Photo courtesy of Chateau Minuty
Stealing from Shakespeare is enough to make anyone blush, but in this case a little wordplay with the English language’s leading wordsmith seems appropriate.
The Bard of Avon, in Romeo and Juliet, wrote “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet was referring, of course, to the flower as a symbol for her lover Romeo. We might apply similar verbiage in describing the flavor of a fine rosé wine, which might taste as sweet, as acidic, as flowery or as robust as the grape varietal and its winemaker allows.
Rosés, known as rosados in Spain, rosotos in Italy, and blush wines in the marketing-conscious United States, are produced from red wine grapes whose skin is left macerating with the juice after crushing. Contact with the skin creates the color, which can range from pale blush to an almost vibrant hot-pink hue, depending on the grape and length of exposure.
Most red grape varieties have been used to produce rosés, the most popular of which is Grenache. But vintners also have tried Pinot Noir, Malbec, Zinfandel, Tempranillo and other varietals because of the unique flavors they bring. Characteristics can range from bone dry (more European in style) to almost sweet (most prevalent in the United States), with iterations in between.
Brighter, More Flavorful
The right wine for any season is always the one you enjoy most, but a chilled rosé tippled from a delicate stem on a soft summer afternoon is a brighter and often more flavorful alternative to one more tired round of chardonnay, oaked or otherwise. French winemaker Chateau Minuty, located in Côtes de Provence, produces some of the finest roses available, fully flavored with a touch of exotic Saint-Tropez, the home to the winery’s vineyard just a half-mile from France’s Côte d’Azur.
Chateau Minuty, one of Provence’s original 18 classified growths, is a local favorite along the French Riviera. The winemakers lean heavily on the area’s old-vine Grenache grapes which, when properly handled, can result in fully flavored wines of aromatic complexity. If there is such a thing as a “luxury rosé,” the Minuty wines fit the bill.
The chateau, recognized by the French government for its sustainable farming practices, currently exports four rosés to the U.S. Escalating in prices, each is better than the one preceding it.
• M de Minuty Rosé 2019 ($23) is the standard-bearer of Côtes de Provence style. Blended from hand-picked Grenache (50%), Cinsault (30%) and Syrah (20%) grapes, the light-bodied wine packs a fresh and lively profile perfect for enjoying on a warm summer’s day.
• Chateau Minuty Prestige Rosé 2019 ($30), produced from 25-year-old vines, raises the stakes another step. Comprised of Grenache (60%), Syrah (20%), Cinsault (10%) and Tibouren (10%), Prestige Rosé offers a flowery nose redolent of melons and red fruits, with flavors of citrus and a touch of minerality from its mica schist soils, a unique and appealing nuance.
• Rose et Or Rosé 2019 ($55) trades on the characteristics of grapes and soils along with the maritime influences of the vineyard’s proximity to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. The wine leans heavily on the Grenache grape (80%) along with Cinsault (20%) to produce a rosé with intense floral aromas with hints of citrus and a palate of peach and pink grapefruit.
• The Chateau Minuty 281 Rosé 2019 ($90) is the winemaker’s pièce de reésistance. Produced from Grenache grapes (90%) grown in a single vineyard and blended with Syrah (10%), 281 offers the best characteristics of the previous wines elevated to their highest levels with a palate of significant depth. The name 281 refers to the Pantone color of the blue glaze that drips down the bottle’s side.
The winemakers believe the color is redolent of the Côte d'Azur’s blue seas and skies. We couldn’t agree more.
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