TASTING WINE AT THE NEW YORK CITY WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL: “CHÂTEAU D’ESCLANS — THE ROSÉ LIFESTYLE OF SAINT-TROPEZ”

As Chevalier put it, he would walk us up the hill as we tasted the first four wines, beginning at the lowest elevation where the grapes for Whispering Angel are grown and ending at the highest elevation, the top of the hill, named Garrus (the Latin word for “bear,” which was chosen by the Romans because, apparently, the area was once filled with lots of wild bears).  As we ascended the hill, the age of the vines increased dramatically and the soil went from clay and gravel to very rocky and limestone. How did these factors manifest themselves in the wine?

As we moved toward the top-tiered Garrus, the vinification process—particularly where the juice was fermented and aged as well as the length of time that the wine was aged—changed radically. How were the wines different as a result?

This methodical approach enabled us tasters to recognize the role that specific factors (mentioned above and detailed in the chart) played in creating the final product, the wine in those six glasses that now begged to be tasted.

Whispering Angel (2012). Although described as the Château’s entry level rosé and comprised of “everything that is not perfect” at the estate, this is an elegant rosé and among my favorites of other similarly priced (and even higher priced) rosés. I would enjoy having a few more bottles in my cellar (and my daughter would be ecstatic!).

Its color, usually referred to as “rose petal,” is captivating. To maintain the pale color, the grapes (for Whispering Angel and all of the estate’s wines) are picked ripe and kept cool (with dry ice) from the time they are harvested (hand-picked at dawn, when it is cooler) and throughout the vinification process. Constant cold temperature and minimal contact with oxygen maintains the desired light color (as opposed to turning brown like, say, apples when exposed to air).

The nose, Chevalier and others described as bearing ripe fruit with hints of something floral, and licorice and spice (from the Rolle). The mouthfeel, to me, seemed silky; Chevalier noted that it has some “viscosity” (which I think he said was also due to the Rolle). The taste is so pleasant, so easy that the contents of the bottle will disappear quickly (as we saw in our earlier tasting). Dry, no astringency. The finish is satisfying and surprisingly long.

Because the grapes are picked very ripe, according to Chevalier, the wine is smooth, fleshy and dry but without the astringency and bite.

It is a light rosé, not surprisingly, for several reasons. The vines are young, producing twice as many bunches of grapes as the estate’s oldest vines. A higher yield of grapes enables more wine to be produced but the grapes themselves would have much less intense flavor. Any complexity—and to me, there is a surprising amount—probably comes from the additional blending grapes (see chart). To me, it is just what you would like to find in a classic Provence rosé.

Château d’Esclans (2012). This is the Reserve Rosé, one step up from Whispering Angel. We have begun the walk up the hill to a slightly higher elevation where temperatures are slight cooler, the soil has some limestone in it, and the vines from which the grapes come are twice as old as those that provide the grapes for Whispering Angel. To make this wine, only half of the juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks while the other half ferments in demi-muids (600 liter French oak barrels). This wine is aged (in tank and barrel) for six months (about twice as long as Whispering Angel). So you would expect to see a more interesting, complex wine (with a higher price tag)…and you do!

Chevalier pointed out that we see “legs” (which he linked to the glycerol levels, a naturally occurring by-product of alcoholic fermentation) and that the mouthfeel has a slight creaminess (which he explained was due to the introduction of a new variable, oak barrel fermentation of half the wine). He also suggested that we should experience a little “minerality” (due to the presence of limestone in the soil, in contrast to the soil of the vines used for Whispering Angel). I tasted more pronounced fruit (dark berries, to me). Quite different from Whispering Angel. Not as perky, more elegant.

This wine was very appealing to me but it may be interesting to note that my daughter did not initially like this rosé. I think that Château d’Esclans is so different from Whispering Angel and most other rosés from Provence that she was taken aback. When she returned to this wine, later in the tasting, she liked it very much.

Les Clans (2011). To me, this wine is qualitatively different wine from the first two wines we tasted. It is much more complex: richer, more layered, much creamier, and a longer, more interesting finish. Les Clans has aged twice as long as Château d’Esclans (which is why the most recent vintage is 2011—the 2012 is still aging!). The vines from which the grapes were picked are significantly older than the last wines and indeed older than the vines that provide the grapes for almost any other rosé. Having been aged in 100% oak barrels also adds another dimension—increased texture—not as pronounced in the previous rosé (or rosés from almost any other estate). “Unctuous” is the word often used to describe this quality. (Chevalier made clear that the oak barrels are not used to add any oak flavor!).

Wine Spectator described this wine as having “…mouthfilling flavors of dried cherry, currant and ripe pear…flanked by concentrated notes of allspice and dark chocolate.” The review goes on to say “The finish unfolds with layers of candied ginger, pineapple and cream that are unctuous and complex.” The connection between my palate and the language centers of my brain will never be developed enough to produce such a description, but I can say unequivocally that this wine is exceptionally pleasing to my palate (and I will keep tasting in an effort to build the connection!)

As Chevalier pointed out, one has the distinct impression that “this is not a rosé.” It is certainly not what we think of as a rosé. Whatever it is, both my daughter and I really liked it.

Garrus (2011). In my earlier TMT post, I discuss our tasting of this wine. Here, second time around for me, this tasting reinforced how much I like this wine. At the risk of exaggerating, it is a veritable explosion of sensation in the mouth and nose.

Remember that Lichine’s goal with Garrus is to produce the best rosé in the world. He starts with grapes harvested from vines that are at least 80 years old and grown in a soil that will bring the best out in these grapes. To put this in perspective, 10-12 bunches of grapes are produced from each of these vines compared to 20-22 bunches from the youngest vines used to make Whispering Angel, making for very concentrated flavors. According to Lichine (in a video-taped interview with James Suckling) with longer roots that run deeper into the soil and through layers of the rocky limestone soil, searching for water and food, the upshot will be increased minerality, flavors, tastes, and general complexities in the grapes.

With Garrus, we are tasting wine made from grapes grown at the highest elevation (300 meters). As elevation increases, temperatures become cooler, which makes for sharper acidity and wines that are easier to pair with food. Garrus is particularly versatile in this area.

Patrick Léon, world-renowned wine maker in both Burgundy and Bordeaux, has years of experience as well as the latest generation equipment. He can employ state-of-the-art procedures from picking the grapes to bottling the wine but, nonetheless, it seems to me that this is a hand-crafted rosé.

If Les Clans doesn’t taste like what we expect rosé to taste like, Garrus really doesn’t seem like a rosé. With one’s eyes closed—or, as Chevalier said, in one of Reidel’s black glasses—no one would guess this was a rosé . I am not alone in saying that it tastes like a buttery white burgundy.

What made this particular tasting so interesting was that having Les Clans and Garrus right next to one another enabled us compare the same grape varietals, in the same proportions and aged for the same length of time, but differing in terms of age of vines, elevation, soil and proportion of new oak barrels. In comparison to the other two wines, the color of Les Clans and Garrus is much paler (due, as I understand it, to the long aging in oak). It is striking how so much flavor can be derived from those grapes—Grenache is a very dark “inky” grape—and how pale the color of wine is. The Garrus was better, but the differences were nuanced: more layers of flavors and a perfect feel (which, I think, means a perfect balance of acidity and fruit). As I wrote in the earlier post, I found it bedazzling. (But, I want to note that I would be very happy with a bottle of Les Clans, too!)

The last two wines we tasted were the two earlier vintages of Les Clans and Garrus. Unlike almost all other rosés, these two rosés can benefit from aging. Chevalier said that Les Clans may stay in the cellar for three years and Garrus for four years. (Wine Spectator suggested that the 2011 Garrus could be enjoyed through 2017!) To me, the differences were subtle and, for me, impossible to articulate except perhaps to say that age had mellowed the Garrus. I had a slight preference for the 2010 Les Clans…maybe….oh darn, I need to taste these two again!

This was a terrific tasting that, as I said above, was both fun and very informative. It was fascinating to experience—in the nose and the mouth—how the wines changed as we walked up the hill to Garrus. That is, how basically the same two grape varietals can change under different conditions. As my daughter said, “Rosés have much greater depth than I had realized and Paul’s excellent presentation demonstrated how rosés really do have the same potential of complexity as reds and whites.”