Le Grand Cros pushes full-bodied Provence rosé

Le Grand Cros is tapping into a growing consumer demand for more full-bodied, food-friendly styles of rosé with its cuvée ‘Aurélia’ 2015.

Mourvedre vines at Le Grand Cros, which are used in the making of Aurélia (Photo: Le Grand Cros)

Launched this year, wine producer Julian Faulkner’s Aurélia cuvée is a Côtes de Provence rosé designed to offer drinkers a fuller-bodied take on the region’s classically light rosé. Just 6,000 bottles have been produced, 600 of which are available in the UK through Asset Wines.

“I want to push the boundaries of what one can expect from a rosé and from Provence, so that we may consider certain rosés fine wines,” Faulkner said.

Predominantly made from Mourvèdre, with small amounts of Grenache and Syrah, Aurélia is a full-bodied rosé with a “creaminess” and “acidic tension” that set it apart from lighter styles of rosé, a statement from Le Grand Cros said, adding that the wine had good ageing potential.

Le Grand Cros Aurélia 2015

Gilles Corre, co-owner of Asset Wines, said that the cuvée Aurelia answered growing consumer demand for more full-bodied styles of rosé, and that the wine offered an interesting alternative to some light reds.

“Sales are going really well,” he said. “Consumers are really starting to understand the complexity of rosé and seek something richer; something that can even replace a light red in some cases.”

Faulkner is optimistic about the prospects for full-bodied rosé wines and plans to continue to make such cuvées in future, depending on vintage conditions. “2015 was the ideal vintage for Mourvèdre; hence I decided to create this wine,” he said.

“The cuvée will be made according to vintage, so depending on how 2016 turns out maybe we will recreate Aurélia, or perhaps we will create a different cuvée with the varietals that thrive in this vintage.”

The grapes for the cuvée Aurélia were hand-harvested in the first week of October and each parcel was vinified separately, each undergoing a short period of skin contact at 15°C.

The grapes were then pressed with early separation of the pressed must, with tight cold static must settling, and temperature controlled fermentation at 16-17°C followed. The wine was then racked and malolactic fermentation was blocked. Yields for the wine were 50hl per ha.

Aurélia is named after Faulkner’s first daughter, who was born during the Mourvèdre harvest. The label design has two thumbprints crossing to form a heart, symbolising her birth.