With 305,805 posts and counting, the Instagram hashtag #ros茅allday sums up how the selfie generation has embraced pale pink Provencal. But has it opened up an opportunity for gutsier ros茅s from further afield?
Provence ros茅 at its best is refreshing, mineral and citrusy, with a complex bouquet of red fruits and the famous Provence garrigue 鈥� a heady blend of lavender, thyme, rosemary and juniper, that grows wild along the Mediterranean coast. But too often it focusses on that photogenic paleness at the expense of flavour. Opting for fleeting contact with skins and highly reductive winemaking techniques to preserve freshness and reduce colour, while limiting the opportunity for more complex flavours to develop.
But the very success of Provence ros茅 could be paving the way for other, bolder ros茅s from elsewhere. Where lists would once have had maybe two ros茅s, an entry level and an upsell to Provence, they will now have three, with one from somewhere a bit different, like Chile or Portugal.
Looking just beyond Provence to the region of Languedoc-Roussillon, you can find ros茅s that are fuller-bodied and more fruit driven, but still dry and (relatively) pale. Ros茅 from places like Minervois can be a similar price point to Provence but you can get a lot more for your money. The wines are great with food 鈥� perhaps better than Provence? 鈥� more versatile, and can be a bit more serious.
See below for two of our favourite ros茅s from Languedoc-Roussillon
Domaine Lafage
Jean-Marc Lafage makes ros茅 in Roussillon where he describes the 鈥渕osaic of terroirs鈥� he has to work with. 鈥淚n a very small place (50 km2),鈥� he explains, 鈥測ou can find so many different altitudes, soils and exposures鈥�. The altitude allows him to grow at cooler temperatures, meaning grapes 鈥渢ake longer to mature, which gives less alcohol and more flavour complexity鈥�. But the complexity and richness of his wines also comes down to the winemaking. 鈥淲e use stalks in the winemaking process for added freshness,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd the ageing is done more like a red wine with some lees maceration for increased body and complexity.鈥�
Our favourite: Domaine Lafage Miraflors Cotes du Roussillon Ros茅 2017
Chateau Maris
Bertie Eden biodynamically farms his grapes in Minervois, and makes a range of wines from traditional, regional grapes. His Ros茅 de Nymphe is delicate and refreshing, but Bertie feels the 鈥渆mphasis on Grenache gives more depth and succulence than a Provence style鈥�. He believes ros茅 deserves to be taken more seriously as a category because of its 鈥渁bility to age, and sustain many different elevage techniques鈥�. He is positive about changing attitudes to the category, noticing restaurants increasing the choice of ros茅s available on their lists, as well as ros茅 being drunk 鈥渕ore and more with food, rather than just on its own鈥�.
Meeche Hudd from the Scarlet Hotel in Cornwall is a big fan of Chateau Maris Ros茅, saying 鈥淭he ethos of this vineyard sits so well with what we believe at the Scarlet. The passion that goes into making the wine certainly shows through when you taste it. We love to explore different wines here and are always open to tasting new wines from different regions.鈥�
Our favourite:听Chateau Maris听Ros茅 de Nymphe Grenache 2017
Fancy your ros茅 from further afield? Explore the spectrum of ros茅 further in our new article, here.听
*Please drink responsibly
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Sophia Godyn
From her uni wine 'tasting' society to studying for her WSET, Sophia has long had a fondness for all things vinous. So after a few years developing her marketing skills in the financial services industry, she decided to mix business with pleasure by moving into the wine trade. Now she writes, instagrams and podcasts about 黑料网’s portfolio of wines and the fascinating people who make them.