The French Winophiles are celebrating Rosé Day by diving into French Rosé this month.
When you think of French Rosé, it is likely Provençe that you think of. Those barely tinted tart rosés of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, and Mourvèdre might bring images of the French Riviera to mind. Clear bottles in elegant shapes meant to catch your eye. They are lovely, don’t get me wrong, but my favorite French Rosé comes from a bit further north.
Tavel is a region located in the southern reaches of the Rhône Valley. Sitting west of the Rhône River, this is a rare AOC that focuses on Rosé—and not just any Rosé. This Rosé is rich and deep in color and might be mistaken for a red in a blind tasting.
The color is stunning, a rich fuchsia pink that commands attention. It is not a frivolous wine. It is serious.
There is French history here. Tales of Philip IV declaring Tavel the only good wine in the world, as well as the respect and love of the Sun King himself, Louis XIV, and many a Pope of Avignon, enjoyed the wines of Tavel.
This wine stole the heart and commanded the respect of writers like Balzac and Hemingway, who spoke of it as ” the thinking man’s rosé.”
Rosé, historically, is not surprising in this region. When wine came to southern France on the Mediterranean, most of the wine produced was a deep rosé in color.
About Tavel
The Tavel AOC was founded in 1936. At the time, vineyards were planted in sandy flats near the town of Tavel. The soil produced lower-quality wines, and soon, hillsides and forests were cleared to plant vineyards to increase the quality.
The hills have alluvial deposits from the Rhône River that span from Lirac to Tavel. The areas around Rochefort du Gard have limestone and marl soils, and near Villeneuve-Les Avignon, you find clay and gravel limestone.
Many of the older vineyards are planted in the limestone, and these wines are noted for their freshness and depth.
Grenache and Cinsault were the first planted with the popular southern Rhône grapes Syrah and Mourvèdre added to the permitted grapes in 1969. Other varieties allowed include Carignan and Calitor, plus the white varieties Bourboulenc (a rare favorite of mine), Picpoul, and Clairette Blanche. The white grapes must be pressed with the red grapes to be included in the AOC wines.
*You can see Tavel on the Map below in the southern part of the Rhone Valley, on the west side of the Rhone River. It sits just below Lirac.
Making Tavel
We spoke of those ballet slipper-colored rosés of Provençe. Those wines are made by quickly pressing whole bunches of grapes off their skins and then keeping them cold to maximize freshness and minimize oxidation.
On the other hand, Tavel does an extended maceration, spending up to 72 hours with the skins on the juice before fermentation starts. This allows the wine to leach color, flavor, and tannins from the skins in the red wine fashion.
Unlike most rosé, these wines can be higher in alcohol, reaching or exceeding 14% abv.
You will often see Tavels aged in oak and exposed to oxidation like red wines. Again, this adds complexity and depth to the wines.
The total vineyard hectares are less than 900.
These are dry rosés with body, richness, and structure.
Interesting fact via wine-searcher
That famous date of the third Thursday in November, Beaujolais Nouveau Day, is officially the earliest date that a wine may be released in France, and it is the date when much of the production in Tavel is released “En Primeur.” This is the time to enjoy those youthful, fresh, fruity Tavels. Like Beaujolais Nouveau, these early-release wines are meant to be enjoyed fresh and, in this case, chilled. These are not the same Tavels that you would store and age.
The region sits between Pont d’Avignon and Pont du Gard and takes in the communes of Tavel and Roquemaure.
This is a Rosé that can age due to the time it spends on its skins. In its youth, it can be flowery and almost sweet. As it ages, it moves into spicy notes, and peppery notes increase as it mellows.
There are rules for Tavel. As I mentioned, the wines must be of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, and they must be 11% ABV at a minimum.
Château de Ségriès
Château de Ségriès is one of the oldest estates in the Lirac AOC. They have vineyards in Lirac AOC for red wines that cover 36 hectares, a small area that grows whites including Clairette (Blanche), Roussanne, and Picpoul, and then 11 hectares in Tavel around the village.
The estate was purchased in 1994 by Henri de Lanzac, who has worked hard to improve the quality of the wines. These are old vines, many of which were planted in 1925 by the former owner, Count de Regis de Gatimel, who founded the Lirac AOC.
The estate is located near Lirac and Tavel and has been certified organic since 2023.
Château de Ségriès Tavel 2023
This wine is grown on the 11 hectares of vineyards around the village of Tavel. It is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 10% Clairette (Blanche), and 10% Syrah. The vines average 60 years old.
This area, near the village of Tavel, has sandy soils with clay and pebbles.
They destem the grapes, allow overnight maceration in cement tanks, and ferment at a low temperature.
My notes:
Vibrant rose red in the glass catches the light like stained glass. On the nose, you find bright red fruits, strawberry, raspberry, and maraschino cherry, as well as herbal notes of thyme and chalky notes. These are mirrored on the palate, with additional notes of wet stone.
14.5% abv – $26.99 (at Total Wine)
Ideas for pairings with Tavel
I recently came across an article on Jancis Robinson from 2022 by Tamerlyn Currin. She had been tasting Tavels and was searching for the perfect pairing. She went through lists of recommendations that she considered either “meh” or “fails.”
She found a couple of pairings that were delicious and in my opinion, logical: the first was a Salad Niçoise, the second artichokes with aioli.
I thought I would combine the two. It’s been a while since I made a Salade Niçoise, and the season is right (with the heat kicking in here in Las Vegas).
RJ (my go to for bouncing recipe ideas off of) loves roasted root vegetables in his Salade Niçoise and encouraged me to roast some artichokes and other vegetables to include in my salad.
This is not a “simple” salad. There are multiple components. Some marinate, some roast, some come right out of the jar or can.
Here’s what we included:
- Roasted baby potatoes, artichokes, and beech mushrooms.
- Marinated diced cucumbers and sliced cherry tomatoes.
- Thinly sliced and marinated fennel and shallot
- 7-minute eggs
- Haricot verts in butter, garlic, shallot, lemon, and thyme.
- Plus: Spanish tuna in oil, anchovies, kalamata olives, & capers
- With a Dijon vinaigrette and a mustard aioli.
- All plated on butter lettuce and radicchio.
Tamlyn was right. The Tavel with the artichokes and aioli was delicious. The Salade Niçoise? Well, it set the mood. With this heavier, more serious rosé, this complicated and serious salad was perfect.
More on Rosé from the French #Winophiles
Wendy is sharing “Simple Green Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Vinaigrette paired with Gerard Bertrand Rose” at A Day in the Life on the Farm
Jeff is sharing “Surprising Rosés from the Loire Valley” at Food Wine Click
Gwendolyn is sharing “Organic Côtes du Rhône Rosé with Salmon Cakes, Squash Soup, Salad” and “Luberon with Love: Four Organic Chateau de Sannes Rose Paired with Venison Bourguignon” at Wine Predator
Camilla is sharing “A Serious Rhône Rosé with a Nostalgic Fast Food Sandwich Reimagined” at Culinary Cam
Terri Steffes shares Uncorking Adventure: The Ultimate Guide to enjoying French Rose Wines while Camping at Our Good Life.
Deanna is sharing “Bugey Cerdon – Semi-Sweet Sparkling Rose from Jura” at Wineivore
Salade Nicoise
This salad is a classic, and there are evidently many rules, like: only tuna or anchovies, not both. We throw those out the window and adjust to our liking. We roasted vegetables like potatoes, mushrooms and artichokes, and marinated thinly sliced fennel and shallot. We chopped cherry tomatoes and cucumber and dressed them. Yes, we included both tuna and anchovies, the requisite egg (ours was a 7 minute egg), plus butter lettuce, radicchio, olives and capers. Our green beans were tossed in butter and lemon zest. We added a mustard aoili to dip our roasted artichokes in.
All in all it was heaven. A sturdy, substantial salad that we paired with a substantial rosé from Tavel.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb baby potatoes
- 1 can of sliced artichokes in brine
- 1 clump of beech mushrooms
- 2 cloves of garlic grated on a microplane
- 1/2 bulb of fennel thinly sliced on a mandoline
- 1 shallot - 1/2 shallot thinly sliced on a mandoline - 1/2 finely minced
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of evoo
- 3 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 cup of diced cucumber
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 lb haricot vert (thin French green beans)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup of water
- 1/2 head of butter lettuce
- 1/2 head of radicchio
- 1/4 cup of kalamata olives pitted
- 1/4 cup of capers
- 1 jar of Spanish tuna in olive oil
- 1 can of anchovies
- 2 tbsp of mustard aioli
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F
- Pop the potatoes in the microwave for 3 minutes to soften them up.
- Line a sheet pan with foil (for cleanup)
- Drain the can of artichokes
- Toss the artichokes with evoo, salt, pepper, 1/4 of the garlic, a bit of chopped thyme, and rosemary.
- Toss the potatoes in the same way.
- Place them on either end of the sheetpan, with a space in the middle
- Cut the bottom 1/2 inch off of your beech mushrooms.
- Place in the center of the pan, drizzle with evoo, sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary.
- Roast for 20 minutes
- Make your marinade by mixing the diced shallot, 2 tsp of Dijon, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1/2 cup EVOO, fresh thyme and rosemary, salt, and pepper.
- Separately, dress the cucumber, tomatoes, and a mixture of sliced fennel and shallot with a bit of the dressing, reserving more for the finished salad.
- Cook your eggs: Put the eggs in cold water, covering them by an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn off the heat and leave them in the water for 7 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and gently crack the shells on the counter. Place them in an ice bath for 1 to 2 minutes. Peel and cut them in half.
- Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, add the beans and cook 3 minutes undisturbed.
- Season the beans with salt, thyme, garlic, pepper, and lemon zest.
- Add 1/3 cup of water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until the water is gone.
- Finish with salt, lemon zest, and a squeeze of lemon
- To plate: line the plate with butter lettuce and radicchio leaves, topped with more torn leaves. Place each of your finished ingredients around the plate, sprinkle with capers and a bit of additional lemon zest if you like. Include additional dressing and the aioli on the side.
Notes
I played with this recipe! Do that yourself! Adjust with things you like, leave out the things you don't. But by all means, enjoy this with a Rosé from Tavel!
More on Tavel and rosé from Crushed Grape Chronicles and beyond
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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