Back in my restaurant days, it was always important to manage rosé inventory carefully, lest you end up in January or February of a new year with a lot of “last year’s” rosés in the cellar—seeing as a new crop is being readied to ship. Every year around this time, rosés from the previous year’s vintage (in this case, 2017) start landing on our shores, and everyone goes rosé crazy in preparation for the summer, and then…the process repeats itself in a year.
And while there are plenty of rosés that are indeed at their best the summer following the vintage, benchmark rosés like this one from Domaine de Terrebrune are ill-served, in my opinion, by such haste. I typically hold on to the best rosés at least until Thanksgiving, and I was thrilled to re-taste this 2016 from Terrebrune recently and find it just starting to blossom. This wine has become so popular that it is an allocated item, so for any 2016 to be available at all was something of a surprise to us—albeit a very pleasant one! Now entering its “second spring” and really starting to sing, this is the rosé you want to usher in spring (and summer, if you manage to keep some around that long). We can offer up to a case per customer today, and if you’re at all doubtful of rosé’s capacity to age, this one will set you straight!
As I’ve said before, Terrebrune is my first choice in a region—Provence’s picturesque Bandol AOC—that has more than its share of big-name rosés. Situated in a natural south-facing amphitheater not far from the Mediterranean Sea, the Bandol AOC’s vineyards are rooted in pebbly clays over a solid bedrock of limestone, a soil composition that lends the wines a firm acid/mineral backbone. These soils, combined with the intense Mediterranean sun, have proved ideal for the late-ripening Mourvèdre grape, the signature variety of the appellation’s red wines—and thus, a driving force in the rosés as well. Terrebrune’s rosé is comprised of 50% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, and 25% Cinsault, and the wine is a blend of 50% ‘direct-press’ rosé (i.e. fruit is destemmed, gently pressed, and the skins immediately removed) and 50% saignée-method rosé (i.e. wine ‘bled off’ during the early stages of a red-wine fermentation). The wine then spends about 6-8 months in used French oak barrels, an unusual move for rosé that contributes to its uncommon depth and complexity.
The organically farmed Terrebrune Estate is in the village of Ollioules, just east of the town of Bandol, and a few miles from the cool breezes of the Mediterranean Sea. The property was purchased by French Sommelier George Delille in 1963. After many years of hard work perfecting the property, he released his first wine in 1980 with the help of his son, Reynald, who is now in charge of operations. Today, the Terrebrune vineyards are farmed organically, with absolutely no chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers.
When I visited the property in 2012, a fellow sommelier and I were graciously welcomed by Reynald and treated to one of the best lunches of our lives. The amazing Provençal cuisine was paired with the wines of Terrebrune. We were lucky enough to have Reynald open several old bottles when we were deep in the cellar, and my mind was blown—among the wines tasted was an amazingly fresh, aromatically explosive rosé from 1991, truly one of the greatest wine memories of my life. The domaine also has one of the best restaurants in the area, which is perched high above the winery. So, if you are ever in the south of France, you must seize the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon there.
The 2016 Domaine Terrebrune rosé is a classic salmon-pink color, with aromas of strawberry, blood orange peel, watermelon, red currant, lavender, rose petals, fresh herbs, and dusty earth. One of the wine’s distinguishing characteristics is its dense, creamy texture—not flabby or sweet but concentrated and focused, with flavors of melon and peach adding to the sensations carried over from the nose. The finish is long and fragrant, and you will immediately see what I mean when I say that this wine can age: there’s a structure here that is reminiscent of young white Burgundy, and with some time in bottle the texture has broadened without becoming flabby in the least. It has broadened aromatically as well, and is just a delicious drink all around: Serve this at 45-50 degrees in any glass you choose, preferably with people you love and a beautiful piece of grilled tuna or swordfish topped with some blistered cherry tomatoes and herbs. What a perfect way to ring in springtime (especially after the cold, wet winter we’ve just had). Cheers!
