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Forbes
18-07-2025
- Forbes
The Wines Of Provence are Showing That They Are More Than Pretty In Pink
Two bikini-clad holidaymakers posing outside the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, in the south of France, ... More 1958. (Photo by) 'Interesting' is hardly high praise for the wines of any region, and too often that adjective, as well as phrases like 'quite good' and 'dependable,' are all too often applied to the wines of France's Mediterranean region of Provence, which gets its name from once being a province of the Roman empire. Tomes of 900 pages have been written about Bordeaux and Burgundy, but the authoritative Larousse Wine lumps Provence in with Corsica in less than a dozen pages, asserting 'Sunshine, vacations and rosé: This is the image of Provence.' The Oxford Companion to Wine dismisses the region in less than one page, calling it 'full of potential,' which is what a French school teacher jots down about an average student. Franck Perroud wine waiter at la Résidence de la Pinede Hotel and restaurant poses by a selection ... More of rose wines in St Tropez, Southern France. Rose wine producers are working hard to change their products' identity. / AFP PHOTO / Yann COATSALIOU (Photo credit should read YANN COATSALIOU/AFP via Getty Images) Granted, Provence is well regarded for its rosé wines––80% of its production––and the Cȏtes de Provence, a patchwork of parcels, some cooled by the northern mountains, others scorched by the southern sun, has delightful wines if you can ferret them out. In recent years serious attention has been given to ripping out the traditional Carignane grapes and re-planting with more Rhȏne red varietals like Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. This photo taken on August 12, 2020, shows a bunch of grapes in Espira-De-L'Agly, southern France, ... More on August 12, 2020, during the wine harvest. - Every year, the harvest in the Agly valley, flooded with sunshine 300 days a year, is the first in France, starting with dry white wine grape varieties. According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, "on average, the harvest takes place 18 days earlier than 40 years ago" in France and the advance of the harvest date is "an effective marker of global warming". (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) Yet every wine lover who has spent time on the French Riviera has memories of an enchanting luncheon while overlooking the sea, smelling the flowers and sipping on a cold Provençal wine. Usually it's a rosé with some body and color, rather than the pale, innocuous examples that sell for a few euros. But that's also the good news about Provence wines: They rarely cost very much, rarely about $25, yet provide simple pleasure, not least in their tropical aromas and herbal notes. I'm finding that the most delightful bottlings are coming from the regions of Bandol, Bellet and Cassis. Production and expansion of vineyards has been restricted in Bandol, east of Marseille, because it's become so popular as a resort, with all the usual overdevelopment––it's less than three-and-a-half miles square. Still, the Mourvèdre, which has long been planted in the area, has a fine late ripening virtue that brings the sugar and alcohol to make for a full-bodied red. Bellet is even smaller and most of its wines is consumed in the surrounding area, but ferreting out a bottle of flinty Bourboulenc or Rolle (what the Italians call Vermentino) is worth the effort for a well-structured white wine. Cassis, increasingly encroached upon by the expansion of the city of Marseille, is tinier still, known for its white wines made from Clairette and Marsanne. (It is not to be confused with the cordial named Crème de Cassis, which is made in Burgundy.) A good number of Provence wines that come to the U.S. are, well, interesting, but the better producers are also fairly well represented on wine store shelves. Look for labels like Château Miraval, made with Grenache, Cinsault, Tibouren and Syrah; Guele de Loup de Roquefort, which has a component of Cabernet Sauvignon tannins to add body; and Domaine de Trévallon, which has been compared to a good Bordeaux, with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged for two years and takes to further aging, so that you can still find the 2010 vintage, though selling for a whopping $185. I have enjoyed the all-organic Château Gassier ($25), founded in 1982, organic, for its rosé is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Rolle, from clay and limestone soil in the Cȏtes de Provence and Cȏtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire appellations. It is fresh and very ready to drink this summer with grilled poultry and salmon. Sacha Lichine is Bordeaux born, but he was educated and worked extensively in the U.S. before becoming a highly regarded negoçiant in 1990, since purchasing Château d'Ésclans in Provence. His Pale Rosé($18) is a simple but refreshing rose of Grenache, Rolle, Syrah and Cinsault. Château Malherbe makes rosé, white and an impressive red wine ($55) from Syrah, Mourvèdre, Black Grenache, by the fourth and fifth generations of the Ferrari family and crafted by Jean Laburthe in collaboration with Burgundy's Philippe Pacalet. Inexpensive and perfect for a Pronevcal luncheon. Jean-Luc Colombo and winemaker Laure Colombo make a pretty Cape Bleu Rose for only $19––one of those sip by the shore wines with a baguette and French ham and cheese.
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Portuguese Wines Are Competing With Spanish And Italian Bottlings By Giving Quality At A Low Price
The aging room at the modern Taboadella winery in the Dão Valley. Before Portugal's entry into the EU in 1986, its wine industry had been lagging, not so much for Port but for table wines. As Larousse Wine points out, 'an extraordinary energy has been driving many of its producers – from large historic houses, which have always played a leading role–– to cooperatives, often fully modernized, to private domains (quintas), which have multiplied since the 1990s.' Spurred by the progress and global recognition of Spanish wines, the producers of Portugal, particularly those of Alentejo, adapted the most modern technology and began replanting old vineyards tethered to traditions that had become dated. American consumers have long enjoyed the lightly sparkling Vinho Verdes and some of the Dãos, but there are now excellent examples of wines from the Touriga Nacional (which originated from Dão) to Tinta Roriz and Castelăo red grapes to the Alvarinho and Loueiro white. At this point things may be a bit confusing for the consumer owing to the wide variety of styles these grapes are made in. The Portuguese themselves drink up most of their wines––58 liters per person or 600 million liters total, the highest amount in the world, though, as elsewhere in Europe, consumption is declining. The U.S. is, after France, Portugal's second largest export market at more than $100 million (including Port). Part of the appeal is that Portuguese wines are remarkably cheap compared to Spanish, French and Italian bottlings, and there has been talk that over-production may hurt the industry in the future. But for now Portugal is very happy both in sales and in the recognition that, finally, their table wines are among the best Europe has to offer. Here are some I enjoy right now. Encruzado is a white grape that gets its minerality from granite-rich terroir. TABOADELLA RESERVA ENCRUZADO ($35). Encruzado (also called Salgueririnho) is a white grape from the Dão grown in granite soil known for as a blending grape and for its ability to age well. Taboadella's owner, Luisa Amorim, whose family is known for its wine corks since 1870, has since 1999 become one of the few vintners to focus on the varietal, which has a refreshing acidity, and the 2023 vintage resulted in well-ripened grapes. It is delightful with exemplar of fine red wine from the Dão Valley. QUINTA NOVA DOURO RESERVA 2023 ($36.25). Another wine made by Luisa Amorim, this is a blend of Touriga Franca (35%), Touriga Nacional (35%), Tinta Roriz(15%) and Tinto Cão (15%) grown in the Cima Corgo area. Hand harvested, the grapes undergo fermentation and then age 77% in French oak barrels for 9 months and 23% in cement tanks. The estate was owned by the Portuguese royal family until 1725. It is a big bold wine but just 14% alcohol and ideal with barbecued meats, reflecting Dão Valley traditions with modern tech to make a more refined example. Grown in a chestnut grove this white wine is aged only in stainless steel. QUINTA DA FONTE SOUTO FLORíO 2024 ($23) and RED ($23) are products of the Symington Family Estates from the Alto Alentejo region's Souto terroir (souto means 'chestnut grove'). This is their first estate outside of the Douro. The white is a blend of Arinto and Verdelho blend aged in stainless steel and it is bright, clean and tangy on the palate. The red is a complex blend of Alfrocheiro, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional and other Portuguese varieties, aged for six months in seasoned French oak, and all those varietals mesh into a lovely, medium-bodied red wine with a little oak resonance, so it goes well with lamb and pork. It's also a terrific cold, dry mountain weather makes the grapes struggle to obtain ripeness with the wines of ... More Ataide. QUINTA DO ALTAÍDE DOURO RED 2017 ($26). This is one of Symington Estates wines from property in the Douro Superior, Ataíde in the Vilariça Valley that are uncharacteristically steeply terraced slopes that enjoy very cold winters and low rainfall, so the grapes have to struggle, especially in 2017. The grapes are not pumped but only crushed, then go through a maceration of pumping over. Winemakers Charles Symington and Pedro Correia blended organically farmed Quinta do Ataíde, Vilariça Valley, 49% Touriga Franca, 48% Touriga Nacional and 3% Alicante Bouschet. There are some vegetal notes but a good deal of ripe fruit and, by now, subdued tannins, bottled in 2019. It is 14.5% alcohol.
