Château Routas Coteaux Varois en Provence Rosé 2021

Reviews of 2019 vintage -
"Peach, strawberry, redcurrant, talc. Fresh. Soft and nicely weighted, with a little blood orange tang in the mix. Crisp, but not too crisp, with a good long finish. Balanced. Typical and very good. All round nice wine. Drink 2020-2022."
93 points, Gary Walsh – The Wine Front

“Another beautiful bottle of rose with slice-apple, peach and light stone character. It’s medium-to-full -bodied with pretty fruit and a bright finish. Lots of flint and stone undertones to the fruit. This may be the best value rosé in the world.”

91 points, James Suckling

On the cool uplands of northern Provence, at 250 to 270m, a blend of Cinsault and Grenache with a touch of old vine fruit from Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are grown to make the Routas rosé. The clay and limestone soils further emphasise the freshness and acidity, and result in a long slow maturation season, and harvest dates around a month later than those on the coast.

A combination of south east and south west exposure gives full phenolic ripening. The majority of the blend comes from 10-year-old Cinsault vines, which are fermented at a cool 14oC in inox to preserve the fruit character. The second major variety is Grenache, a mix of old vine (50 years on the highest slopes) and young vines. The old vines are slower to ferment, but allows the natural fruit of the old vines to show their intense character.

The younger vines bring out the ripe peach and redcurrant fruit, the classic Peach Melba of cooler climate Grenache rosé. A touch of depth and structure is contributed by a small percentage of old vine Cabernet Sauvignon and mature Syrah. The Syrah in the 2020 vintage was picked slightly earlier than usual due to rain in mid-September, providing fresh acidity while the Cabernet in the third week of September. Cabernet gives a touch of red currant fruit and mineral structure to balance the fruity floral character of the Cinsault and Grenache.