LE ROSÉ

For a long time, we debated about whether we even wanted to make a rosé – and this was way before it became trendy to ‘drink pink’. Our concern was that none of us enjoyed the vapid easy-drinking rosés that were prevalent at the time - made as an afterthought to well-made whites and reds. It’s an economical way to use up extra juice left over from managing the relationship between the skins [which contain much of the color, flavor and complexity] and the newly extracted juice [which is just sugar water without complexity or flavor].

We asked ourselves if there might be a way of making rosé that actually had the characteristics of the wines we all enjoyed: complexity and nuance of flavor; good mid-palate and length; a nice bite; an interesting aging potential; a taste of the terroir and natural freshness... A pretty tall order for a small, new, winery! Most traditional rosés are made relying on the 'saignée' methods - [drafted by ‘bleeding’ the juice from the popped grapes in the tank, then syphoning the juice out quickly to avoid most of the contact between the grape skin and the juice]. This method is practical and economical but does not allow for much complexity in the wine. It then takes a lot of tinkering and use of chemical-based products to make these rosés become interesting and flavorful.

The only way for us to aspire realistically to fine rosé production was to bite the bullet and invest in a dedicated pneumatic press. We balked at the expense and the risk, but finally decided it was worth it - and indeed it opened a whole new world of possibilities! After several years of experimentation and continually tweaking our blend of grapes, we were thrilled that we ended up with the best of several worlds - our high-altitude fruit, and the addition of Vermentino, allowed us to maintain natural freshness without having to resort to tartaric acid [which is typically held responsible for the short shelf life of most rosés]. We found that putting 20% of the rosé in oak barrels for three months added some lovely sticky texture, making the wine particularly well suited for food pairing all year long – yet still refreshing enough to be sipped poolside or on a terrace on a bright sunny day.

Finally, by deconstructing the aromatic curve on rosé, we identified the typically bitter finish as coming from the commonly used PVPP [Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone, a micro plastic] as a fining agent to clarify the fermented juice. We figured out instead how to fine the rosé with ground organic vegan green pea powder as a healthy and natural alternative. We kept hoping that the result of all these efforts would be greater than the sum of its parts, and that year a group of revered critics selected Chêne Bleu as the best rosé in the world, and the greatest value in the top ten to boot. This confirmed to us once again that there are no secrets or substitutes to hard work, high-quality ingredients and exacting processes.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Ideal with seafood and shellfish, but also a perfect accompaniment to lightly spiced dishes, summer salads, or tender lamb. Serve at 14°C. Aging potential: 5 years.