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Mirabeau showcases full rosé portfolio and hints at future plans

18 March 2022 By Jessica Mason

Maison Mirabeau hosted its first full portfolio tasting this week, showcasing rosé from both Provence, the Languedoc and its private estate.

Speaking to db, Mirabeau founder and CEO Stephen Cronk said: “We are focusing on the whole portfolio, this is actually the first time we have done a whole portfolio tasting to show how much we have grown.”

“We started with just one wine at Waitrose and then realised we could and should begin making different profiles of Provence rosé and beyond. So we have done that over the past 12 years. Then, we decided we should actually go a little outside of Provence – to the Languedoc as well and give a different flavour profile for some other wines.”

Mirabeau head of global communications and partnerships Natalie Hill explained: “The wine that we make in the Languedoc is much more appealing to that younger consumer and is the entry point into discovering the rosé category. Gorgeous wine, which pairs well with food as well as summer moments.”

Hill pointed out, as the weather gets better, people should seek out the maison’s rosé called “Forever Summer, because it’s a lovely light rosé that’s perfect for summer barbecues.”

Hill also revealed that Forever Summer is “the inspiration” behind the brand’s gin variant and highlighted how the maison were a few steps ahead of the curve when it came to putting wine into cans alongside packaging its gin in an RTD cocktail format too.

“We have always tried to stay ahead of trends and demand and really listen to what our consumers are asking for,” she explained. This is what the Languedoc region has also offered the maison, extending its flavour profile beyond Provence to reflect different flavours that will appeal to a range of demographics.

She pointed out: “It’s about showcasing the very best of the region outside of Provence so that’s why we looked at south-west France and the Languedoc region. There, we can create a beautiful style of wine. The Languedoc has such incredible quality so we wanted to offer wines that would showcase that, but open things up to the younger consumer coming in. From an entry-point perspective it could bring more people and more wine consumers to us.”

Cronk told db: “Everything we do is rosé. Everything we do is always amazing. We want to become a maison that is known for its range of rosés.”

In response to whether or not we could expect any more spirits to launch under the Mirabeau brand, Cronk said: “Ahh, maybe. But it has to be connected.”

When Mirabeau first made its gin, it was the brainchild of Alex Ignataif, who approached Cronk years prior with the idea.

“The gin came out of Forever Summer. We used to de-alcoholise Forever Summer by putting it through a reverse osmosis machine and we ended up with 2,500 litres of slightly less alcohol rosé wine and 500 litres of alcohol product that smelled like rosé wine,” said Cronk, explaining that “Alex then said, ‘let’s do this’, but what we discovered was that the most important thing, especially with spirits like gin and vodka was that part of the neutral grape spirit is what carries the gin and so we couldn’t get the right quality out of doing it like that, so we ended up working with a Cognac specialist to get the neutral grape spirit at the highest quality as we could and then added back in with botanicals.”

Cronk added: “I suppose it is a grappa, but I hadn’t realised how smooth this makes it as a spirit, so even though it was 48% ABV, you can have it as a martini dressed with a bit of vermouth and, really, it’s a really special product.”

He also revealed that Maison Mirabeau is now “using the spaces in-between the vines to grow plants and help the soil. La Reserve is our own estate wine. Even the label is all floral and fauna from around the estate to show how it is becoming part of the story,” and hinted “e want to bring in more of that into the vineyards”.

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