This house favourite is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and the rare Tibouren grape, an indigenous variety said to bring aromas of garrigue–the herby scrub of southern France. There’s also a splash of Syrah. The grapes are sourced from organically managed chalky/clay parcels in the heart of the Côtes de Provence, around the picture-perfect commune of Puget-Ville. Jean-Christophe Audéoud looks after the winemaking, using the traditional direct-press method, followed by maturation in concrete and stainless steel.

This current release is a racy, crunchy and flawlessly balanced rosé, laden with citrus pith, redcurrant and rose petal aromas and flavours. The texture is fine and delicate with a white wine-like finesse from go to whoa. It finishes completely dry, with a twist of white pepper and some gentle grip. A super consistent wine with genuine depth and interest.

Organic. 65% Mourvèdre, 35% Cinsault. Pibarnon’s distinctive Mourvèdre-rich rosé is drawn from the estate’s old, low-yielding vines set in the stunning amphitheatre of terraces amid the pine-covered hilltop of La Colline du Télégraphe. Altitude (at 300 metres, it is one of Bandol’s highest vineyards) and moderating sea breezes ensure cool nights and fresh conditions. But it’s not only elevation and proximity to the sea that make this vineyard so special; a peculiar soil type predominates: les marnes bleues. This uncommon and highly chalky, blue-tinted clay—rich in microfossils—is also encountered in Jura and Pomerol, where it is prized for its low pH, water-retentive properties and influence on a wine’s freshness and structure. The wine matured for six months in neutral oak, and the result encapsulates everything that’s so great about French wine culture.

“A blend of 65% Mourvèdre and 35% Cinsault, the 2023 Bandol Rosé from Château de Pibarnon offers up a delicate, complex bouquet of spices, licorice, red berries, lemon, spring flowers and herbs. Medium-bodied, enveloping and beautifully structured, it’s round and juicy with a delicate, lively core of fruit and a mineral, calcareous finish. This is a classical rosé wine from Bandol.” 92+ points, The Wine Advocate

Given its size, Sancerre is home to a disproportionate number of France’s great rosé wines. Think, to name a few, Alphonse Mellot, Cotat and Vacheron. We have only been shipping this rosé in recent vintages because we didn’t know it existed until then. We asked Gérard why he hadn’t offered us the wine before. “You didn’t ask,” he replied. There’s a lesson there. Anyway, this gorgeous rosé is drawn from 35- to 50-year-old Pinot Noir vines—explicitly grown to make rosé—on the steep hillside of Chavignol. Boulay selects from roughly 0.8 hectares, sometimes across a little more in vintages that are difficult for reds (which 2023 wasn’t).

The hand-harvested fruit macerated for 24 hours. The press wine and free-run juice fermented separately with indigenous yeasts. Boulay blocks malolactic conversion to keep tension, and no oak is involved. The new release opens with mineral-accented red berries, juicy, mouthwatering watermelon, mint and orange peel. Brimming with clarity and crunchy vibrancy, the palate is pure silk, with an array of pretty red fruit and grape-skin flavours punctuated by crunchy freshness. Great length, too. A serious and seriously delicious Chavignol rosé.

The Luxe Rosé made its debut in 2009 and, since then, has only been made in vintages Pete and Magali deem exceptional for the style. In the last ten years, Luxe has been released just four times in very small quantities, perhaps explaining this wine’s cult-like status. Favouring Mediterranean varieties that have a proven track record in the Barossa and the south of France, this year’s blend combines fruit from three vineyards. The Grenache (51%) is drawn from an ancient, gravelly/sandy block in Bethany; the Mataro (40%) from a 30-year-old bush vine block on Stonegarden's terra rossa soils; and younger-vine Cinsault (9%) from the gravel-shot red clays of southern Ebenezer. All three sites are old-school farmed, with few to no inputs or irrigation, and generate very low yields.
In contrast to previous years, Schell is pushing a franker expression of fruit and has pared back his approach in the cellar. Each parcel saw between four and six hours of skin contact before fermentation and six months of maturation on lees in stainless steel tanks. Stylistically different it may be, but the 2023 Luxe holds all the complex detail, depth and perfumed power of its predecessors, now in a more elegant package. Lifted red fruits, vibrant floral and spice notes and a pulsating mineral stoniness flow through the fleshy, satin-like texture to a moreish, berry-soaked close. It’s a stunner!

Mourvèdre calls the shots in the 2024 rosé to the tune of 90% of the blend. Vermentino plays a key cameo to bring racy freshness, while Cinsault adds a dash of cherry-fruited flesh. Despite the atypically warm conditions, Rob Mann explains the season delivered fruit of “tremendous depth and intensity with balanced, high natural acidity”. He allowed a full five months on lees in seasoned barriques to dial up the vivacity and texture of a wine that promises to keep charting the course of great Aussie rosé.

Most of the fruit is drawn from dry-grown bush vines on Powderbark Vineyard’s ironstone gravel hilltop. With a focus on freshness, the fruit from these vines was picked on the cusp of full maturity. The Mourvèdre was then pressed as bunches using a traditional, ultra-light Champagne cycle along with a small percentage of Vermentino for its freshening acid streak and a splash of flesh-giving Cinsault. The juice was run directly to seasoned French oak barriques and fermented with indigenous yeasts.

With a touch more colour this year, it’s wonderfully aromatic, with high-toned notes of citrus, berries, wet slate, provençal herbs and an inviting, refreshing tonic lift. The muscle of 2024 is there, apparent in the powerful, complex flavours, silky weight and base notes of wet minerals and iron, earth and salt. Spice and fresh acid cut, too, and it has a long draw. Dimension and detail—this is a class act.