Wine of the Week Profile 04/23/07
2006 Bieler Père et Fils
Côteaux Aix-en-Provence
Rosé “Sabine”

’06 Bieler Père et Fils Côteaux Aix-en-Provence Rosé “Sabine” $8.99
The Bieler Père et Fils “Sabine” is produced in the very heart of Provence, a location with a long history of high quality rosé production. The wine was hand-crafted by master winemaker Charles Bieler, who has been turning out consistently high-quality cuvées at Château Routas for more than a decade and is one of the brains behind the hugely successful Three Thieves wine company in California.

This rosé is a blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Cinsault. The grapes were harvested in mid-September. A short three day period after the grapes were pressed, the wine was separated from the grape skins, leaving a trace of the skin’s color and the supple richness suggestive of a red wine. Because the tannins and color in red wine comes from the grapes’ skin, the short term contact with the skins adds only part of the color and richness of a red wine. The lack of tannins allows the wine to be released young, like a white wine.

Sabine has become a staff favorite and the ’06 vintage does not disappoint. The color of this rosé is a beautiful salmon, fringed with cotton candy pink. The wine shimmers in the glass with aromas of sweet rose petals, strawberry jam and candied watermelon; backed by Bing cherry sweet-tart notes that dazzle across the palate. While some more traditional Provence rosés tend toward a leaner profile with high acid on the finish, Bieler is blended for a more generous mid-palate and a softer finish dominated by ultra ripe sweet stone fruits. This is wine to serve as an apéritif, with lighter chicken dishes, river fish and hearty garden salads.

—Donald