Barrel-Aged Rosé Wine – Is That a Thing?

Jeany and Stephen are firm believers in rosé’s gastronomic potential. Mirabeau’s La Réserve expression can not only be sipped at any time of year, but during any time of the day. It pairs beautifully with scrambled egg and truffle.

Guillaume Cordonis, Technical Director Maison Mirabeau

Domaine Mirabeau La Réserve Rosé Wine

The harvest of our special vintage La Réserve Rosé Wine took place in the first weeks of September. Part of our grapes were harvested using agricultural equipment, but for the most fragile vines we called on the Mirabeau team. This was necessary because of the fragility of our grafted vines.

Transformed into grape-pickers for a night, our colleagues delicately collected the precious bunches. The harvested grapes were transported to our local winery, so that the production process of our rosé wine could begin. La Reserve is a blend of different grape varieties: Grenache, Cinsault and the white varietal Rolle.

The particularity of our cuvée La Reserve is that it gets partially fermented and aged in oak barrels. This method of ageing introduces light notes of spices, vanilla as well as supple tannins to the wine. The maturation will continue until April before being bottled and sent around the world.

After the fires at the domaine set us back a year, we are thrilled to see our 2nd vintage of La Reserve come to life. We can’t wait for you to discover it and enjoy a glass in good company!

Why are barrels used for wine?

A wooden barrel is used to harmonise the wine’s structure and flavour. The construction of the barrel with wooden staves makes it permeable, so air enters into contact with the wine inside. The aromatic outcome of this process can fluctuate depending on the size and age of the barrel, on the origin of the wood and on the way it is manufactured.

Maison Mirabeau Wines

We are in the process of tasting and sourcing base wine elements to assemble our acclaimed portfolio of rosé wines. Provence as a wine region suffered from a difficult climate this year:

  • The winter was very dry, with a warm February and a cold spell at the end of March, with limited frost damage in certain areas
  • From May to July, the dry and hot spell continued, causing a high water deficit. From January to August 2022 there was only around 200mm of rainfall compared to 400mm in 2021. The vintage was saved thanks to some rainstorms in August bringing enough water for the grapes to follow through to ripening
  • During September, we got some more rain showers which had an impact on late harvesting areas, but this was good news for the recovery of the vines after the dry season!

Despite the tough weather conditions, we have found some lovely quality wines and we are now out selecting the very best ones:

  • The drought and the hot temperatures caused a little hydric stress until the rains of August
  • The grapes achieved good phenolic maturity
  • On average the vintage is fractionally higher in alcohol
  • Overall, the health of the vines was very good
  • Given the good ripeness and technical competence in our cellars we expect nevertheless an interesting vintage

The winemaking team is excited to create our excellent cuvées during blending season and are looking forward to present this next Vintage to you early in 2023 :-)

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