What Was Your Most Recent Bottle of Wine?

[HighlandDougie]

My go-to Bandol - and I first drank it at my favourite restaurant (one of the Anglo/French greats!) in Bristol probably 30 years ago - is La Suffrène, both red and pink.....

One of mine also - good value. Vinatis (my go-to supplier of wine in France) sells it for a reasonable sum.

[Barbirollians]

The Co-op did sell a rather nice Provence rose last year called Coeur de Cardaillan I think . I cannot agree that Tempier is on the wane. It is rather more primus inter pares as other Bandols have improved - albeit that the Bunyan reds at Chateau de La Rouviere have always been outstanding .

[richardfinegold]

My wife intensely dislikes Rose-it’s mainly Cab and Chard around here-so I basically haven’t had it for the last 20 years. We are taking a Viking River Tour of Provence this fall, and they will be promoting some Cotes de Rhône brands as part of their packages so I intend to do a little exploring. What is a good Rose that I should be on the lookout for?

[vinteuil]

... I agree that the ultra-pale pinkery risks overtaking other values. Nowadays I often find that Italy, Spain, Greece are producing more interesting rosés

[HighlandDougie]

My friend Liz, MW, who knows everything there is to know about Provençal (and most other) rosés deplores the obsession with pale pink wines (cf. Miraval or the ubiquitous 'Whispering Angel' which must be made in industrial quantities). She was talking recently about Tavel AOC, which is pretty distant from Côtes de Provence style-wise, and how/why it has become a hard sell for producers. And also about vineyards in Bandol and nearby being snapped up by conglomerates (Domaine de la Bégude - a personal favourite - for instance). So even higher prices and even paler wines. Apart from Domaine Tempier and the like from Bandol, Clos Canarelli (from Corsica) and Clos Cibonne (just along the coast from Toulon) both make complex and interesting wines with the latter going well with food. Not, alas, very likely to feature in the Co-op anytime soon.

[Roger Webb]

Now you’re talking! A serious wine that’s good with food, being lifted from incipience by inclusion of the gamey Mourvèdre grape. Tempier’s Bandol is one of the world’s great wines.

Tempier's star has fallen a bit in recent years, although making excellent wines, they have been overtaken by other makers in the general increase in quality in the south.

My go-to Bandol - and I first drank it at my favourite restaurant (one of the Anglo/French greats!) in Bristol probably 30 years ago - is La Suffrène, both red and pink.....and sometimes Rouvière, although this is harder to find here.

My point in recommending to FF the wines I did, is that they are available at supermarkets I know she shops in. Miraval, in spite of its celebrity status is a typical rosé of the 'new' lighter (colour and taste) type....and made by Perrin, one of the greatest makers in Rhône....and now Provence.

[Pulcinella]

Unkind, unkind, Pulcers....

Kearaulophone's recent adventures in the land of Buddha led to a more benign response....

Not meant to be unkind at all: hence the laugh, which clearly got misinterpreted!
Of course I realised that it was a typo (would have been a VERY strange autocorrect!).

[kernelbogey]

Not that ubiquitous, I would suggest: never heard of it.

Unkind, unkind, Pulcers....

Kearaulophone's recent adventures in the land of Buddha led to a more benign response....

Has to be a typo for pinot grigio / pinot gris.

[vinteuil]

Now you’re talking! A serious wine that’s good with food, being lifted from incipience by inclusion of the gamey Mourvèdre grape. Tempier’s Bandol is one of the world’s great wines.

... insipidity?

.

[Roger Webb]

I wasn’t overly impressed by Miraval - very pale pretty but a bit short on flavour for the price . .

Well it is a more sophisticated rosé - might seem strange to pay more for less 'flavour', but, do you remember a time when everyone (not me) was drinking those big buttery Chardonnays from Australia? The same people would have thought a French Chardonnay, say, a Chablis had no 'flavour'! They are now choosing lighter wines with less 'flavour'....Picpoul. Grüner Veltliner, even Muscadet is making a comeback. More obvious 'flavour' doesn't necessarily mean better flavour.

[Belgrove]

… Tempier Rose…

Now you’re talking! A serious wine that’s good with food, being lifted from incipience by inclusion of the gamey Mourvèdre grape. Tempier’s Bandol is one of the world’s great wines.

[Barbirollians]

I wasn’t overly impressed by Miraval - very pale pretty but a bit short on flavour for the price . On the very rare days I splash out on Tempier Rose that remains much my favourite but speak it quietly there is a surprisingly acceptable Bobal Rosado in Aldi at the moment for £6 - I have seen their Greek Assyrtiko at £9.99 recommended in the press and on TV recently but have not tried it.

[Roger Webb]

Tesco had a Miraval too. I'm going to have to get a Tesco card if this goes on. Goes against my principles though.

I was looking through Morrisons bin-ends, probably last year Octoberish and they had three boxes of Miraval (18 bottles) there reduced to £8.50 a bottle - about half price, so I snaffled the lot!

Amazingly, it was almost impossible to find decent rosé about six or seven years ago, but it's become hugely popular; people have largely got over the preconceptions engendered by previous encounters with the Portuguese Mat.....!

The french have always loved their rosés, and usually stick to Côtes de Provence - although rosé is made in just about all wine-growing areas of France.

Tesco has just had one of their 25% off for six bottles deals, and Sainsbury's likewise - they too have Miraval and other rosés.

Now, a tuna steak ('undercooked') dressed with capers in olive oil with a green salad and a glass of Miraval is my idea of heaven, with Naxos 8.570444 playing!

[french frank]

After pestering FF about Côtes de Provence I've a Miraval chilling.....down to my last six!

Tesco had a Miraval too. I'm going to have to get a Tesco card if this goes on. Goes against my principles though.

[french frank]

I'm not sure that I would drink rosé with a meal - unless it was Tavel.

I don't drink at all except with a meal, including apéritif and digestif. Just back from Tesco, and while I was there I got the Côtes de Provence as advised. I think this will go very nicely with lighter meals during the summer. Would have gone well with the soupe au lait today, but I had one glass left in a bottle of Wolfberger Alsatian Gewürztraminer, which was too sweet. I bought it to go with last week's choucroute garnie. It was too sweet for that too, as I read after I'd bought it (it was the only Alsatian the Co-op had anyway). Riesling would have been the thing.

As it's quite a struggle to walk up to Tesco I thought while I was there I might have a look at alternative rosés and saw an Arbousset Tavel 2021. Deeper coloured, 13.5% and will go with pretty much anything. I may find it a bit too hearty.