2014 Domaine Suffrene Bandol Rosé

This year to celebrate Rosé Day, I opened a bottle of the 2014 Domaine Suffrene Bandol Rosé. Every summer, this seems to be one of my favorite wines. I have repeatedly recommended it in Galveston Monthly magazine. I had the pleasure of visiting the winery in 2012 and meeting winemaker/owner Cedric Gravier and his dog, Gaston. You can read more about that day by clicking here.

The 2014 vintage is a dry, medium body rosé with aromas and flavors of ripe mixed berries, apricot and grapefruit with a bit of herbs, refreshing acidity and a long mineral finish. Its a fantastic wine to enjoy by itself poolside and it is even more delicious with simply grilled fish. Elegant as always, the perfect wine for summer and, again, a highly recommended wine.

The blend consists of 40% Mourvedre, 30% Cinsault, 20% Grenache and 10% Carignan from 40-70 year old vines that sit in sandy silt soils over limestone and clay. Though the vineyard and winery are not organic certified, Cedric uses virtually all organic practices in his grape growing. This wine was created primarily through direct pressing but it is also blended with some saignee. It was fermented with natural yeasts at low temperatures in stainless steel and malolactic fermentation was blocked. It spends six months in the tank before bottling. It is not fined or filtered. With only 3,000 cases produced, this is wine that Houston does not receive enough of as it quickly sells out in our market, make sure and get yours now.

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