Chateau Sainte Marguerite Grande Reserve Rose 2013
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The palest of grey-pink rosés, this is classy, fresh and fragrant. It has a light, orange-zest texture as well as tannins and a mineral edge. Very fresh, it is also worth aging a few months.
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The Chateau Sainte Marguerite was created in 1929 on the base of an old farm house cultivated since Antiquity. André Chevillon is the founder of the winery, which was obtained in 1955 as a Cru Classé. This Cru Classé distinction officially recognizes the founders of the A.O.C. Côtes de Provence production area are ensuring a regularity of quality and authenticity.
In 1977, Brigitte et Jean-Pierre Fayard acquired the Chateau Sainte Marguerite, as a fund raiser for The Foundation of France. This sale would finance a musical prize in the name of the former owner.
Nowadays, the Fayard family continues this search of excellence while passionately and with talent creating wines known and recognized by all.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
Cotes de Provence is an extensive but valuable appellation that includes vineyards bordering the main Provencal appellations. Its sites vary from subalpine hills, which receive the cooling effects of the mountains to the north, to the coastal St-Tropez, a region mainly influenced by the warm Mediterranean sunshine.
Here the focus is on quality rosé, as it defines four fifths of the region’s wines. Following in the rosé footsteps, a lot of new effort is going into the region’s red production as well. A new generation has turned its focus on high quality Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan. Cotes de Provence white wines, which represent a miniscule part of the region as far as volume, are nonetheless worthy of consideration and can include any combination of Clairette, Semillon, Ugni Blanc and Vermentino.