Summer Rosé
Summer has finally arrived. Picnics, barbeques, long relaxing lunches – the perfect opportunity to open a bottle of a chilled fruity rosé. Rosé is a very versatile wine, which accompanies most meals and appeals to everybody.
Contrary to belief, rosé is not made by adding red wine to white wine. There are two ways of making rosé – with the preferred technique being a short maceration of the juice with the skins of red grapes just after crushing. After separating the juice from the skins, fermentation begins.
The Cave d’Eymet has a selection of ten different rosé wines to suit every occasion, ranging in price from 4€ for a local Bergerac to 40€ for an elegant ‘special occasion’
rosé champagne.
I have chosen the following three rosé wines as my ‘coups de coeur’ for summer drinking. Interesting to note the different grape varieties in each rosé.
Chateau Seignoret les Tours, ‘Perle de Rosé’, 2007.
produced by Serge Gazziola
Serge uses a lot of Malbec in his rosé. This is the ideal barbeque rosé – rich and fruity and packed with ripe fruits – raspberries, ripe cherries, and plums. Long, fruity finish.
Price : 5,00€
Chater, Rosé 2007
produced by Jacky Chater
Made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes, Jacky’s rosé is the perfect aperitif rosé. Reminiscent of crushed strawberries, with a delicate nose and crisp acidity.
Price : 5.50€
Chateau de la Colline, ‘Pink’, 2007.
produced by Charles Martin
Charles makes his rosé from cabernet sauvignon grapes. When he has finished pressing his sauvignon blanc grapes, he leaves the skins in the pressoir and crushes the cabernet sauvignon grapes with them. This gives his rosé wines an added dimension preserving the evocative aromas, the pale colour and the aromatic intensity. Light on the palate – full of crunchy morello cherries – the ideal rosé for every occasion.
Price : 6.00€