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The question here is why would you want to age a wine which is best drunk young and fresh. Traditional wine culture (especially in the UK) has embedded a sense in the minds of many wine consumers that “good wines will age while poor wines must be drunk immediately”. Many wines of quality are at their best when the vibrancy and freshness of the fruit is still youthful and the oft asked question at tastings, “yes its lovely but will it age”, is really redundant in many instances. After all, who would ask the same question of cherries or strawberries?
Chateau d’Esclan didn’t invent aged rose. Lopez de Heredia have been producing an aged rose for decades. Their rose is aged for a decade before it is even released.
You’re right Stuart, Château d’Esclans didn’t invent aged rosé. But this was the first property to ferment and mature rosé in new French oak before releasing it for consumption. It’s up to the buyer to decide whether they want to cellar it for enjoying at a later date. But, bearing in mind that d’Esclans claimed that Garrus was made like a fine wine, and therefore designed for cellaring, this tasting was done to test whether Garrus improves with age.
Whether it’s made in new oak or not, there’s no reason why rosé shouldn’t be aged. I’d venture that almost all quality rosé can benefit from being drunk 2 years after vintage rather than the usual one. Then a very few producers expect their wines to age longer and indeed continue to improve. Clos Cibonne for example have been doing this for decades. In the past 5 years, I’ve had wines of theirs from the 1970s, 1990s and 2000s and they have all developed in positive directions.
Mourvèdre rosés have a great ageing potential
Absolutely, as shown with older vintages of Domaine Tempier rosé in particular. In the case of Garrus, there is no Mourvedre but the Grenache is co-fermented with Rolle, which adds freshness, aiding stability.
A good description of a unique wine. I visited last year and I was impressed by the attention to detail in the winery. Esclans have shown that brand building based on quality is something the French can do, but only Sacha had the balls to do this with rose.