Ten excellent rosé wines with Provençal glamour | Drink | Gastronomy
After many years reigning in the wide field of mediocrity, Spanish rosés are already playing in the premier leaguewhere France continues to lead the ranking with the profitable team from the sunny Côte de Provence. Its model is a trend that is becoming established in our country, driven by the increase in demand for quality rosés around the world, 25% between 2001 and 2021, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). It began as a curiosity, a sophisticated Provençal touch of elegant paleness tinged with pink. One of the first steps was taken by the leader of Spanish rosés, Bodegas Chivite, with Las Fincas 2015, a limited production and numbered and original bottle. The reason, according to Julián Chivite: “On my trips abroad I was able to see that the most sought-after and esteemed rosés were those from Aix-en-Provence. That is why I proposed to my friend Juan Mari Arzak that he collaborate to bring out Las Fincas, a rosé that broke away, even in the type of bottle, from what is usual in our country. I apply the same idea to my new Unzu rosé.”
The trend towards very pale rosés, Provencal-inspired, with greater structure and sapid power, gained momentum when the Muga winery decided to produce a high-end rosé. For Manuel Muga, it was clear. He had to raise the status of this type of wine by making a high-end rosé: “We did it in 2016 with Flor de Muga.” Something that in Rioja, the most prestigious wine-growing area in Spain, was considered a waste. But the example of Provençal rosés has been spreading to such prestigious areas as Priorat and Ribera del Duero. In some cases, even the name of the wine makes a clear allusion to the prestigious French area, such as Le Rosé, from Antidoto, or Primer Rosé, from Murrieta.
The risk is that it will become a fad, encouraged by short-term marketing. Because it is not enough to imitate the rosy paleness of Provençal wines, nor is it easy to achieve their elegance and subtlety. To achieve its exquisiteness, it is necessary to conceive rosé as a typology with the same demands as a great white or a great red, which means overcoming numerous social prejudices that mostly consider it as a seasonal drink with no other aim than to provide a cheerful touch of colour on hot days. Hence it is considered a cheap wine, without pretensions. Opting for quality means using noble varieties from old vines that express the territory. And carrying out a demanding and careful production, with separate pressings by variety and plot, using only free-run or flower must using the saigné method (bleeding), with ageing on fine lees for several months, and in some cases with short ageings in oak.
It is a raw material and an oenological process that make the product more expensive. A high price fully justified for those wines that aim to rub shoulders with the best rosés in the world. This is what these 10 excellent examples achieve.
The Rosé 2022
This superb rosé from the Antidoto winery comes from vines planted on sandy soils and a calcareous rock bottom in 1905 on the Carresoto plot, located in the town of Miño de San Esteban (Soria), at 950 meters above sea level. It is made with Tempranillo and Albillo which, after pressing the whole grapes, ferments the yolk must in new 600-litre French oak barrels, with subsequent aging for almost seven months. Expressive aroma of fresh fruitiness, with delicate floral perfumes, balsamic herbs and elegant spicy notes. Tasty, enveloping, fresh and long.
·Phone: 975 350 493 ·DO: Ribera del Duero ·Guy: aged rosé, 14.5% ·Strains: fine red (tempranillo) and albillo ·Price: 60 euros ·Punctuation: 9.4/10
MUGA FLOWER 2023
A pioneer in Provençal-inspired Rioja rosés, it uses Grenache grapes between 70 and 90 years old from a dozen plots located in Alto Najerilla and the upper parts of the Oja Valley. The must ferments at a low temperature in small oak vats, plot by plot. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is kept on the fine lees for a minimum of four months. Aroma of a complex and elegant fruity combination, with floral notes, citrus, aromatic herbs, spices and a slight presence of wood. Very tasty, fresh, leaving a long fruity aftertaste.
María Vargas, technical director of Murrieta, has created a very high-quality rosé with Mazuelo, an unusual variety. The grapes come from Pago Lucas, with vines planted in 1985 at Finca Ygay. After fermentation in concrete tanks, it rests with its fine lees for five months. Elegant aroma of ripe and exotic black fruit, in harmony with citrus vivacity, floral notes, and balsamic herbs, with hints of scrubland and brioche. In the mouth it is delightfully expressive, balanced, with a creamy texture, with a vibrant, fresh and long finish.
In the Sierra de Gredos, Garnacha develops a unique, stylized and fresh profile, as demonstrated by this rosé made by the Soto and Manrique couple. They do it with grapes from old vineyards, planted at more than 800 meters above sea level on very poor granitic soils, interspersed with slate. It has a blanc de noir style preparation. Olfactory impact loaded with wild and acidic fruit notes, mandarin peel, balsamic herbs and white flower notes. Delicate, but tasty, with a soft texture, with a good presence in the mouth, where the acidity stands out, enhancing its long finish.
·Phone: 911 595 725 ·DO: Cebreros-Sierra de Gredos ·Guy: young rosé, 14% ·Strains: grenache ·Price: 10.50 euros ·Punctuation: 9.3/10
EMINA ROSÉ PRESTIGE 2023
A tribute to four great women who fought for equality: Clara Campoamor, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Concepción Arenal and Carmen de Burgos de Seguí. The winemaker Francisco Guerra makes the rosé from old vineyards of different grape varieties from a selection of plots of his own vineyards in Cigales, Cubillas and Valoria la Buena. He finishes the process by resting for a minimum of two months with fine lees. Aroma with a heavy fruit load (blackberries, raspberry, melon) rich in floral and herbaceous nuances. Something sweet, with a fruity finish and good persistence.
Provençal-inspired production achieved from a selection of old vineyards planted around 1960, and almost 800 meters high. After the selection of the clusters, fermentation takes place in a stainless steel tank after a soft and short maceration. Delicate and subtle aroma of red fruit (strawberry, raspberry, cherry) and ripe white fruit (candied peach), accompanied by festive floral memories and notes of country herbs. Slightly sweet, sensual on the palate, with a silky texture, balanced, with pleasant and fresh fruity memories and a long aftertaste.
A great rosé made from a selection of young and old Grenache vines located in the high areas of Scala Dei, on clay soils. Fermentation is carried out separately for each plot, with a subsequent rest of about four months on its fine lees, to finally produce a successful blend. Subtle and intense aroma of red fruit (strawberry, raspberry) with citrus tones (grapefruit), light floral notes (violet), and hints of herbal and balsamic notes (fennel). On the palate it is tasty, showing an elegant fruity expression, pleasant freshness, and a long aftertaste.
José Pariente has joined the Provençal trend with this multi-varietal rosé made from old Grenache from Pedrosa del Rey, Tempranillo from Mucientes and Viognier from La Seca. The grapes are pressed together, keeping the stems in the red varieties. After fermentation, the wine is kept on its lees for four months. Great aromatic intensity, with notes of wild red fruits (blackberry, strawberry, raspberry) enriched by the floral background (rose and jasmine). Very tasty and fresh, with an attractive sweet-bitter counterpoint at the end.
·Phone: 983 816 600 ·VT: Castile and León ·Guy: young rosé, 12.5% ·Strains: Grenache, Tempranillo and Viognier ·Price: 29 euros ·Punctuation: 9.2/10
NICTE PALE PINK 2023
The Segovia-based Avelino Vegas winery produces this unique Provençal-style rosé made from the Prieto Picudo variety from 25-year-old vines grown at an altitude of over 800 metres on the gravelly moors of the province of León. After the harvest, the grapes undergo a light maceration before fermenting in stainless steel tanks. Intense aroma of wild red berries, ripe white fruit, with fragrant floral notes and a touch of citrus freshness. Very tasty, broad, expressive, with good acidity that compensates for the sweet finish.
·Phone: 921 596 002 ·VT: Castile and León ·Guy: young rosé, 13% ·Strains: dark beak ·Price: 10 euros ·Punctuation: 9.1/10
CHIVITE LAS FINCAS 2023
It represented a true revolution in Navarrese rosés, with the pioneering development of the Provençal style. Part of a fraction of the yolk must of the Garnacha and Tempranillo grapes from Finca Lagardeta. After fermentation at low temperature, the wine is aged on fine lees for several months to gain structure and smoothness. Aroma of fresh wild fruit (blackberries, strawberry and raspberry) combined with citrus and the slight perfume of withered rose petals. Tasty, full-bodied, balanced, just the right degree of sweetness and acidity for a persistent finish.
··Phone: 948 881 000 ··PGI: 3 Riberas ·Guy: young rosé, 13.5% ·Strains: Garnacha and Tempranillo ·Price: 12.85 euros ·Punctuation: 9/10
