Month: July 2024

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Pale and interesting

Still rosy? 

A recent article in Drinks Business, confirmed rosé is still a bright spot outperforming the general downward trend in wine consumption, thanks in part to being championed by stars and moving up market.

Bordeaux rosé, still on the rise

I recommended some Bordeaux rosé back in the summer of 2021, when production was just 3% of Bordeaux wines, now it’s up to 4%. That may not seem like a big increase, but it’s another 5 million bottles of Bordeaux Rosé! That’s without counting sparkling Crémant Rosé, another category on the rise. Traditionally, Bordeaux is known for its darker rose, made from saignée, running off juice from red vats often in more abundant, and dilute years. There hasn’t been many of those in recent vintages. 

Bordeaux has also embraced the trend for paler rosé, made from dedicated plots, picked earlier for fresh acidity and skins that yield less colour when directly pressed with a shorter maceration time. Clairet, is a darker, local specialty and favourite, mainly consumed by locals, rarely making it to export markets. The recommendations I made in 2021 still hold good but I’ve tasted a few new ones that I wanted to share. 

The Médoc seems to be on a rosé roll, Chateau Loudenne, added another rosé to their range with the 2022 vintage. Sourced from an 8ha HVE certified plot to the north of the chateau, it’s a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from directly pressed whole bunches and called Le Château Rosé, with an equally elegant nod to the château rose garden on the label. 

Le Rosé x GISCOURS is the latest addition to the Château Giscours range since the 2019 vintage. With a delicate ‘Rosé de Provence’ colour, it is sourced from a dedicated plot of Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested early and cool fermented. It is as elegant to taste as the colour and bottle suggests.

Le Rosé de Vertheuil is a press rosé, made by Château Haut-Bages Libéral classified growth in Pauillac from a cool clay and limestone plot near the village of Vertheuil, which gives its name to the cuvée. It is 100% Merlot and under conversion to organic viticulture as you would expect from biodynamic pioneer Claire Lurton. 

Château du Taillan in Haut Medoc has launched a new range, ‘La Rose’ in red, white and rosé with a distinctive label. La Joyeuse 2023 is a saignée of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, thanks to a short maceration and low temperature fermentation. 

Casual drinking and relaxed packaging 

Usually sold in clear glass bottles to show off the colour, Bordeaux rosé is available in BIB – a big favourite of mine for summer, see La Petite Lestrille with it’s gorgeous new design reflecting Estele Roumages committee to her vineyard environment. (now also available in bottles).  Who doesn’t want rosé on tap in their fridge all summer? 

And now in cans! Just last week, I met Jean-Luc Dartiguenave, owner wine maker of Château des Tuileries Cru Bourgeois in the Medoc. The vineyard is in Saint-Yzans de Médoc, (a neighbour of Château Loudenne). HVE certified, with the 2023 vintage he ‘bottled‘ his first cans of his Le Rosé des Tuileries saignée from 20% Merlot and 80% Cabernet. A ‘Vin de France’ for years, the slim, elegant light pink cans are 250cl, two average glasses, and carry the same signature as the bottles.  He describes his rosé as a relaxed lifestyle wine and recommends taking it to the beach – no coincidence, then that I met him in his vintage Peugeot van in the market in Soulac-sur-Mer on the Médoc coast.

Intelligent packaging 

Pierre Jean Larraqué, a native Médocain, now owns six properties across Bordeaux including Médoc Cru Bourgeois Château Vernous, and Château Grand Marceaux from where he selects grapes for the Querrala rosé. Picked at night for freshness, the bottles of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot has a thermo-sensitive ‘‘crystal’ on the bottle  that changes colour to tell you when the wine is at its perfect tasting temperature. Tepid rosé will be a thing of the past.

Can you spot the diamond?

On the subject of crystals, Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey in Sauternes also makes a very limited production of rosé, 100% Merlot made in collaborations with their Dubourdieu neighbours. Maisons Roses de Laufaurie is bottled in the same beautiful Lalique inspired bottles featuring the  1928 «Femme et Raisins» as the Grand Vin of the property. Mainly available in their restaurants, you’ll just have to go to the Lalique restaurant at the chateau for a taste. Not a hardship.   

Right Bank Rosé

Château Clinet is a famous name of Pomerol and, as befits the appellation, has a limited production. Ronan and Monique Laborde wanted to produce a wine that could reach a broader audience and in 2009, started working with growers across the right bank to launch Ronan by Clinet. It’s now available in red, white and rose. The rosé is 95% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot, with a fun label clearly differentiating it from its more serious sibling 

In Saint Emilion, Classified growth Château La Dominique produce Nuances, their 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon rosé. Launched with the 2021, the 2023 is their second vintage. Perfect to sip on the terrasse of their restaurant, right above the cellars where the wine is cool fermented in stainless steel vats.

In the Entre de Mers, Chateau de Sours established its reputation as a rosé producer at the start of the Bordeaux rosé revolution thanks to Martin Krajewski and his wine maker daughter Charlotte, who continue to make excellent Rosé at Clos Cantenac. In 2015, Hong Kong businessman Jack Ma, purchased the estate and transformed it, but they still make Rosé, within a broader range of wines. For Les Essences manager wine maker Sébastien Jacques has chosen non-Bordeaux slim glass stoppered bottles, with a very floral bar code on the back of the bottle, designed to appeal to a younger and French clientele. They also make a delicious brut Sparkling Rosé.

and a closer look at the back to see the cool bar code

Chateau de la Dauphine in Fronsac produced their first Blanc de Noirs de la Dauphine with the 2023 vintage.  Organic like the other wines of the property, this 100% Merlot from a specific 2ha plot has the palest suggestion of pink and is marked by fresh red fruit aromas reflected in the very colourful label. The Château also makes a more traditional, pale Cabernet Franc, Merlot blend Bordeaux Rosé and has a small production of classic Sauvignon Semillon Bordeaux dry white alongside their Fronsac reds.

The ever inventive and dynamic Pierre Cazeneuve at Chateau Paloumey in the Haut Medoc released his first white wine, a Blanc de Noir, with the 2023 vintage.  67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot, as you would expect from the Medoc, he aged 20% of the wine in oak barrels for 6 months to give a little weight, blended with the rest of the wine aged in stainless steel. 

He’s also seized on this launch to experiment with consignment for his bottles. He used a water soluble glue so labels wash off easily, allowing bottles to be reused rather than recycled, something he hopes to expand to all his wines. A philosophy that perfectly aligns with his organic certified vineyard and his engagement with agroforestry.

Pierre recommended I try another Blanc de Noirs, Blanc Pirate from the Listrac Co-op further north. The 100% de Merlot was sold out before I could get there ,hich I’m taking as a good sign for the future of these light and light hearted wines that are perfect for summer drinking. 

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An International Bordeaux Blend 

I’m back in Bordeaux as promised but via the roundabout route of South Africa. Not physically but in a wine glass. Just before leaving Mauritius, I met Carla Malherbe, another dynamic woman in wine, global sales and marketing manager for Rupert and Rothschild. Tasting with Carla  was the perfect way to move from the Southern wine hemisphere back to the Northern. 

Bordeaux spreads itself across the world. I’ve shared the links between Bordeaux and California at length (more to come) and also mentioned links between Bordeaux and South Africa way back when I was last there – much too long ago. Thanks Carla, for the updated invite. 

I’ve tasted Rupert and Rothschild wines before, but this was an opportunity to get behind the story, and the wines, born from a partnership of two major wine (and luxury) families. The Rothschilds are a large and well connected family with links across the world. The five arrows on the family crest represent the five siblings that spread across Europe as early as the 18thcentury and they are known for their joint wine ventures from South America to Napa.

Bordeaux Rothschild

There are two branches of the Rothschild family in Bordeaux. The Lafite Rothschilds, are the French branch of the family and the Mouton Rothschilds the British branch, both based at their world renown first growth vineyards in Pauillac. Edmond de Rothschild was the great grandson of James de Rothschild, who purchased Lafite in 1868. Just over 100 years later, in 1973, Edmond invested in Château Clarke and Château Malmaison in the more discreet Médoc appellations of Listrac and Moulis. Now grouped under the umbrella of Edmond de Rothschild Heritage his is arguably the most interesting of the families wine holdings, it’s certainly diverse. They own other properties in Medoc, on the right bank of Bordeaux, the south of France, New Zealand, Mendoza and in a joint venture with Lafite and Mouton make Champagne, I’ve probably missed some. Near Champagne they own the only farm to produce AOP farmhouse Brie de Meaux. I recommend the one stuffed with truffles it’s divine.

Château Clarke and Château Malmaison, Bordeaux neighbours from Listrac and Moulis

At the end of last year they merged their in-house UK distributor Waddesdon Wine, with esteemed London Merchant Goedhuis making the complete range of Rothschild wines, including Rupert and Rothschild, available on the UK market. Edmond de Rothschild heritage is also heavily invested in hospitality.

Women are at the head of both Domaines Barons de Rothschild, with Saskia de Rothschild as chairwoman and  Ariane de Rothschild as chairwoman of the Edmond de Rothschild group. Chateau Clarke may be in the more discreet appellation than Lafite, a discretion that is very much a signature, but it has been brought bang up to date with the opening of the spectacular new cellars for last year’s harvest after a 3 year renovation.

South Africa Rupert

Dr Anton Rupert was a South African legend, creating a global business but also a conservationist and champion of Franschhoek wines. The family is known for their global luxury group Richemont with such famous names as Cartier, Van Cleef, Dunhill, etc. etc.

His son, Anthonij, inherited his father’s passion for wine, taking over L’Ormarins the family wine estate acquired in the 1960s. Upon Anthonij’s untimely death in 2001, the estate was taken over by elder brother Johann, also Chairman of Richemont. He opened a spectacular new cellar in his brother’s memory in 2004 and released the first vintage of Anthonij Rupert Wine in 2009. The winery is set against the breath-taking Groot Drakenstein Mountains and includes a 300 ha conservation project.  His sister Hanneli owns the other family vineyard La Motte also in Franschhoek, acquired in 1970. 

Wine brings families together 

In 1997, these two families both each with their own wine story, joined forces when Dr Anton Rupert and Baron Edmond de Rothschild created Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons, with the first vintage in 1998. Today this joint venture is still run by the two families out of the Fredericksburg estate in Franschhoek, a 17th century property bought by Anthonij Rupert in the 1980s. Anthonij ran the Rupert and Rothschild project until his death. 

The wines are of course inspired by both South Africa, the place and terroir,  and Bordeaux in style and philosophy. With the very Bordeaux habit of producing just three wines. 

A family of three, keeping it simple

The majority of the production is sold in South Africa, where a strong following has elevated the wine to an aspirational status with a growing Chinese market.

The family logos

The grapes are sourced from both Rupert owned vineyards and from independent growers. Production, especially of the two top wines is small and virtually on allocation – another Bordeaux habit. Both reds are Bordeaux blends, balanced between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with some Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and a touch of Malbec with blends varying with every vintage. 

The Classique draws fruit from growers across the Western Cape, with whom they have long term working partnerships. Fermented in stainless tanks for freshness and malo in cement to preserve fruit before French oak barrel aging. Classique is a really accessible introduction to the house style.  

R & R Classique

The Baron Edmond is a precision product, sourced uniquely from Franshoek, with optical sorting of fruit, stainless fermentation and extended skin contact. Some ‘malo’ takes place in new French oak before then 18 months aging in Bordeaux oak barrels up to 50% new. This is a wine built to last.  

Baron Edmond

Less Bordeaux in style is the 100% Chardonnay The Baroness Nadine. Named after Baron Edmond’s wife, it is sourced from the cooler Elgin region in the Cape coast, where the ocean breezes maintain the desired freshness. After whole bunch pressing, a blend of first, second and third fill oak barrels are used for fermentation and aging that compliments rather than dominate the wine. 

Baroness Nadine

A trio from South Africa deeply influenced by Bordeaux. Could there be a better way to ease my way back?  

If you enjoyed this post,   please  sign up here  to receive future blog posts directly to your inbox or share with a friend. If you would like to read more about Bordeaux, find your copy of Bordeaux Bootcamp here, and learn about Wine and Wellness, with  The Drinking Woman’s Diet . Youn can read more of my stories from Bordeaux at Decanter  or contact me here.