2016 Château d'Aquéria, Rosé, Tavel, Rhône

2016 Château d'Aquéria, Rosé, Tavel, Rhône

Product: 20161368080
Place a bid
 
2016 Château d'Aquéria, Rosé, Tavel, Rhône

Buying options

You can place a bid for this wine on BBX
Place a bid
Sorry, Out of stock

Description

Fresh strawberry and violets on the nose, while orange peel and fresh herbs on the palate bring intensity and freshness. Very concentrated this year, and so vibrant it trembles with life. A treat.
Tasting score: 94
Drinking window: 2018 - 2022
Matt Walls, Decanter, 9 October 2017

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Decanter
Fresh strawberry and violets on the nose, while orange peel and fresh herbs on the palate bring intensity and freshness. Very concentrated this year, and so vibrant it trembles with life. A treat.
Tasting score: 94
Drinking window: 2018 - 2022
Matt Walls, Decanter, 9 October 2017 Read more

About this WINE

Chateau d'Aqueria

Chateau d'Aqueria

Jean Olivier purchased Château d'Aquéria in 1920 and began to reassemble the original vineyard parcels surrounding the château. It is one of 45 estates in the appellation, but one of only four properties in Tavel which is a domaine in the sense that its vineyards are contiguous as opposed to lying on holdings scattered throughout the appellation.

Château d'Aquéria is also the largest of the four, covering 244 acres of which 161 are planted in vines. Of these, 120 acres are under production in Tavel and the balance under production in red and white Lirac. Production in Tavel averages 24,500 cases annually, with that in Lirac Rouge and Blanc at 4,500 and 1,000 cases, respectively.

Château d'Aquéria is now owned by the son of Jean Olivier, Paul de Bez, and his sons Vincent and Bruno, who over the end of the 1980s renovated the vinification facilities and cellars with the addition of stainless steel fermentation tanks and exact temperature control over wines in storage

Find out more
Tavel

Tavel

Favoured by France’s ‘Sun King’, Louis XIV, and praised by Balzac and Mistral, Tavel is France's most famous rosé although, it must be said, not its best. As you would expect, such heritage is rightly flaunted in the town of Tavel, and often adds a euro or so onto the price of a bottle. Nevertheless, in the hands of the top estates, it does remain worthy of its lofty reputation, combining a lovely vitality with complexity and concentration.

Lying across the river from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, this most southerly of the true Rhône appellations only permits dry rosé wines to be made under its name. The wines are full-bodied and dominated by Grenache and Cinsault, which gives them an appearance of slight sweetness – even though they are bone dry. Tavel should be aromatic and fresh with fine fruit, and is at its best when enjoyed young and chilled with food. Sadly, in the hands of too many ‘traditional’ producers, it can taste tired and past-it before it is even sold.

Unlike many other appellations in the Rhône, this is no hotbed of innovation or fantastic value, but happily there remain a few genuinely quality-minded estates that do the appellation proud. 

 

Find out more
Grenache/Garnacha

Grenache/Garnacha

Grenache (Noir) is widely grown and comes in a variety of styles. Believed to originate in Spain, it was, in the late 20th century, the most widely planted black grape variety in the world. Today it hovers around seventh in the pecking order. It tends to produce very fruity, rich wines that can range quite widely in their level of tannin.

In many regions – most famously the Southern Rhône, where it complements Syrah and Mourvèdre, among other grapes – it adds backbone and colour to blends, but some of the most notable Châteauneuf du Pape producers (such as Château Rayas) make 100 percent Grenache wines. The grape is a component in many wines of the Languedoc (where you’ll also find its lighter-coloured forms, Grenache Gris and Blanc) and is responsible for much southern French rosé – taking the lead in most Provence styles.

Found all over Spain as Garnacha Tinta (spelt Garnaxa in Catalonia), the grape variety is increasingly detailed on wine labels there. Along with Tempranillo, it forms the majority of the blend for Rioja’s reds and has been adopted widely in Navarra, where it produces lighter styles of red and rosado (rosé). It can also be found operating under a pseudonym, Cannonau, in Sardinia.

 

Beyond Europe, Grenache is widely planted in California and Australia, largely thanks to its ability to operate in high temperatures and without much water. Particularly in the Barossa Valley, there are some extraordinary dry-farmed bush vines, some of which are centuries old and produce wines of startling intensity.

Find out more