This is an exciting week for wine lovers, so many tasting workshops and wine dinners in town to choose from. You only wish you could attend all. But then there are 2 things you must have to satisfy the desire – deep pocket and precious time! The simple fact behind the buzz is that there are many wine makers and experts in town for the International Wine & Spirits Fair.
I took an afternoon off from work to visit the Show on the opening day. I was overwhelmed by the number of exhibitors and the varieties of wine one could taste. There were many lavishly designed booths promoting various styles of wine.
The one that I liked a lot was Chateau D’Esclans from Provence. It was designed as a bar with white bar stools, quite stylish in my opinion. The wines that were under the spotlight were Rosé. Most people will view Rosé as inexpensive summer wine, generally not with high quality. Chateau d’Esclans wanted to make a difference and changed how Rosé would be perceived – a quality wine.
At a glimpse, the color and the shape of the bottles could be easily mistaken as Rosé Champagne. The name of the entry level Rosé was very eye catching – Whispering Angel. The wine itself was light, with cherry and raspberry flavor. The finish was quite spicy with some bitterness after taste.
The Manager explained the Chateau produced 4 labels on Rosé – starting with Whispering Angel, then Esclans, Les Clans and the top quality Garrus. The current vintage in the market is only the third. The Garrus is retailed around US$105 and they only produced around 3,000 bottles every year.
The expensive price tag was because the grapes were selected from 80 years old vine and aged in 100% oak for 10 months. The Garrus was definitely a more complex wine. It showed cherry, pear and tasted very creamy. It had a long after taste without any bitterness.
Overall, I enjoyed all 4 Rosé, hopefully one day will find this in one of the wine shops!
Grape Wine Journey 
Leave a Reply