A Taste of Provence

Jean Philippe Turgeon was in St. John’s last week to present wines from three estates in Provence, France at Dialog Wines‘ “Yes Way, Rosé” event.

Six rosés, two reds, and one white wine were on the tasting menu. This ratio of pink to red to white roughly corresponds to the overall production of wine in Provence where rosé is king at well over 80% of all wines. The region produces 40% of rosé wine in France and nearly 6% of world production.

Rosé wines (along with sparkling) are enjoying strong growth in sales for the past few years, which plays well for Provence. The trend is particularly prominent in the United States and to a lesser extent in Canada. Perhaps we have held back a little with memories of the old pink plonk that all the liquor boards used to offer, or maybe we just need more summery weather!

As the home of the French Riviera it’s easy to associate summer wines with Provence. But Provence is actually rather rugged territory as it hosts foothills of the Alps and other mountainous features. The terrain allows for a wide variety of terroirs with influence from slope-facings, sun, altitude, and sea.

Rosé is typically quite fresh with good acidity, and light to medium body. Bouquet depends on the grape types used in the wine, primarily showing fruit flavours extracted from the grape skins along with some colour. The skins of red grapes are left in contact with the clear juice for a several hours to a few days providing flavour and colour components. These wines can give you red berry flavours in a light wine with little tannin. Besides serving as a nice sip on a hot day, rosé also is a good match with many dishes, including charcuterie, terrines, tapenade, grilled white meats, salads, and fish.

Here are my notes on the wines:

Romance 2016, Château de Berne ($19.95) – Grenache/Cinsaut – light aroma of strawberries and similar red berries, delicious mouth-watering acidity. ♥♥

Emotion 2016, Château des Bertrands ($19.95) – Cinsaut/Grenache – wonderful forward freshness, red berry, easy sipping. ♥♥

Elegance 2016, Château des Bertrands ($24.95) – Grenache/Cinsaut – more full palate; melon, peach, and pear flavours; invites you to have another sip. ♥♥+

Château Saint-Roux 2016 ($21.95) – Grenache/Cinsaut/Cabernet Sauvignon – higher altitude vineyard which is certified organic; lots of character and even a touch of tannin from the Cab contribution; good acidity. ♥♥

Château de Berne 2016 ($26.95) –  80% Grenache/20% Cinsaut with 50% on lees – Decanter: 95 – mouth-filling flavours, red berry and some citrus, elegant, good finish. ♥♥♥

Initiale 2016, Château de Berne ($34.95) – Wine Enthusiast: 92 – Single vineyard, Select lots – good acidity, subdued red fruit, full in the mouth. ♥♥♥

Estate White, Château de Berne 2013 ($27.99) – Semillon/Vermentino, oak aging and lees contact – very ripe fruit with good acidity, nuts, minerals, salty, enticing aroma, very rich on the palate, wonderful structure. ♥♥♥+

Estate Red, Château de Berne 2013 ($27.99) – 70% Syrah/30% Cab Sauv – Decanter: 93 – forward sandy tannins but not bitter, good dark fruit character, just ripe, tasty, ageable. ♥♥+

Estate Red, Château des Bertrands 2015 ($25.95) – 85% Syrah/15% Cab Sauv – big black cherry, good tannins, bright fruit, touch of herbs. ♥♥

Contact Dialog Wines to make a private order (today only!).