Sometime around 2014, Provence rosé started to take off. The first vintage of Miraval, the celebrity rosé by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (they've since split, you may have heard), was released the year before. By 2016, the production of Whispering Angel had skyrocketed to 4.6 million cases. To put that in context, all BC wineries combined sold just 4.8 million cases around the same time.
The rest of the wine industry was quick to take notice. All of a sudden, marketing teams were deciding what colour their rosé had to be. And it meant a phase of paler and paler rosés.
Provence was and is about much more than its colour, though. We showed that in our June shipment with Domaine De Rimauresq. Elsewhere, the focus on colour resulted in blander and blander wines. The flavour in a red grape berry, like its colour, is predominantly in its skin. So, if you extract little colour, you extract little flavour, unless you use specialized winemaking techniques like juice stabulation.
Well, now the pendulum is swinging back – and this Bandol rosé shows why. There’s more depth, more complexity, and more versatility at the dinner table. Leonard Cohen asked if we wanted it darker, and the answer is yes.
-GM
Tasting Note
The region of Bandol may technically be in Provence but its rosés are something entirely different. Based on Mourvedre, they’re mineral-driven, savoury, and rich, as beautifully exemplified by the organic-certified Domaine de la Begude. It's compelling and complex, offering crushed rocks, tart red berries, orange rind, dried florals, and layers of spice. Even at just 12.5% abv, it's richly textured and concentrated, with the weight to stand up to more robust food pairings. There's also the structure to age another 3-4 years in bottle. Yes, rosé can age, too.
Food Pairing
Grilled octopus with fennel or fried zucchini flowers