Château de Trinquvedel
TAVEL , France | 2021
When it comes to wine regions that are synonymous with a grape or style, we have those like Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy that stand out as the most familiar. There is one region, however, that is stipulated to make rosé and only rosé, and that is the Tavel AOC located just ten miles south of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the vast Southern Rhône region. Château de Trinquevedel is by far the most famous winery in Tavel producing some of the best rosé made in the more extracted style with which Tavel is synonymous.
A reason I wanted to showcase this wine this month is in part because it is one of the few beautifully constructed rosés that have great aging potential while also showing beautifully in its youth, but I also wanted to put to rest the theory that more richly extracted rosés are somehow less delicious than the light salmon-hued rosés that the U.S. consumer has preferred over the years. There is a vast misconception that the more color a rosé has, the sweeter it will be. Let me rest assure that this belief is false. This is one of the many battles we as wine merchants struggle to inform the consumer in the same vein as “Chardonnays are not always oaky and buttery” and “Rieslings are not always sweet”.
Château de Trinquevedel has been producing wines for as long as Tavel has been recognized as an official AOC which was awarded to the region in 1936. Four generations later, the Demoulin family is still making their world-famous rosés alongside having purchased other land outside of Tavel where you can find their red and white wines. Guillaume Demoulin is the current winemaker who, with his wife Céline, farm 32 hectares of both red and white varietals that are blended after final fermentation to make this cuvée. Grenache is always the workhorse for Tavel rosés but this blend incorporates 26% Syrah, Cinsault, and Mourvèdre along with 14% white varietals Clairette and Bourboulenc which adds greater energy and aromatics. The winery makes only one other rosé from the estate’s oldest vines called “Les Vignes d’Eugène” named after Guillaume’s great-great-grandfather who originally purchased and revitalized the estate.
You will immediately recognize this rosé not just by the intense ruby shade of the wine itself, but the shape of the bottle is also the sleek thin style more recognized for Rieslings. The label also stands out making sure that the word Tavel dominates against the more demure font for the winery name representing the pride Trinquevedel has for its home. Trinquevedel on the nose bursts with buckets of ripe strawberries, orange blossom, and watermelon, whereas the palate leans much more towards tart underripe black fruits, crushed stone, and that profound herby garrigue that the Rhône valley is known for. Pair this with whole crispy roasted sea bass or a briney olive tapenade.