It’s rosé, Jim, but not as we know it

I’ve just finished reading Dirt by Bill Buford, a warm, insightful, richly entertaining, often hilarious account of his five-year odyssey in French cuisine. It sees him move his wife and infant twins with him to France right at the start of the adventure. He enrols at L’Institut Paul Bocuse, before becoming accepted by locals and chefs alike and finally cooking Michelin starred food at legendary Lyon restaurants. I was reminded of Buford when I tuned into a recent IGTV hosted by Streatham Wine Cellars’ Matt Wicksteed who was having a barrel-side chat with Matt Walls about the Southern Rhône and his new book: “Wines of the Rhône”

It’s one thing having a particular liking for Rhône wines, but it’s quite another to move your family to the Rhône for two years so that you can really get under the skin of all 52 appellations and write a 300 page book on it – which is just what Matt Walls did (in the same vein as Buford). In “Wines of the Rhône” he provides a rounded picture of this large and complex territory, which varies greatly along the 200-kilometre stretch of river, from Vienne in the north to Avignon in the south

One of the great advantages of specialising in the Rhône is that Walls could get to grips with two very different regions, the Northern Rhône and the Southern Rhône. As the 2 Matts chatted about the new found popularity for some of the lesser known Rhône wines their conversation also revealed that this attraction is not only driven by innovations in winemaking and trends in wine, it is also an essential response to a rapidly shifting climate

La famille Walls had moved from South London to the little village of Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne, 20 minutes’ drive east of Avignon, immortalised by its eponymous bridge. I’d last visited the famous city some years ago for the wedding of French friends. I was staying with the bride’s family in Saint-Saturnin-lès-Avignon. Between the myriad nuptial rehearsals and family meals I managed to slope off to visit one of the more singular regions whose wines I enjoyed back at home. This happened to be Tavel on the right bank of the Rhône river, almost directly opposite my location

Tavel has always been synonymous with dark hued, well-made rosés, cut from a heavier cloth than their Provençal neighbours. They are serious wines, often described as meaty, solid, textured and food-friendly. However these characteristics do not preclude it being served as a refreshing, chilled apéro, The beauty of their structure allows for cellar time and, with their powerful tannic backbone, they drink well across all four seasons

One early connoisseur, Pope Innocent VI, was already declaring his love of Tavel wines when he proclaimed them lighter in colour and alcohol than the region’s other red and white wines ie Châteauneuf-du-Pape… “You had me at ruby tinted with gold” would roughly encapsulate his observation. More recent converts include the incomparable Keith Floyd and the legendary Ernest Hemingway

In the 19th Century, French vintner André Jullien classed Tavel as a light, clear red wine, and grouped it with Burgundies of the Côte de Beaune, and at the same price. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the whole area of Tavel was covered in vineyards, and was known as La Côte de Tavel. Yet, approximately 90 years ago, at the foundation of the Rhône appellation key figures in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Tavel winemaking circles allegedly made a pact that saw Tavel only ever produce rosé and Châteauneuf-du-Pape only ever produce red and white wines

For the wine aficionados here’s the technical bit. Tavel is a blend of up to 9 grape varieties: Grenache (max 60%), Cinsault, Clairette, Picpoul, Calitor, Bourboulene, Carignan, Mourverdre and Syrah representing the output of 100 winemakers, scattered across the 1,000 h/a of vines, surrounded by olive groves, the scrubland of the garrigue and cicadas that constitute this appellation. The terroir is bisected by the busy A9 ‘La Languedocienne’ road and reveals vineyards strewn with galets ronds – stones the size of watermelons – and the bleached flat white stones called lauzes. Both help reflect and retain heat to the benefit of the vines. Once picked the grapes undergo a cold maceration, to soften them up, for between 12 – 48 hours so the pigment, flavour and tannins are transferred from the grape skins to the juice which then undergoes fermentation in cement tanks before spending up to 20 months in stainless steel tanks. The long soak is the key factor here. The resulting deep rose hued juice is now imbued with spicy overtones and a berry and cherry fruit perfume

Ironically even though it was France’s first rosé only appellation Tavel has seen its popularity slowly eroded by the proliferation of rosés from other appellations but none more decisively than Côtes de Provençe whose mass-marketed, light salmon pink wines have proved so fashionable in the UK

The tension in Tavel must surely be that their winemakers see the popularity and sales of Provençal rosés go through the roof whilst their wines barely make the needle flicker on the roséometer. My fervent hope is that current devotees of Provençal rosé will come round to exploring the bolder, more mature and complex Tavel rosés.

England’s undiminished love affair with Asian cuisines was given an additional boost during Lockdown and these exotic flavours cry out to be paired with rosés that deliver crunchy fruit, dried herbs and minerality. Tavel emphatically has all these attributes. If you ever get to try Chapoutier’s 2015 Tavel Beaurevoir I guarantee it will blow your mind. Tavel wines that have spent a few years in the cellar reveal a more complex set of flavours and aromas that lighter rosés will never, ever, be able to match. I pray that restaurant sommeliers, buyers for wine bars, independent wine merchants and wine writers will help keep Tavel alive so that wine lovers everywhere can enjoy a rosé that is capable of delivering infinite pleasure

Some of the more notable Tavel wines to be on the lookout for (and currently available in the UK) include:
Alain Jaume’s Tavel Le Crétacé 2016 available for £15.95 at Master of Malt www.masterofmalt.com
Domaine Maby ‘La Forcadière’ can be found at Yapp Bros for £14.25 www.yapp.co.uk
Domaine de la Mordorée ‘La Dame Rousse’ can be purchased from Vinatis at £16.68
www.vinatis.co.uk
Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine is £15.77 and stocked by www.drinksandco.co.uk

If you’re interested in finding out more about Rhône wines generally – not just those from Tavel – I recommend investigating these resources:

Streatham Wine House – www.streathamwinehouse.co.uk
Lea & Sandeman – www.leaandsandeman.co.uk

Chef Daniel Humm’s Davies & Brook restaurant won the Gold Medal for Best Rhône Wine List in the recent Star Wine List awards – www.daviesandbrook.co.uk

Matt Walls “Wines of the Rhône“ is published by The Infinite Ideas Classic Wine Library and can be ordered from Waterstone’s, (as can Bill Buford’s “Dirt”) – http://www.waterstones.com

Matt Walls has a wine blog https://www.mattwalls.co.uk

The IGTV interview with Matt Walls is on Instagram @streathamwinehouse

Syndicat Viticole de l’Appellation Tavel are on Instagram @tavelcru

Images ©Meg Maker/Vinography; John Miller/Getty Images; Aaron Ayscough