Chateau Riotor 2017

At Chateau Riotor they specialise in rosé. The pale colour belies the wine’s weighty presence, its plump richness and fleshy juiciness tempered by fresh acid and a spray of tingling citrus.

Chateau Riotor has been producing Rose in the Cotes de Provence for 4 generations. Its owned by the Abeille family, who also own Château Mont Redon in Châteauneuf du Pape. The family’s knowledge of growing world class Grenache--the core grape for both Châteauneuf du Pape and Cotes de Provence rose--is unparalleled. The estate is nearly 200 acres in size and is located in the hamlet of Le Cannet-des-Maures--about 45 minutes from San Tropez. About half the estate is under vine and planted on a composite soil of sandstone and red schist. This soil type provides great drainage for the Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Rolle vineyards where the grapes have to fight to find water and always have a proper skin to juice ratio--the keystone of balanced wine. In Provence and the rest of the south of France, the 2017 growing season was difficult and riddled with drought like conditions. There was barely a drop of rain between May and September which cut yields almost in half. Proper sorting was a must in 2017 and brothers Jean and Henri Abeille went out of their way not to let a shriveled or diseased grape make it to the final blend. The result was zesty and red berry fruited wine with cranked-up tension and not a hint of heaviness whatsoever. The 2017 Château Riotor, Cotes de Provence Rose is my right hand rose for the summer. The consistency of quality in this wine every year--even in dry vintages--is remarkable. I’d buy this by the case if I were you.