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Advertisement Feature: The versatility of Rhône

Readers of Harpers need no reminding that rosé is on a roll, with thirsty Brits buoying up sales and even digging a little deeper into their pockets to spend up on this hugely popular style. Arguably, though, much more could be done on lists and shelves to broaden out the pink category with a medley of differing hues and styles, encouraging more experimentation and – in these challenging times – delivering more value across the pricing ladder.

Step up the Rhône Valley which, with its wealth of appellations delivering diverse styles, is superbly placed as a source of almost every style of rosé imaginable. These range from lighter pink quaffers by way of fuller, food-friendly cuvées to the rich, almost red wine weight of the famous Tavel. 

• Read more: France Report: Life on the edge
  

All of this was on show at the recent La Vie en Rhône ‘rosé Immersion tastings in Birmingham and Edinburgh, where global rosé expert Elizabeth Gabay MW was on hand to guide sommeliers and indie buyers through some of the diverse best the region collectively has to offer.

Split into two flights, with Fruity & Delicate and Fruity & Full-bodied wines on show, Gabay explained how, “if the wine is well made, following the grapes and the terroir, you can clearly taste the difference” – as with quality white and red counterparts. 

Harpers joined the Edinburgh tasting at Wedgwood restaurant, where a healthy throng of somms and merchants representing many of the top places had gathered – including Fhior, Eleanore, The Black Grape, Leftfield, Duck & Waffle, The Sipping Point and others besides – to learn more over a tasting and working lunch. 

Right Vs left

To add to the relaxed but informative event, two wines were offered blind, in blind-tasting glasses, one Right Bank and one Left, to see who had concentrated on the two flights that tended to feature wines from one or the other to fit the prescribed style. 

With the caveat that she was generalising, Gabay explained: “Right Bank Rhône is flatter land, with more galets roulés (or ‘pudding stones’), much hotter and tending to be slightly bigger, more concentrated wines… while Left Bank Rhône, going up into the hills, tends to give fresher, more mineral, more saline character”. 

It was a harder call than expected, because both blind wines showed a lot of complexity, but most chose correctly, having already primed their palates via the diverse flights chosen by Gabay. 

“There’s a lot of misperception [with rosé],” Gabay added, using Tavel as an example to illustrate a key point of the day – namely that the grape varieties have a big influence on the character of the rosés, many of which are also blends, defined by a given appellation. 

“A lot of people say that Tavel is bigger, oakier, made with richer grapes, but in actual fact Tavel has a high percentage of white grapes in the blend.”

She then went on to remind the assembled tasters that Cinsault and Grenache Noir lie at the heart of much southern French rosé. 

“One way I like to describe Cinsault in a rosé is to think of Edwardian lace, which is quite thick, quite structural, but also quite delicate, and Cinsault rosé can give that wideness of fruit, delicacy but also quite a bit of power,” she said.

What then followed was a fascinating exposé of how various varieties influenced style, helping to account for – along with the aforementioned differences in terroir – the diversity that us tasters had found across the samples. 

Syrah, for example, gives structure and power, typically only used in small quantities, while Carignan gives freshness and zip, and Mourvèdre helps to bring out a taste of minerally terroir. 

Flexibility and compatibility

As the tasting wrapped up, it was time for lunch, where restaurateur Paul Wedgwood had prepared a seven-course tasting menu, designed to show the flexibility and compatibility of various styles with a range of quite complex and very different dishes.

Examples included a fresh AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet with a smoked haddock scone; medium-bodied AOC Côtes du Rhône with trout and scallop ceviche; and a fuller AOC Costières de Nîmes with goat’s cheese mousse, honey and thyme.

Given the subtle power of the flavours in several of the dishes, the rosés performed their pairing duties well, ranging from crisper, fresh and minerally styles that offset the course, to richer, fruitier numbers that complemented the complexity on the plate. 

Talk then turned to how to break consumers out of the ‘straightjacket’ of pale, light styles of rosé, offering refreshments in the moment, to encourage them to explore more varied and complex styles. 

According to James Murdoch, sommelier at Eleanore: “For me it’s good to know that there are rosés from the south of France that have a little more expression, the bigger wines towards the end were really interesting.”

Phil Provart, head sommelier at Fhior, added: “People are now beginning to take more interest in rosé, in different styles. Colour is not your enemy! And Mourvèdre is your friend… The wines that stood out for me had deeper colour, or among the lighter ones, they had Mourvèdre in them.”

All in all, this rosé Immersion was a real eye-opener, revealing just how versatile Rhône rosés can be and persuading many present to return with renewed interest to the rosé section of their lists, with the care, love and attention typically lavished on the whites and reds. 

• Elizabeth Gabay MW
• rhône
• La Vie en Rhône