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My Essential French Rosé by Richard Betts

Provence, France 2016 (750mL)
$17.00
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My Essential French Rosé by Richard Betts

You may know the Master Sommelier Richard Betts from his book, “The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert” (2013). Whimsical design and children’s-book format aside, there was real science and real expertise to accompany the scratching and sniffing, which is to be expected from Richard: His is a joyful, irreverent, adamantly unpretentious approach to wine, albeit one backed with some serious street cred.
Over the years he’s launched headlong into a bunch of far-flung projects: he makes mezcal in Oaxaca (a brand called Sombra); a Grenache-based red wine called Sucette in Vine Vale, Australia; a Bordeaux called St. Glinglin (in partnership with Bordeaux négociant François Thienpont); and, last but not least, his “My Essential” wines—a California red blend and this rosé from Côtes de Provence, which we’ve offered a few times before. In some respects, his “My Essential French Rosé” is a companion wine to his book—unpretentious, inexpensive, but unquestionably authentic and delicious. Richard’s just-released 2016 landed in our warehouse recently and it made us long for the warm weather to begin in earnest: This wine, like pretty much everything Richard makes, is the genuine article. He’s got a great palate and a great mission with this classically styled rosé—to make it an essential piece of your wine repertoire. Grab as much as you can while it lasts!
And what, exactly, do we mean by “real deal”? Dry, mineral, evocative of the scrubby Mediterranean coast of France, salmon pink. You want several bottles in your refrigerator at all times. Working with his grower-partners in Provence, Richard aims for a style that honors rosé as a style unto itself, as opposed to a by-product of red wine production. “There are at least two ways that rosé is made and we think one of them is infinitely better,” he says. “It’s not about stealing some juice from a red wine in process to make what’s left darker; it’s about saying hey, we’re going all in with this and we’re going to completely press these red grapes—their skins, seeds and some of the stems too—in an effort to extract a complete picture.” The Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah grapes that comprise the My Essential blend are harvested early and lightly pressed to create this pink wine (as opposed to being “bled off” from a tank of red, a practice known as saignée).

Richard was the wine director at the famed Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado, from 2000-2008. In 2003 he passed the Court of Master Sommeliers’ Masters Exam on his first attempt. Since then, wanderlust has been the defining feature of his career. By his own estimation, he spends 300+ nights a year in hotels, and to follow him and his wife, Carla, on Instagram is like a “Where’s Waldo” of wine. One minute they’re foot-treading Grenache in Vine Vale; the next they’re roasting agave piñas in Mexico. Nice work if you can get it, as they say…

And speaking of nice work, Richard’s 2016 My Essential French Rosé is everything you could ask for in Provençal rosé—the Gold Standard of pink wine. Start with the color: salmon pink with coppery highlights, as is classic in Provence. Brightly ripe aromas of strawberry, melon, watermelon, tangerine, and meyer lemon peel intertwine with rose petals and wild herb notes. The palate is medium-plus in body, simultaneously rich and delicate, with fresh flavors reminiscent of the nose. There’s a distinct minerality that drives the thirst-quenching finish, a great feature in a wine that is a touch richer than some more angular styles of Provence rosé. If you’re spending the day poolside, be prepared to have a few bottles cold and ready. A bottle between four will evaporate in minutes, so be well-stocked. Ideal service temperature is about 45 degrees, and to say it is versatile with food is the understatement of the year. I’ll be re-visiting it often come tomato season—the attached recipe for Tomatoes Provençal would be off-the-charts delicious with this wine. But then again, so would just about anything. Cheers!
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Country
France
Region
Provence
Sub-Region
FranceCôtes de Provence
Soil
Various
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah
Alcohol
12.5
OAK
None
TEMP.
45
Glassware
All-Purpose
Drinking
Now until Early 2018
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Tomatoes Provençal

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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