Surprise or even consternation among rosé tasters. In a blind competition where 28 rosé wines – 16 from Provence and 12 from Bordeaux – were compared, the bottles of Bordeaux winegrowers held their own against their Provençal counterparts. It was the Wine Route site that delivered this astonishing conclusion, in a publication spotted by Var Morning.
And if Provençal wines monopolize the first three places, Bordeaux rosés are ahead of certain prestigious cuvées from the south. Among which the Château Miraval, owned by Brad Pitt, whose cuvée, with bottles sold for 16 euros each, ranks 11th. Big slap also for the wines from the two estates owned by LVMH which finished in 17th and 18th positions, including the Whispering Angel cuvée, the best-selling French wine in the United States at 18.33 euros a bottle.
A bottle at 5.70 euros in good place
Tutiac, the first Bordeaux rosé to appear in this ranking, is in fourth position, tied with Bandol, a rosé whose reputation is second to none. And if the Bandol sells for 22 euros a bottle, the Bordeaux sells for 5.70 euros.
These results are all the more surprising in view of the production volumes: 91% of the cuvées brought together within the Vins de Provence are rosés when this color represents only 4% of the production of the Bordeaux vineyards.