Pale copper color; red berries, lavender, rose flowers on the nose; strawberry, raspberry, cherry, watermelon, minerality on the palate.
Very dry; diaphanously delicious; light-medium body; no tannins. Fruity, silky in the mouth; texture benefits from air in the glass. While this drinks more like a white than a rosé, this is a Provence rosé with a long pedigree. The winemaker notes “Highly approachable and enjoyable with a broad range of cuisine, Whispering Angel is a premium rosé that you can drink from mid-day to midnight.” 13% ABV
Blend of grenache, cinsault, and rolle (vermentino). Grapes hand-harvested in the cool of morning and packed in small crates to avoid too many grapes at the top crushing grapes at the bottom. Some grapes are mechanically harvested at night to avoid heat of the day.
Grapes soft crushed, then temperature reduced to enhance freshness and vivacity. Nitrogen pressing produces three grades of primarily free run juice and ensures there is no oxidation. Depending on the grade of juice, juice is either barrel fermented or fermented in stainless steel, with the majority in stainless. Aged in stainless. There are changes in the grape variety formula each vintage, but the winery strives for a consistent taste profile year-to-year.
Château d’Esclans is located in the center of the Department of the Var in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of southeastern France, where the majority of Provence AOC rosé is made. Marseille is the major town, the French Riviera and Saint-Tropez the best known areas. Château d’Esclans is north of Saint-Tropez and west of Cannes.
Château d’Esclans traces its history back the the 12th century. Today, only the cellar remains from the original property in the heart of Provence, northeast of St. Tropez. The Perraud family owned the property from 1955 to 1994. A Swedish pension fund owned it after that. Sacha Lichine acquired the property in 2006 and Patrick Léon became the winemaker. Léon was the winemaker at Mouton Rothschild before creating Whispering Angel in 2006. Today there are 183 acres of vineyards on the 659-acre property. Grenache is the primary grape. Some of the vines are more than 90 years old. Grapes in this wine came from the estate and from local growers.
Château d’Esclans Côtes de Provence Whispering Angel Rosé 2021 is a smooth, full, lush palate pleaser with great concentration. Lovely bottle, wine color, nose. Well-known, built-for-export brand—you can buy it at Sam’s Club—but very solid. They may make a lot of this elegant, refined wine, then price it well. Proving those things are not mutually exclusive. Reliably superb value year after year. Works as an aperitif, of course, also as a summer sipper. Pair with seafood, shellfish, lighter meats. Rosé soars in popularity. Provence is epicenter of world’s rosés. This is one reason why. $22-25
Château d’Esclans website with nice video of all steps of wine production
