2008 Château d'Esclans Rosés: $100 Garrus Included.

This is an excerpt of my recent blogpost of the 26th May 2010 at Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2010. Because said post is long, involves 4 sets of different wines from different producers plus a note on the dim sum lunch, I opted to break it up into a few separate, more manageable and easier to read posts here.

Those who prefer to read the entire post in one go may click here.



...In addition, I got waylaid when I came across the showroom of Château d'Esclans* and recognized Sacha Lichine pouring (I'd never met him before, but seen him in photos and read about him - he's kind of hard to miss with the flamboyant hair, considerable girth and booming New York accent).

*Either J-Lab or the Stockbroker told me about the US$100 rosé of Sacha Lichine a while back (the "Garrus" bottling, just 6 barrels produced per vintage).

Claudio Aguayo, Managing Director of Viña El Principal from Chile, walked me through all the 2008 d'Esclans rosés (I'm not so sure how he is connected with Sacha Lichine though; but I promised to put him in touch with some distributors of Chilean wines in Manila). I mentioned to Claudio that the Stockbroker and I put together a head-to-head tasting of the 2007 rosés of Domaines Tempier and Ott - then some cheeky fellow (who I suspect was d'Esclans Consultant Oenologist Patrick Leon, but I'm not so sure) broke in and exclaimed to me half-jokingly that "We are better than Ott!!!" - which made me decide to hold a blind horizontal of the rosés of Tempier, Ott and d'Esclans as soon as I can.



2008 Château d'Esclans "Whispering Angel" - Very refreshing and bright, well-focused and pure, incredibly light on its feet with very dry cantaloupe and strawberry, hints of cold steeliness and slate. Pristine lines, so pure and clean. Very nice. Sacha bellowed to me that if one drinks enough of this one will really hear the angels' voices.



2008 Château d'Esclans "Esclans" - Quite similar but with more depth, marginal heft and firmer structure. The fruit seems more deeply-veined and concentrated as well, but without giving up any apparent freshness and purity in fruit. More spice on the nose.



2008 Château d'Esclans "Les Clans" - The jump in structure from the "Esclans" was pretty apparent, as were the wood notes. Readily sturdier and remarkable definition in the heftier fruit with some lavender, slight dried herbs and just a light touch more spice.

Up to the "Esclans", the wines reminded me more of the more feminine 2007 Domaines Ott Château Romassan Rosé Coeur de Grain, but this one brought to mind the more masculine and firmer structured 2007 Tempier Rosé (after a little over 2 years from vintage).



2008 Château d'Esclans "Garrus" - Quite similar to the "Les Clans" but with, yet again, marginally more depth and heft, firmer structure and a bit more complexity. I guess having these side by side after a few years will show more pronounced differences. What is remarkable is how well freshness and vibrancy is maintained throughout the line of rosés. I note that the months spent in large barrels with battonage is obviously skillfully executed as the wood-related notes, though pretty apparent, are quite subtle and finely/delicately intertwined.

Now, the question arises: "Would I pay US$100/bottle for this (i.e., only the Garrus is around US$100/bottle, the others are cheaper, the entry-level Whispering Angel the cheapest of them)?" Honestly, probably on the rare occasion, but I certainly wouldn't likely drink it as regularly as I do Tempier's rosés. Better than Tempier or Ott? Ott, yes; Tempier, I don't think so, but we will see at the blind tasting to come.

When I read that Château d'Esclans was offering a rosé at $100, my first reaction was to admire their chutzpa which may be rewarded by sales to the fashionable rich along the Côte d'Azur and elsewhere. It is interesting, Noel, that you rate if pretty good and maybe almost worth the price tag with the proviso that Tempier is probably just as good, if not better, as well as more reasonably priced. I look forward to your notes on a blind confrontation.

Yes, Tim, I was also quite taken aback when I learned about a $100 rosé on the market around 1½ years ago. I do look forward to holding this blind rosé shoot-out, but that will likely take place after a month or two as I have to bring in some of the Garrus and Ott plus let them rest. The Tempier is readily available here, so no problem with that. It will be very interesting indeed, whatever the outcome may be.

Best,

N