Bertrands: barrel ageing Provence rosé offers the ‘best of both worlds’

While it’s usually known for delicate hues and fresh aromas, the team behind southern French estate Château des Bertrands believe barrel-ageing Provence rosés could help wineries win more listings in high end restaurants.

Château des Bertrand is located in Cannet-des-Maures, in the Plaine des Maures nature reserve. (Photo: Bertrands)

Bertrands produces two styles of rosé of which one, Rascas has been aged in oak barrels. According to Anthony Carfantan, the winery’s global sales director, this is “quite a rarity in Provence.”

One of the most expensive rosés made in Provence, Château d’Esclans’ Garrus, spends 10 months in oak and retails for around £90 a bottle.

“It’s very difficult to master, Carfantan said, “because the particularity of Provence is to give this fruitiness. It needs to be fresh and with the wood it’s a different proposition.”

Launched last year, Rascas spends six months in selected oak barrels, a process which Carfantan said “gives it some coconut and makes a food and wine pairing more palatable.”

“People like Provence rosé because it’s pale, fruity and a great aperitif. But to make the whole meal work with a non-oak rose it is difficult.”

The Rascas range, according to Carfantan, is “very much a trial”. Bertrands currently produces just 3,000 bottles of the aged rosé annually.

“We age it for six months, it’s ready to go. It’s a very small batch, it’s very much a trial. But we think it gives the best of both worlds.”

Around 88% of wine produced in Provence is rosé, and as the category has expanded rapidly in recent years, companies have started to experiment with everything from celebrity tie-ins oenotourism to stand out and secure sales.

Asked if he believes rosé-making wineries in Provence are limited when it comes to restaurant listings, Carfantan said: “yes, because if you take the traditional rose, the non oak-aged sort of style it’s amazing as an aperitif but with chicken it’s not always going to be the perfect pairing.”

Although the wine is barrel aged, he said, “you still get the fresh fruitiness because the character is still Provence so it’s the best of both worlds. That’s why our competitor has been able to sell for €120 per bottle.”

However, not everyone agrees that Provence rosé is suited to time in oak. The practice of barrel fermenting rosé, according to François Matton of Château Minuty, goes against the philosophy of the wine.

Speaking to db in May, the co-owner and managing director of Château Minuty, said he’s “not a fan of oaked rosé and would never barrel age my rosé as I feel it goes against the philosophy of the wine. Provence rosé should be easy to enjoy, not simple but easy.”

Earlier this year Alexis Cornu, the head oenologist of the southern French group, said that he believes pale pink wines will soon be on par with Champagne in terms of their luxury appeal, and that sub-regionality could be another direction wineries in Provence will seek to explore.

He said that Bertrand’s own terroir comes from being a part of the Notres Dame des Anges, an area that became the AOC’s 5th recognised terroir after years of campaigning by local groups.