A return to pink

Because pink is pink, but not all pink is the same.

It’s nothing new to say that rosé has come a long way in a short time. Well, maybe it’s more the case that we should say Provençal rosé has come a long way to be basically ‘the’ rosé.

I remember attending Vinisud back in 2014 when it was still going strong and, after meeting Verónica Ortega for the first time and tasting her nascent DO Bierzo wines, I strolled over to the Provence section. I was damned near able to see it from across the football field length of the pavillion. Like a lighthouse on a rocky shore, there was this massive blast of light pink, white, and lavender tones across all the stands. These people knew what they were doing and their image has been madly on point without faltering.

Sadly, it’s come at the cost of other rosés which are/were equally if not more valid in terms of a qualitative level given that the most extreme Provence-style wines can taste of little more than alcoholic water, which has its place for those who travel within the yacht-ian folds I suppose.

But, of the rosés which have been a touch forgotten in France there are Tavel and Bandol. These dark, nearly-red rosés can stand up to aging very nicely. They offer up unique, beautiful wines which sadly don’t get as much air time due to the Pink Wave that has washed upon us from the Côtes de Provence. That and I don’t think they come in the extreme bottle sizes needed for the upper deck, but I am more than happy to be proven wrong.

Additionally, Spanish rosé has changed as well in this latest evolution as it all used to be considerably darker and more textured whether from Priorat, Rioja, or the original heartland of Iberian un-red wines, Navarra. Many of these still exist in some form. Take for example the Viña Tondonia – Rosado Gran Reserva which is basically in a class of its own—much like López de Heredia in general who celebrate their 150th anniversary next year.

Others have definitely changed their colors, such as the rosé produced by Priorat stalwart, Cellers de Scala Dei.

If you visit the winery (which I always recommend if in the region), you’ll see on the shelving against the wall that there are various archive bottles, such as real bottles of their seminal 1974 vintage. Look around a bit more and you’ll see a bottle of what is still, more-or-less rosé from the mid-1980s which is when they last produced the style in the winery until a few decisive years ago.

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