In lieu of new arrivals, May will be a month of organization and recuperation for our warehouse, and we will begin anew with fresh containers beginning in early June. To accompany the onset of spring, below are the rosés currently available from RWM.
“Peyrassol, 2019 “La Croix” IGP Méditerranée Rosé” Produced from roughly equal parts Grenache and Cinsault, plus a splash of Vermentino, the 2019 “La Croix” blends 50% estate holdings with fruit sourced from the Côtes de Provence as well as further north toward Mont Sainte-Victoire. An exemplar of Peyrassol’s blending acumen, it offers the precision and elegance that characterizes all the estate’s rosés, albeit in a more direct, fruit-forward manner than its siblings below.”
“Peyrassol, 2019 “Cuvée de la Commanderie” Côtes de Provence Rosé” Comprising 30% each Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah, with small amounts of Tibouren and Mourvèdre completing the blend, the beloved “Commanderie” offers the tension, salinity, and crystalline fruit that characterize this wine every year. This cuvée blends 70% estate-grown fruit with 30% purchased from several growers in nearby Flassans-sur-Isole with whom Peyrassol has multi-year contracts; Peyrassol’s team oversees the harvest and vinification of these sources.”
“Peyrassol, 2019 “Château Peyrassol” Côtes de Provence Rosé” Produced entirely from fruit grown on the estate, the 2019 “Château Peyrassol” is no weightier than the “Commanderie” above, differentiating itself instead through more marked salinity and greater palate persistence. It seamlessly interweaves taut, bright red fruit and vivacious acidity into a texture both cool and layered, and its overall personality is slightly lighter and more focused than that of the 2018. The 2019 is comprised of 65% Cinsault, 30% Grenache, and 5% each Tibouren and Mourvèdre.”
“Peyrassol, 2019 “Le Clos Peyrassol” Côtes de Provence Rosé” The 2019 “Le Clos” is stupendous in its textural elegance and purity of fruit. It combines roughly equal parts Tibouren, Grenache, and Cinsault from the most favorably situated section within Peyrassol’s holdings, and this 2019 sees the estate experimenting in the cellar to great effect: 20% of the wine was vinified and aged in 10-hectoliter terracotta jars, which contribute a texturally caressing quality to the final blend without sacrificing its sense of laser-like precision.”
“Domaine du Bagnol, 2019 Cassis Rosé” This vintage of Cassis Rosé represents a new pinnacle for a justly beloved cuvée. Comprising 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, and 20% Mourvèdre, the rose-petal-colored 2019 was pressed directly and rapidly (in under two hours) to extract as little color as possible, and the bottled wine contains only 20 milligrams per liter of total sulfur—a factor which contributes to its gorgeous purity of texture and precise, intense evocation of limestone soil. (Certified organic.)”
“Château Simone, 2018 Palette Rosé” Château Simone’s legendary Palette Rosé makes a legitimate claim as perhaps the greatest rosé in all of France; there is certainly nothing else quite like it. Built on the backs of Grenache and Mourvèdre, with smaller amounts of Cinsault, Syrah, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Castet, Manosquin, Théoulier, Tibouren, Picpoul Noir, and Muscat de Hambourg, Simone Rosé is produced from a blend of equal parts direct-press and saignée juice. It spends nearly a full year in old foudres resting on its lees and gaining remarkable depth, with sulfur applied only at bottling. Seamless in its texture, this 2018 bastes the palate with savory red fruits and delivers an almost viscous impression of concentration.”
“Bastide du Claux, 2019 Luberon Rosé “Poudrière” Sylvain Morey’s 2019 “Poudrière” blends 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 20% Cinsault, with the Syrah and part of the Grenache pressed directly, and the Cinsault and the other part of the Grenache bled off. With flavors of black cherries and peach skins, it presents mouthwatering textural tension and an underlying sense of minerality, as well as an unforced vinosity that shames many of its confected Provençal cousins from more market-friendly area codes. (Practicing organic.)”
“Domaine La Manarine, 2019 Côtes-du-Rhône Rosé” Gilles Gasq’s 2019 Rosé, comprising 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre, and 10% Syrah, was produced solely via direct-press and aged in stainless steel on its fine lees for several months before bottling. It offers bright, friendly strawberry fruit, well-measured acidity, and an underlying freshness not often found in the rosés of the southern Rhône. (Certified organic.)”
“Château Valcombe, 2019 Ventoux Rosé “Epicure” Luc Guenard reported remarkably clean and healthy fruit in 2019, and for the first time ever he added no sulfur whatsoever to the grapes at harvest time. Composed of one-third each Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah, and produced via direct press, “Epicure” is vinified and aged in cement and given only a very light filtration at bottling. This 2019 is vivid in its fruit profile, with flavors of melon and cherry framing a ripe, round texture that nonetheless displays a refreshing sense of lift. (Certified organic.)”
“Domaine Gour du Chaulé, 2019 Gigondas Rosé “Amour de Rose” Comprising 40% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, and 20% Mourvèdre, Stephanie Fumoso’s 2019 Gigondas Rosé clocks in at 14.5% alcohol, but this lofty level belies the wine’s sense of harmony and freshness. Stephanie employs only direct pressing, and harvests those plots destined for her rosé earlier than those for the red—always early in the morning in order to preserve freshness and minimize the use of sulfur at the time of picking. (Certified organic.)”
“Château La Rame, 2019 Bordeaux Rosé” La Rame’s restrained, beautifully balanced Bordeaux Rosé blends equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and is produced solely via direct pressing. In keeping with its vintage-mates across France, this 2019 is lighter in color and in spirit than the 2018, both fully ripe and delicately pretty, and with a clear, focused line of acidity.”
