Rose wines are becoming ever more popular, and that's why 18 of the 650 wine producers in Provence, France, came to Boston last week to show off their best roses. They set up a tasting in the South End's Gaslight Brasserie du Coin.
It was the first annual Provence in the City in Boston, hosted by Vins de Provence, and we were asked to meet some of the producers following their previous stops in Los Angeles and New York, and taste their roses before they all headed back to France.
This is the sixth year that the category of rose is growing faster than red or white. U.S. retail sales of imported rose wines grew by 22 percent in 2010, and exports of rose and red wines from Provence jumped 50 percent. This makes dry rose one of America's fastest growing wine categories.
Provence is the birthplace of dry rose wine and remains the world's leading rose regions. Most of the producers we met have been in the business their entire lives, often taking over from their fathers after learning the business from within the family.
The domaine of Chateau de Pourcieux, for example, has belonged to descendants of the Marquis d"Espagnet since 1760. While many Provence vinters produce reds and whites as well as rose, this company produces only rose. Michel d'Espagnet took over the reins in 1985, further refining and developing the stock and adding modern vinification processes to make it a winner at annual French wine fairs. When he brought his Cotes de Provence rose to the U.S. for the first time in 1990, the summer residents of the Hamptons, in particular, took to it and increased its popularity. "Rose is fashionable in nightclubs," said Michel d'Espagnet, whose winery produces 80,000 bottles per year.
Sacha Alexis Lichine, owner of the beautiful Chateau D'Esclans located 30 miles north of St. Tropez, took over the wine business from his father Alexis, one of the 20th Century's most influential wine figures, at the age of 29. But the business was in Bordeaux, and Sacha was drawn to the Grenache grapes located in the Provence region for their capability of producing delicate bouquets without sweetness; his roses are dry and have no sugar in them. He moved the business to Provence and bought the beautiful chateau, which had lain idle after being the residence of the Earls of Provence and the Minister of War under louis XV, Jacques Auxile Verrion. He worked with Mouton Rothschild to gain experience in winemaking, keeping Burgundian wine-making techniques he had learned. The "Whispering Angel" rose is delicate and fruity, harvested only in the morning, made without barrel fermentation but vinified in stainless steel vats to keep its freshness and all the fruit flavors. Some of the vines are 30 years old, some are 80 years old, all are in soil rich in clay and chalk, and they range from $18 to $80 per bottle, depending on the age of the vines. His roses have a Burgundian hazelnut nose. Monsieur Lichine likes to suggest foods that go with his roses, such as scallops with bacon, or lobster. Among the notable U.S. restaurants that buy his roses are California's French Laundry.
Serge Gombert brought his wines from Chateau Thuerry, in the Provence town of Villecroze, to the tasting. "The history of Domain Thuerry and that of the vines blend together since two centuries before Jesus Christ," according to Gombert. whose wines have not yet been imported to the U.S. Half of his vines produce rose, 40 percent red and 10 percent white, for a total of 170,000 cases per year. Templier mansion, home to the winery, is set in the regional park of Haut Var-Verdon beside Roman ruins, and the vines are in the characteristic clay, chalk and limestone. The winery is one hour from both Nice and Marseille, and features an ultramodern cellar with wooden vats. The grapes are harvested and selected by hand, and the resulting wine is delicious. By next year, when Vins de Provence returns to Boston, Gombert hopes to be selling his smooth roses to an importer here in our town.
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