Château d'Esclans - Les Clans Rosé

Château d’Escalns lies in the centre of the Department of the Var, where the majority of Provence rosé is produced. The first traces of the château’s site date back to Gaullist times during which the location served as a lookout point to spot intruders coming by boat into the Gulf of Frejus. The property was bought by Sacha Lichine, son of famous Alexis Lichine who owned Château Prieuré Lichine in Margaux, in 2006 with the intention of making the world’s best rosé. Combined with the efforts of Patrick Leon, who was previously Managing Director of Mouton Rothschild, his wines have gone on to receive international acclaim.

Sacha felt that rosé had an opportunity to become more serious in addition to being served and consumed by a broader audience. Since then he has built a world class brand while providing a strong contribution to the unprecedented growth of the rosé category.

With 44 hectares under vine Esclans, is known for its old Grenache vines, some of which are as old as 90 years in the highest vineyards. In 2006, Château d’Esclans made a few barrels of rosé from an 80 year old vineyard and the flagship wine Garrus was born.

Reputedly the source of Louis XIV’s favourite wines, Côtes de Provence lies in the south-east of Provence and overlaps with the Var department. Eighty percent of its production is dry rosé wine, distinguished by an inimitable pale-pink colour and elegant flavours. Cinsault and Grenache dominate in the region’s rosés, augmented with the occasional dash of the local, intensely aromatic Tibouren.

The Côtes de Provence appellation spans more than 20,000 hectares (nearly 50,000 acres) and three departments: the Var, the Bouches-du-Rhône and one village in the Alpes-Maritimes, for a total of 84 communes.

The rosé wines display light to very light, brilliant, clear hues. Their nose offers aromas of fresh flowers (rose), yellow fruits (melon, peach) and red fruits (strawberry, raspberry, cherry), coupled with touches of citrus zest, tropical fruits and marshmallow. Their palate exudes a supple, rounded feel, counterbalanced by a crisp feel to varying degrees depending on the vineyard site. The wines show balanced generosity and light tangy freshness lifting a persistent finish often suffused with abundant fruitiness.

The white wines are very focused and very clean. The Rolle-based wines offer up a wonderful zippy freshness.

The year’s red wines are just coming to the end of the winemaking phase and display stellar ageing potential with good tannin density for the longer vatting periods and lovely fresh fruit profiles for the more easy-drinking wines.