Provencal wines

Provence is synonymous with Rose wine. In days past it was also associated with quaffing wine in quantity over a long lunch and a game of boules. Whilst there is no shortage of long lunches and boules, there are now high quality Roses that are being recognized by consumers and critics alike.

There is a very good reason why – terroir, that hallowed French concept of a perfect combination of soil and climate for particular grapes.

The terroir of Provence is particularly well suited to Rosé wines. The Rosés of Provence have a reputation for their clarity, aromatic bouquet and lower sugar content which is typically less than 3 grammes per litre (“g/l”) residual sugar. This compares with Rosés from the USA, Australia and South Africa where more than 90% of Rosés have more than 4 g/l of sugar.

In 2005/06 France produced 5.4 million hectoliters of Rosé which was more than 25% of the world’s production and more than 42% of it was produced in Provence.

The terroir of Provence also produces high quality red and white wines – it just does not have the fame and glory for its reds and whites, but Pontet Bagatelle produces an elegant red wine and has ambitions to do the same with a white wine in the future.

Pontet Bagatelle is in the appellation Coteaux d’Aix en Provence which is one of three appellations in Provence. The other two are Cotes de Provence and Coteaux Varois en Provence.

"A most sensational pale pink (almost peach) rosé" - Fromvineyardsdirect - one of our distributors in the UK