Did you know some 3,500 ha of Bordeaux are dedicated to rosé production? That’s just over 3% of the Bordeaux surface area, about the same as sweet white planting, but with a higher yield.

Tucked into the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur family, it’s a niche production so you’re forgiven for not being familiar with Bordeaux Rosé. With International Rosé Day last Saturday, perhaps now is the time to broaden your Rosé horizons? 

The grapes used are the classic Bordeaux red grapes, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc and occasionally Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenère. 

These are the ‘principal grape varieties’ that, together, must represent at least 70% of the blend. White varieties, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Gris, are allowed as accessory varieties, up to 30% of the total blend. The ‘new’ varieties; Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional can be included up to 10% of the blend. Bordeaux Rosé can be a blend or a single varietal wine.

Bordeaux Rosé can be made either from direct pressing or by the ‘saignée’ method. Direct pressing means picking your red grapes earlier than you would for red wines, pressing them so the wine has just a faint tinge of pink and then fermenting the juice as for a white wine, i.e., no, or very little skin contact. Any skin contact happens in the press, during a long slow pressing, protected from oxygen. This gives a pale and refreshing rosé.

Why pick early? Earlier picking ensures a higher acidity, keeping the wine fresh and the sugar lower, hence lower alcohol. Most Bordeaux rosés come in at around 12-12.5% alcohol. Less ripe skins also ‘bleed’ less colour into the wine on pressing. Riper, more fragile skins release more colour. In really hot, ripe vintages it can be hard to restrain the colour of these wines, so picking date is key.

Bleeding Rosé. 

The other option is a ‘vin de saignée’ or bled, or macerated wine, where the juice is left on the skins for a longer time, a matter of hours depending upon the ripeness of the grape. Careful observation allows the wine maker to then run off the juice before it becomes too dark and ferment as for a white wine, with no further skin contact. As well as more colour, wines with a longer skin contact tend to have more pronounced flavours, aromas and some tannin.

In both cases freshness is key, protecting the juice from oxidation, often using nitrogen and of course sulphur.  

Traditionally, saignée was used to concentrate a weaker red vintage. Running off some of the juice after a short period of time to make rosé but leaving most behind, giving a higher ratio of solids (skins and pips) to juice remaining in the vat, making the final red wine more concentrated. This is especially handy in diluted vintages (lots of rain, or high yields). The increasing popularity of Bordeaux rosé means they are now no longer just a by-product of red production but very much a part of the range of wines for a lot of producers, especially in the Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur and Entre-Deux-Mers regions. And now even more prestigious appellations. 

Clairet or claret.

What happens if you leave the juice on the skins for too long? It can happen, harvest is a busy time, but there is another, even smaller production in Bordeaux called Clairet. The difference between Clairet and Rosé is mainly the colour. There’s an official ‘Pantene’ style chart. Too dark and your wine will not be allowed bear the name Bordeaux Rosé but Bordeaux Clairet. This is not a booby prize. Bordeaux Clairet has a faithful local following, it is the perfect apéro or picnic wine, often found on Atlantic beaches in the summer months. There are currently only around 400 ha are currently in production, so it takes some finding. Clairet can only be made from red varietals, no whites. 

The original style of wine produced in Bordeaux was probably Clairet, back before sulphur was introduced in the 17^th century. Claret, the English term for Bordeaux, is thought to originate from the word Clairet, as the English drank most of it back then which might account for the bad spelling or pronunciation? 

Here are a few to try. Merlot resisters stay with us.

Château Lestrille is at the heart of the Entre-Deux-Mers, a traditional Rosé region. The cooler clay and limestone soils lend themselves perfectly to Rosé production.  Owner wine maker, Estelle Roumage makes both a Rosé and a Clairet as well as a ‘second’ rosé Le Petit Lestrille, available in 3 litre BIB (Bag in box), a perfect solution for wine on tap over the summer.

Neighbouring Courselle sisters at Chateau Thieuley also in the Entre-Deux-Mers produce both a Rosé and a Clairet. The Rosé is a 70% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot blend that undergoes a direct press under nitrogen in a specially designed press to keep oxygen at bay. Fermented in stainless steel and aged on the lees for 2 months, it’s bottled with a very cute label that usually makes it onto my Valentine’s Day recommendations. 

The Clairet is a 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon blend that undergoes 30 hours of skin contact and a direct press under nitrogen. The fermentation is in stainless steel tanks and the wine is aged on its lees for 3 months in the tanks. This produces a wine with a signature bright cherry colour and the red berry aromas typical of Merlot 

Château Bonnet has just released their 2020 Rosé in a brand-new packaging with a transparent label, with a definite nod to a Provence style. It is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot with just 7% of Semillon, which is allowed, see above, but is unusual. 

Château Bauduc is another popular rosé from the Entre-Deux-Mers. Their Château Rosé is made from equal parts of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in a ‘Provencal’ pale pink style. It is also available in a magnum, perfect for summer lunch parties and sealed with a screwcap just in case there is any left over – unlikely! 

At Château Fonfriode in the south-east of the appellation, Hugues Dutheillet de Lamothe makes a 100% Cabernet Franc Rosé on his 75ha property with a label as vibrant as the wine.

Further afield.

Bordeaux rosé can be made across the whole of the region so let’s venture away from the classic rosé terroir of the Entre-Deux-Mers. 

Martin Krajewski is a Bordeaux Rosé veteran; Château de Sours was one of the biggest producers in the Entre-Deux-Mers under his ownership until he sold the property in 2015. It’s no surprise that he has turned his hand to Rosé production at his Saint Emilion property or rather his winemaker daughter Charlotte has. He bought Clos Cantenac, a 6 ha Grand Cru of Saint Emilion in 2006. Although their Rosé is made in Saint Emilion, it can’t use the AOC as there is no rosé Saint Emilion appellation. 1.7 hectares of the vineyard are dedicated to the Rosé made from 100% handpicked Merlot. Unusually for a rosé, the wine is fermented in 30% oak and 70% in stainless steel and is aged like a top white wine on its lees for 5 months with regular batonnage or stirring.  Production is tiny, but they manage to make two labels:  L’Exuberance and Elegance. Elegance is vinified in a concrete egg, allowing continuous movement of the lees, adding structure with no risk of oxidation. This is niche production, just 8,000 elegant bottles are produced at prices that will give top Provencal rosés a run for their money. The 2020 will be released next month. Both bottles are Vinoloc glass stoppered, the Elegance champagne style bottle really lives up to its name.  

Château Loudenne in the Medoc is also a less traditional area for Rosé. The Loudenne Le Château Rosé is handpicked from less than a hectare of young Merlot vines, on cooler clay and limestone soils. The red grapes destined for the Rosé, certified HVE (High environmental Value) and now in their second year of conversion to organic agricluture, are picked at the same time as the whites. A direct press protected from oxidation and a low temperature fermentation in stainless steel, keeps the freshness and aromas. A short ageing on lees gives it an elegant mouthfeel.
The chateau also works with neighbouring properties to produce an organic range called ‘Les Jardins’. This blended Rosé is mainly Cabernet Franc with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, a longer skin contact in the press produces a slightly darker, very food friendly Rosé.

Also on the left bank, Château de Cérons is at the heart of the Cérons appellation, a tiny, sweet wine enclave in the Southern Graves. Being in the Graves, alongside the sweet white Cérons, the Chateau produces a dry white and red Graves under the chateau name but also a range called La Quille (skittle), local slang for bottle. In 2017 they added a Bordeaux Rosé to the range, (there is no Graves Rosé appellation) made from just half a hectare of Merlot of the HVE (High environmental Value) certified vineyard. The juice is ‘saignée’ from tanks of red after just a couple of hours of skin contact, then cool fermented in stainless steel. Bottle presentation is so important for Rosé, and the fun cut out label of this wine perfectly shows off the pale pink wine.

Rosé production in Bordeaux has doubled in the last 10 years, trending towards lighter wines, piggy backing on the fashion for Provence style Rosés. The Bordeaux version tends to be fruit driven, a great food wine as well as a perfect aperitif. As summer days lengthen, step out of your Rosé comfort zone and come over to Bordeaux.

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