Domaine Houchart Tete de Cuvee Cotes de Provence Rose 2015
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Invasions in the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries ransacked these beautiful houses. In the 10th century, bloody invasions forced the inhabitants to find shelter in less accessible places. During this period the estate was probably returned to nature and covered with forest. Towards the 11th century, the monks of Saint Victor’s Abbey in Marseille started to clear the area. It is during this period that the estate was developed into its current form.
On June 7th, 1890, Aurelien Houchart, a wine merchant, bought the estate. "This property is divided as workable land and plantations of vines and almonds. The present sale includes the barrels in the cellar…"
In 1984 Genevieve Quiot, Aurelien’s great granddaughter, started to work the vineyard and gave the estate her great grandfather’s name. From then on it was called "Domaine Houchart".
In 2002 The Verlaque estate was bought back and integrated into Domaine Quiot in Provence. This estate had been owned by the Houchart family from 1896 (bought by Aurelien May 29th) to 1941. In 2002 the wedding of JBQ and F Vigier took place. For this occasion the buildings were greatly restored.
Today Florence and Jean-Baptiste are the fifth generation of the family to work on the estate.
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.