The world of wine is filled with information and misconceptions.
Data can lead you down a rabbit warren of geeky element which, whereas absorbing and interesting, could make wine more and more inaccessible to most wine drinkers. Cue rosé.
Rosé has all the time promoted itself because the wine which doesn’t want information. Anybody can drink rosé and revel in it – no classic charts, no winemaking info, no sophisticated maps of terroir. The wine for everyman. But it surely does imply that misconceptions can unfold like wildfire. Repeated and copied, they grow to be solid in stone.
Scroll down to find the ten myths of southern French rosé
Provence is thought to be the cradle of the present rosé revolution with the Mediterranean way of life of the south of France contributing to the advertising picture.
A lot in order that all the rosés from the south are sometimes grouped collectively. Being based mostly round Grenache they have to be all the identical, proper?
In actual fact, the south of France gives an unlimited range of types, and this oversimplifcation is simply one of many many falsehoods hooked up to rosé, together with the beneath:
1. Rosé is only for summer time
That’s in all probability true for any gentle, crisp wine – tannins don’t shine in a calming wine. A glass of chilly pink or white with chilling condensation is ideal for summer time.
Rosés with longer maceration and a few tannins (assume Tavel, right-bank Rhône and Roussillon) cannot solely act as nice summer time reds however are additionally excellent for autumn and winter, accompanying recreation, fish and cheese.
A lot of Rasteau’s Vin Doux Naturel can also be rosé, supplying you with a candy wine to be loved with cheese and dessert at any time of yr.
2. It’s best with summer time meals
These embrace salads, goats cheese, fish and sushi – not precisely a delusion however solely half the reality.
Oaked rosés had been initially created to finish the gastronomic vary of meals pairings, and people with extra evident oak flavours can tackle extra sturdy savoury flavours equivalent to roast meats.
Older rosés with their richer dried fruit notes go nicely with stronger cheeses and richer gratins.
3. Pale means good
No! Pale is created by numerous causes which might be completed both singly, partly or altogether: utilizing lighter-coloured varieties equivalent to Cinsault; earlier harvesting whereas the color is extra delicate; the addition of white grapes (widespread all through nearly all of southern France), and really mild direct urgent (the first-run juice being the palest) are all methods employed when chasing a lighter hue.
Such wines are a advantageous stability between ripe fruit and recent acidity. Darker pinks can have riper grapes and longer pores and skin contact – some, particularly in Tavel, macerate for as much as every week. They’re simply pretty much as good, however extra full bodied.
4. Rosé is straightforward
As with every wine color, the types vary from easy to advanced. And sure, rosé might be advanced with some excellent examples showing from outdated vines, low yields, mixing completely different harvest dates, spontaneous fermentation, cautious use of oak and amphora, or longer ageing on the lees. These wines push the restrict of what any wine can obtain.
5. It needs to be drunk younger
Most rosé retains its recent fruitiness for 2 to a few years, and plenty of undoubtedly enhance because the flavours combine and open up.
After three years, secondary notes begin to emerge, usually with a gradual evolution of dried peaches and apricots giving an enthralling richness. Most estates don’t maintain older vintages so this can be a exhausting delusion to disprove, however tastings of rosés (often the premium cuvées) going again 20, 30 or extra years reveal some gorgeous wines.
Château d’Aqueria’s Tavel rosé. Credit score: E. Guigal
6. It’s all about way of life and picture
Exhausting to dispute this delusion when a lot advertising is concentrated on way of life and picture, and the packaging might be so gorgeous. It’s, nevertheless, value looking for the rosés in darkish bottles the place the color shouldn’t be seen and the wines are shielded from gentle strike.
7. Rosé is reasonable
The vast majority of southern French rosé definitely falls into the cheaper finish of the spectrum.
Nevertheless, many producers, particularly in Provence, are more and more including not only a premium rosé to their vary but in addition extra experimental wines which sit at barely larger value factors. The element on the again label is usually the clue to why a wine is a bit more dear with particulars of winery, grapes and winemaking.
8. Provence rosé is only one type
This is among the weirdest misconceptions for producers residing within the south of France.
Even locals can’t agree on the definition of Provence! Is it the Var division, or maybe the picturesque lavender fields of the Luberon and southern Rhône? Are the very completely different rosés of Tavel and Bandol a part of Provence? Totally different soils, winemaking, grapes and traditions lead to many alternative types.
Clos Sainte Magdeleine: in Provence. Credit score: Jonathan Sack / Clos Sainte Magdeleine
9. There isn’t a classic variation
This delusion could also be quick disappearing because the information over the previous few years has highlighted the issues of frost, drought, hearth and hail.
However there are additionally cooler and warmer vintages which lead to completely different types. In Provence, 2018 and 2020 had been extra delicate and recent vintages, whereas 2019 was extra sturdy and concentrated. 2021 was tough and 2022 could also be extra like 2019.
10. Rosé is only for girls
A severely bizarre untruth. Is it as a result of pink is female? That solely males can perceive wines that are extra sophisticated?
There isn’t a reply to this false impression apart from actual males drink rosé, too. Rosé can also be for folks of all ages. As with different wine, you simply have to search out the type for you.
For these eager to discover the variations and variety of southern French rosé, attempt completely different wines from completely different appellations, a spread of color depth – from pale to darkish – and completely different varieties equivalent to Grenache, Mourvèdre or Syrah-based wines.
Elizabeth Gabay’s lately printed e book ‘Rosés of Southern France’ (£22, Amazon UK/com/FR) units out to elucidate and outline the tastes, types, traditions and winemaking of this fast-growing sector, displaying that there isn’t a singular type, however big range and thrilling new instructions.
