My ongoing quest for which Rose rings the bell best continued the other evening as friends descended on my place for a small cheese, shrimp and Rose wine night, followed by a few reds too.
The three Rose wines from the Languedoc included the NV Cote Mas Rose Aurore, the 2015 Domaine Magellan Le Fruit Defendu and the 2015 Bergerie L'Hortus Pic St. Loup.
For starters the Cote Mas is non-vintage as Paul Mas has taken in fruity from a couple of harvests and designed a refreshing, light, fruit bomb of a Rose for mass market consumption. Sold in a full litre bottle, the wine is a cheap and cheerful Rose, made without complication, but very much an easy drinking wine that is great for backyard BBQs and gatherings of friends.
Bruno Lafon has done it again with the 2015 Domaine Magellan Le Fruit Defendu. It is one of the best made and balanced Roses I have had from 2015 and is a seriously vibrant deep pink wine in color. It is full of fruit, but at the same time delicate. The wine exhibits characters of black raspberry, blueberry, wild cherry and a hint of cranberry flavors.
The 2015 Bergerie L'Hortus Pic St. Loup may be the most Cotes de Provence style Rose in the Languedoc. Unlike other Pic St. Loups that are more towards the "lighter red" color, the L'Hortus is more towards the pale pink color that is so often thought of as coming from Provence, and as the color is in that style, so too are the flavors. The wine is exceedingly dry, crisp and fruit infused, with excellent balance, length and structure. If put in my Saturday tasting it would have been one the three favorites of the day, and it's no surprise given the age of the vines, the expertise at L'Hortus and their commitment to excellence.