Best-value oaked rosé: Joy’s
Producer: Gérard Bertrand
Country: France
Region: AOP Languedoc
Grape variety: Grenache (40%), Syrah (30%) and Cinsault (30%)
Vintage: 2019
Residual sugar level: <1
Closure type: Vinolok (glass)
Colour: Pale salmon pink
Medal: Master in the Global Rosé Masters 2020
Price: £10-£15
It dawned on me during this year’s Rosé Masters that now it’s de rigeur to make very pale, bone-dry rosés, winemakers need to find methods to put a bit of stuffing in their blends that may once have come from riper fruit and residual sugar. While texture can be enhanced by extended contact with a wine’s fine lees, including stirring them up, when it comes to imparting a gently sweet taste in a dry wine, then fine French oak is a wonderful solution, especially if some of it is brand new. Some manage this combination of pink wine and barrel-sourced vanillin better than others, with Château d’Esclans a master, and Navarra’s Chivite another accomplished barrel-aged rosé maker. But a further one is Gérard Bertrand, and with his new wine, called Joy’s, you can enjoy the delicious union of peach and wild strawberry characters in the rosé with an indulgent vanilla cream note from the oak, and for surprisingly little cash. It’s a bit like drinking barrel-aged luxury rosé Garrus, but at a sixth of the price.
Entry Deadline: Wednesday, 24th April 2024
Sample Deadline:
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