The Hérault department is a diverse and rangy zone just northwest of Montpellier. The Syrah and Grenache were grown in chalky clay with some limestone and quartz, and was direct-pressed to make a rosé. The winery produces about 13,000 cases of the wine, and although the label proclaims it un vin comme autrefois—a wine of a bygone age—I doubt many nineteenth-century vignerons exercised ambitions on that scale.
It’s light onion skin pink, wreathed in a breeze of pale flowers and field herbs. But this is an instance in which a light colored French rosé can belie the fruit inside. It is dry, yes, with a snap of astringency, but it also yields a big mouthful of ripe yellow melon, watermelon, strawberry, and tea-steeped herbs.
Undemanding, but not unsophisticated, and good by the glass.
12% abv | $11
