of red wine. While longer. Almost one third of the There are 18 estates in the from better-known estates. some today are extraordinarily wines are organic. Côtes de Provence classed as cru The wines are blends, with pale, verging on blanc de noir, a classé – a designation created in Grenache and Cinsault as the few are a shade darker, often Elizabeth Gabay MW is a wine Map: Maggie Nelson 1955, as much as 22 years before primary varieties, and Cabernet reflecting a fruitier style. journalist, author and educator ± Decanter • August 2020 | 69 Panel tasting THE VERDICT The solid standard was further proof that Provence rosé is one of the most reliable wine styles. Though real excitement was harder to find, the 2019 cru classés do stand out, says Georgie Hindle ‘really lovely and as if everyone was trying to make the THE SCORES interesting tasting’, same wine, and succeeding – and that ‘As a range, the 178 wines tasted said Rod Smith MW. applied to 60%-70% of them. It Exceptional 1 A‘It showed the quality arguably shows consistency, but it’s a cru classé wines Outstanding 4 of the 2019 vintage, little bit boring, especially given that Highly which was clearly superior to 2018, some of these will be quite expensive here had much Recommended 32 with fewer issues of heat stress and wines.’ Gabay added: ‘There weren’t Recommended 95 cases where grapes were picked early any that were bad, it’s just boredom.’ greater intensity Commended 40 at the expense of flavour, or less So, how do producers stand out? Fair 5 flavour at the expense of freshness.’ ‘With great difficulty,’ said Smith. ‘The of fruit’ Elizabeth Gabay MW Poor 1 Liz Gabay MW agreed that the wines are reliable, but just a little bit Faulty 0 2019s ‘really stood out’ and, despite safe. There’s room within rosé for a some ‘cut-and-paste’ wines, praised little bit more – not risk, but not to rest the diversity of style throughout the on their laurels either.’ – once you’re stripping out colour tasting. ‘This year I felt we were He added: ‘Provence can’t just you’re also homogenising flavour.’ getting more regional definition and trade on reputation, especially given Smith flew the flag for the Tibouren varietal character – a massive plus and the prices charged for just being good grape. Though it’s difficult to grow, ‘all very promising.’ and from Provence – and the the wines that had a high percentage Joanna Simon equally reiterated consumer is discovering that. The best did well – they really worked, coming the quality of the 2019s, which she are very good and they fulfil the across as very floral’. A Sangiovese- ‘wasn’t aware of prior to the tasting’. stereotype, but the blandest aren’t, dominant wine also piqued the judges’ For Gabay, the cru classé wines and as wines they don’t necessarily interest, as did the IGP wines, leaving were ‘the biggest surprise’. ‘The compete in terms of price.’ them wanting to see more submitted classification is historic, with wines Ste-Victoire was praised as a for this tasting in the future. quite often a higher price because of ‘go-to’ appellation, as was Bandol, the For the perfect rosé, Smith said it,’ she said. ‘There is scepticism in two regions notching up three and six you need ‘creaminess from the lees, Provence that they don’t produce wines respectively in the top 13 that phenolics from the skin giving enough anything different, but as a range here scored 91pts or more. But the judges but not too much fruitiness, acidity they had much greater intensity of warned it’s still not enough on which and weight, and many of them had all Entry criteria: fruit, so they are clearly trying to live to generalise, so it’s worth knowing of those in good harmony.’ producers and UK up to that cru classé standard.’ Simon producers and reading the notes here. As for what to drink when, Smith agents were invited equally ‘wasn’t expecting quite that Colours ranged from dark pink to said: ‘At the beginning of the summer, to submit their definition of quality’, or ‘the very pale blush. ‘Sometimes it becomes try drinking the end of last year’s rosés latest-release dry, distinctive profiles – I’ve not seen that confusing for consumers to see such rather than the early new ones [2019], still Provence rosé before, they really were a step up’. diversity, because they think all these especially if they’ve only just been wines from any Low points were the ‘similar, wines should be pale,’ Smith noted. bottled. People think it has to be the Provence sub- identikit wines’, said Smith. ‘It seems ‘But pale doesn’t always mean good youngest vintage, but it doesn’t.’ appellation THE JUDGES Elizabeth Gabay MW Joanna Simon Rod Smith MW Gabay is a widely Simon is a widely Smith is a wine published wine writer, published wine and educator, journalist educator, speaker and food writer, presenter and consultant, and consultant, with and judge.