So , let me bring you some news from the world of wines, one of my dearests hobbies. An ever ending story of good wines over the years and trying to bring it alive in my blog lately. Wine is part of my culture and we take as a family tradition with meals, it is not considered alcoholic beverages as some might tell you. I could not imagine eating without wine on the table! And good wine that is. Therefore, here is my latest wine news of France.
The right time and the right wine for these coming warmer days in my favorites spots on Earth. The Rosés are coming up, enjoy them!
This Great Rosé Year 2012 with aromas of redcurrant and black fruits, fresh and delicious, displays the right notes to seduce. It expresses, on its own, the artisanal know-how of the Maison Bollinger, with vinification in small old oak barrels, riddling and disgorging entirely carried out by hand. It is magical as a Bollinger! It is also a tribute to the terroir of this region which once owed its fame to the reds, where it is said that the Pinots Noir did not leave King Henry IV indifferent. Only this grape variety was planted on the unique 4 hectare plot that Jacques Bollinger created at the beginning of the 20C, the famous Côte aux Enfants (or children’s hillside). On this land, one of the Grand Cru sites, the vines have been cultivated organically since 2009. The Great Rosé Year is the fruit of these crossovers of life and the meeting between a vintage champagne of excellence and a red wine which is no less so, whose rarity shows the house’s expertise in Pinot noir. The promise of a great wine to keep is born.
A very slight bitterness at the end evoking saline notes, the Rosé wines from Ïle de Porquerolles have this characteristic. Because this “mineral final” offers a first-class commercial argument to promote the wine production of the largest and most continental of the three islands of Hyères ;this “salinity” is due in truth to the balance between sandy soils of the plains, shale on the foothills and, in a temperate climate, neither hot weather nor frost. In the former mas (farm house); Édouard Carmignac inaugurated in 2018 a contemporary art center that bears his name, the Carmignac Foundation.
Since 2014 the rehabilitation of the 35 hectares of vines in one piece that surround the building. A certified organic farm since 1997 and won step by step on the pine forest with the approval of the Port Cros-Porquerolles National Park. Created in 1963, the public establishment encouraged the establishment of vineyards on the island in the late 1980s to serve as a firewall. Divided between the plains of Notre Dame and that of Brégançonnet, the Domaine de l’Île (35 ha) in organic farming since 2015 and sold in October 2019 to the fashion house Chanel, was maintained in this spirit by the winegrower and sailor poet Sébastien Le Ber after having inherited it from his mother, herself having inherited it from her father, François-Joseph Fournier historical figure of the island .Three vineyards for a rock of 12.54 km² including 30 km of coastline. Three properties ,80 ha in all, where the rosés prance in the lead. Depending on the area, up to 70% of production. About 70,000 bottles per year for La Courtade with the ambition to double by 2021; 60,000 bottles for the first vintage signed Chanel at Domaine de l’Île on twenty hectares in 2019 . And among the Perzinsky, who produce 60,000 bottles of three colors annually, “meal rosés” dominate.
Facing the Pointe de Giens, ten minutes by boat from the port of the Tour Fondue, Porquerolles is a wild and splendid rock where each summer, hundreds of thousands of visitors disembark by day by sea shuttles that accompany them to the continent every evening. The island returned to its calm, its 200 inhabitants, its bowlers and their immutable rituals on the Place d’Armes. North side facing the continent, Porquerolles offers a series of Caribbean coves. Blond sand, turquoise waters, maritime pines. In the south, towards the open sea, a more austere face beaten by the east wind. Shale cliffs, steep paths, impressive drop offs. And everywhere, wild vegetation like on the first day, arbutus, myrtle, thyme, heather, cork oaks, fig trees etc.
The story goes that in 1912, François-Joseph Fournier was affected. An adventurer of Belgian origin who made his fortune in Mexico, he deposited 1,100,000 francs on the table to offer this comma of Mediterranean land as a wedding present to his young wife, Sylvia Johnston-Lavis. Overnight, the couple became owners of the island, which was partially devastated by a fire. Fournier’s ambition is twofold. Transform Porquerolles into a state-of-the-art agricultural operation (citrus crops, market gardening, livestock and vines) and develop an autonomous social utopia there. Descendants of Napoleonic sailors or old soldiers who have received authorization to settle on the island after the fall of the Emperor, benefit there from his arrival in terms of health (dispensary), education, purchasing (cooperative), housing, employment ,Paternalistic management shared with his wife. Strong personality, she gives him 7 children, including 6 girls, dreams Porquerolles in a refuge for fashionable personalities, develops hotels there, and does not hesitate to force the passage near the most beautiful establishments of the coast, such as Negresco in Nice, to distribute its wines there. So take a look at Porquerolles and its Rosé wines!!!
In recent years, the popularity of rosé has exploded with global consumption which rose from 18.3 million hectoliters in 2002 to 25.6 million in 2018, according to the World Rose Observatory. A record year to date with a production of 26.4 million hectoliters, or 10% of the wines produced in the world.
France leads world production with 7.5 million hectoliters in 2018, or 28% of world production of rosé. The United States has, in recent years, surpassed Spain and appears in second place on the podium with 5 million hectoliters produced in 2018. Spain claims 4.4 million hectoliters and mainly offers rosés entry-level, of which France is one of the main importers. Italy maintains its rank among the world’s leading producers of rosé, despite production halved over the past ten years. The “new” producing countries, mainly in the southern hemisphere, the volume produced has increased over the last ten years: multiplied by 2.5 in South Africa, by 4.7 in Chile and from 60 to 180% in Romania , Austria, Hungary, Moldova and Switzerland.
In 2019, France exported 38% of its production, which makes it the leading exporter of rosé wine in terms of value. It is also the leading importer of rosé in volume (2.8 million hectoliters) and the third in terms of value. This is explained by the fact that it mainly imports entry-level Spanish rosé wines. Today, four out of 10 bottles of rosé consumed worldwide are imported.
Rosés represent 90% of Provence wines, of course and known for that. They are distinguished by their quality much more than by their quantity. In 2018, Provence produced 4.2% of the world volume of rosé, but 12.6% of the value of world trade. But, in terms of volume produced, the first French region is Languedoc(Occitanie), with 320 million bottles, producing twice the size of Provence (PACA) and three times more than the Loire (Centre Val de Loire et Pays de la Loire). The regions have specialized, the Loire producing rather a light and sweet rosé, consumed by a young audience, while Provence specializes in gourmet wines and often intended for export.
In 2019, 46% of French rosé exports are destined for the USA, which is also the leading importer of French wines and spirits. Rosé accounts for only 5% of wine consumption in the United States, compared to 26% in France. American tariff laws on French products had a big impact on wine imports, a drop of 3% was recorded for rosés from Provence. France exports 14% of its rosé to the United Kingdom, which comes in second place for imports of French rosé. Brexit could nevertheless have an impact. Germany concentrates 5% of French rosé exports. This country is today the third importer as well as the third consuming country, with 6% of world consumption. China is today the third customer of French wines. Indeed, rosé in China, and in several other countries, is still associated with a rather young and feminine public and with an average quality compared to Champagne for example. In Australia, rosé consumption is very low in 2018, with only 0.5 liters consumed per capita . France being Australia’s second largest supplier of wine, one can only imagine a development in demand for French rosé wines. More info on the World Rose Observatory here: World Rose Wines Observatory
Some of my latest, this year Rosés and well recommended are:
Domaine de la Source from Bellet. Caressing, tasty, complex, juicy, with body, notes of liquorice, anise, iodized.
Domaines OTT from Château Romassan, Bandol. Fresh vivacity, gourmet aftertaste, spicy, salivating, infinitely long. Perfectly balanced.
Commanderie de Peyrassol from Clos Peyrassol, Côtes de Provence. Organic superb, complex, the wine stretches with brilliant sweetness until the finish, long, slightly saline.
Domaine Tariquet from Marselan. Crunchy, fond, easy to drink, happy to live to make us happy, an ode to gluttony.
Château Calissanne from Clos Victoire, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence. A bright, full-bodied, round wine with citrus and red fruit flavors, great final tension.
Minuty Prestige from Côtes de Provence. Beautiful sweetness for this pale, luminous, round rosé, marked by fruit, freshness. Long and saline finish.
And something to keep in mind for myself too in Bordeaux!
The President and CEO of Angélus, Premier grand cru Classé A of Saint-Émilion, inaugurates on July 10, place de la Bourse,Bordeaux , the Le Gabriel, revised and updated as she imagined to explore the association of food and wine that is so important to her. At the same time, bar, bistro, place of continuous catering, from brunch to dinner, and Le Gabriel caterer opens its doors for the summer, but it will be necessary to wait until September 2020 ,to discover the gourmet restaurant and its 35 covers. More info here: Le Gabriel at Bordeaux
Well here is all for now folks. Thanks for reading and sharing the world of wines with me. Any suggestion I can give you or comment are welcome. In Vino Veritas!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 