The best rosé in the world?

25 Aug 2009 by Jancis Robinson

I said in the introduction to Tam Currin's recent review of Provençal rosés that the best pink wine to have come my way had been from Château d'Esclans, the estate set up by Sacha, son of Alexis Lichine, ex Château Prieuré-Lichine in Margaux.

Esclans was one of those producers, along with Trimbach of Alsace and Noval port, that found itself without a UK importer when Paragon Vintners was wound up by its owners Angostura earlier this year. I was delighted to see recently that Esclans is being imported by a more suitable outfit, upmarket wine merchant Goedhuis, who have just started selling the two Château d'Esclans 2008s that have so far been released, Whispering Angel (the most basic offering) and Esclans, and still have a few cases of the 2007 bottling of Les Clans. Also in the UK, Alexander Hadleigh of Southampton stocks the full range, including the new red Déesse, and there are several more listings in the UK, many more around the world (see below, or click on the Find Esclans wines link above).

At this point I'd like to make two observations. Firstly, the various Château d'Esclans bottlings (not Whispering Angel) are some of the very few rosés I have come across that seem to benefit from a year or so in bottle. The fruit concentration is quite enough to withstand a year or so while the astringency softens a little.

Secondly, Château d'Esclans nomenclature and labelling is exceptionally confusing. Apart from the most basic Whispering Angel offering (which also looks remarkably like the rest of the range), there is, in ascending order of price: Château d'Esclans tout court, a slightly superior bottling called Esclans, a very superior bottling called Les Clans, and finally, something really linguistically distinctive, an extremely expensive bottling called Garrus. (Perhaps they demand a premium for clarity of name.) All of them look virtually identical except for the appearance of a cuvée name, or not, in small letters on the label.

One further inconvenience: There is another (unrelated) property also near La Motte in the hills of the Var, Dom du Jas d'Esclans, which seems to be just as well distributed as Château d'Esclans (see Monty Waldin's notes on it in members' forum), so looking up stockists on seach engines such as winesearchauer.com can be a particularly laborious process. However, the Esclans rosés are very well distributed around the world, notably in the US (although there are some rather old vintages around - I'd much prefer a 2007 to a 2006 now), Germany and in Hong Kong, where the importer is the enterprising Altaya. You can also buy direct from www.chateaudesclans.com, where the eye-popping euro prices below have been taken from.

That said, the cork-finished, clear, vaguely flask-like bottles (sort of Grande Dame shaped) are very handsome, particularly so in the magnums that are something of a speciality. (I start to worry about how I would keep a magnum cool in high temperatures but perhaps Lichine's clients are expected to have magnum ice buckets and bottle coolers.)

Clearly the wines are made with enormous care, with everything that opens and shuts, very careful sorting, strict separation of free-run juice, ageing in temperature-controlled stainless steel or demi-muids, bâtonnage, etc, etc. Below are the details, and prices, of each cuvée as cited on the website.

WHISPERING ANGEL

VINEYARD
Selection of vines harvested at optimum maturity [of course! JR]
South exposure
Chalky-clay slopes

GRAPE VARIETIES
Grenache, Rolle (Vermentino), Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre

VINIFICATION
Grapes harvested in crates, only in the morning
Sorted-out twice
Maceration at 10-12 °C to extract aromas
Vinification in stainless-steel vats
Temperature controlled
Bâtonnages
This assemblage has been made without barrel fermentation to keep the freshness and all the fruit flavours

€14 online from the property

CHATEAU D'ESCLANS

VINEYARD
Vineyards selected all over the Château
27% come from 80-year-old Grenache
South exposure for the majority
Chalky-clay slopes

GRAPE VARIETIES
Grenache (39% 80 years old)
Cinsault, Rolle, and Syrah

VINIFICATION
Harvesting in small crates, only in the morning
Grapes are sorted twice
Desteming and pressing
Maceration at 10-12 °C to extract aromas
Temperature controlled
Bâtonnage
Partly vinified in demi-muids (500-litre barrels)

€23

ESCLANS

VINEYARD
Grapes come from the best plots around the Château
30- to 50-year-old vines
27% come from 80-year-old Grenache
South-east exposure for the majority
Chalky-clay slopes

GRAPE VARIETIES
Grenache (39% 80 year old) and Rolle

VINIFICATION
Harvesting only in the morning, in small crates
Grapes are sorted manually three times
Desteming and soft crushing
Maceration at 10-12 °C to extract aromas
Temperature controlled
Regular bâtonnage
Partly vinified in demi-muids (500- and 600-litre barrels)

€25

LES CLANS

VINEYARD
Selection of the best vineyards of the Château
South, south-east exposure
Chalky-clay slopes

GRAPE VARIETIES
Grenache (48% 80 years old), Rolle
100% free-run juice

VINIFICATION
Harvesting at optimum maturity [of course! JR]
(Grapes are individually tasted and selected in the vineyard)
Grapes are sorted twice
Desteming and soft pressing
Maceration at 10-12 °C to extract aromas
Only free-run juice selected, before pressing
Vinification exclusively in demi-muids (500-litre barrels)
For seven months with burgundian-style bâtonnage
Temperature controlled

€50

GARRUS

VINEYARD
Selection of the best vineyards of the Château
South, south-east exposure
Chalky-clay slopes

GRAPE VARIETIES
Assemblage of Grenache (48% 80 year old) and Rolle
100% free-run juice

VINIFICATION
Harvesting at optimum maturity
(Grapes are individually tasted and selected in the vineyard)
Harvesting in small crates, only in the morning
Grapes are sorted twice
Destemming and soft pressing
Maceration at 10-12 °C to extract aromas
Only free-run juice selected, before pressing
Vinification exclusively in demi-muids (500-litre barrels)
For eight months with burgundian-style bâtonnage
Temperature controlled

€80

DÉESSE (RED)

VINEYARD
Southern, south-eastern exposure
Chalky-clay slopes
Harvesting at optimum maturity (grapes are individually tasted and selected in the vineyard)

GRAPE VARIETIES
Grenache, Syrah

VINIFICATION
Harvesting by hand in small 10 kg crates, only in the morning. Grapes are sorted three times after a first selection in the vineyard: cluster by cluster manually, on a sorter/blower after destemming, and finally grape by grape manually on a vibrating table. Soft crushing. Maceration in thermo-controlled conical truncated vats for three to four weeks. Slow fermentation - maceration at 26°C to 28°C. Six months vinification in brand new French oak barrels.

€31

So here are my tasting notes. Note the cuvée I suggest is best value.

2008

Château d'Esclans, Whispering Angel Rosé 2008 Côtes de Provence 16.5 Drink 2009-10
This diffusion model is darker and bluer than the Château d'Esclans 2007 but a little paler than earlier vintages. Lively crisp nose and lots of frank fruit but not exceptionally different from any good Provençal rose. Lots of low-temperature-vinified fruit flavour, bouncing fruit and reasonable body. Cries out for an aioli. This would be the ideal house wine on a summer holiday in a luxurious setting. Pretty uncomplicated though. 13%
£61 per 6 bottles; £66 per 3 magnums duty paid, ex VAT Goedhuis

Château d'Esclans, Esclans Rosé 2008 Côtes de Provence 17+ Drink 2010
Confusingly, there's a bottling called just Château d'Esclans, without the Esclans on the label too. The Esclans, unlike the other bottlings, seems to have a black foil. Now we're starting to get a bit serious, with lovely lifted Provençal herbs on the nose. And it smells as though it's going to finish bone dry. Lovely texture and lift on the finish, though still quite tight and ever so slightly Chewy on the finish. You could drink it now but I would expect it to be better through 2010. Complete and well balanced. Not bad at all for the price - this bottling is probably the best buy of the lot - for next summer? 13.5%
£99 per 6 bottles; £109 per 3 magnums duty paid, ex VAT Goedhuis

Château d'Esclans, Les Clans Rosé 2008 Côtes de Provence 17.5 Drink 2010-12
Very slightly paler than the Esclans, but all of these are a pale to mid-salmon colour. Intense, very concentrated aroma with the richness and warmth of old Grenache on the front palate and a bit of Vermentino/Rolle lift on the finish. Nice wine, though I wouldn't pay twice as much as for Esclans. Still quite Chewy on the finish. 13%

Château d'Esclans, Garrus Rosé 2008 Côtes de Provence 18 Drink 2009-13
From 80-year-old Grenache vines. Seems the palest and most orange of the 2008s. Slightly more savoury and more obviously garrigue-influenced than Les Clans. Lovely creamy texture and a little bit of lemon cream on the finish. Reminds me of a white burgundy in some ways. Very persistent. This is a ridiculous price - €80 a bottle from the Esclans website as opposed to €50 for Les Clans, but at least it really does taste different. Though one does wonder who on earth buys this wine and how much notice they take of the taste. Because it is so intense, the light astringency on the finish is much less evident in this bottling than in the other 2008s. Hence my suggested drink dates. 13%

2007

Château d'Esclans, Esclans Rosé 2007 Côtes de Provence 17.5 Drink 2009-10
Tasting this just after the Garrus 2008, it's easy to see similarities on the nose. Very round and appealing but with quite enough acidity to keep it fresh. This really is a lapdog of a wine. It's just so easy and adoring of the palate. A little bit of alcohol on the finish when I tasted it not very fiercely chilled to see exactly what was there, although this disappeared once the wine was served at a lower temperature. Truly gulpable. If this were the house wine for a summer house party, I dread to think what would happen. 13.7%

Château d'Esclans, Les Clans Rosé 2007 Côtes de Provence 17 Drink 2009
Savoury, tight, intense nose - very focussed with some loose tendrils and then slight flabbiness. Not sure this is set for a very long life. Though as usual there is lovely texture and a hint of garrigue.13.6%
£199 per 3 magnums duty paid ex VAT Goedhuis

Château d'Esclans, Garrus Rosé 2007 Côtes de Provence 18.5 Drink 2009-13
Slightly paler than the other 2007s. Very fine and sinewy. Perhaps the most lifted and ethereal of all these wines. Serious structure and great underlying complexity. Really very good indeed. Truly serious wine that happens to be pink. Just shedding its youthful tannin. 13.6%

Château d'Esclans, Déesse 2007 Côtes de Provence 17.5 Drink 2009-15
This debut(?) vintage of the red is priced at €31 from their website. Dark, vital crimson. Very gently managed tannins. Lively and appetising. Obviously there are more top quality Grenache/Syrah reds around than there are such ambitious rosés but this is good wine! It has an attractive meaty/vegy quality about it without showing any reduction. Just the merest hint of rusty nails on the finish but appetising and pretty sophisticated. Now, how does the price compare to Château Prieuré Lichine Margaux?! Pretty much exactly the same as the 2004 or 2006 of this classed growth Margaux, from a merchant - ambitious indeed. But good wine... 13.6%

2006

Château d'Esclans, Rosé 2006 Côtes de Provence 16.5 Drink 2007-08
Very handsome magnum. This is the wine still being served on British Airways first class and in lounges in bottle size and not getting any younger. Please drink masses of it if you get a Chance! Now, to taste it in magnum for the first time... Not quite as subtle as subsequent vintages. Just hanging on in there but the component parts are starting to separate. The look of the bottle is more engaging than the taste of the wine. Drink up! 13.5%

Château d'Esclans, Les Clans Rosé 2006 Côtes de Provence 17 Drink 2008-09
Magnum. Much nervier and livelier than the Château d'Esclans 2006, though not as complex as subsequent vintages of Les Clans. Crisp and lively with an appealingly herby nose but winemaking has definitely improved over the years. 13.5%

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