Talk-A-Vino

Do you really think I managed to get face time with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? Or at least a Skype interview? A phone call? Yeah, none of the above, you are correct. But – as it was announced a while back, they joined the ranks of celebrity winemakers with the release of their first wine from Château Miraval, a property in Provence, which they acquired a few years ago – and considering that they both participated in the tasting and selection of the final blend, I think the title of this post stands as appropriate. Well, yes, they didn’t make the wine all by themselves – they got some serious help by partnering with Marc Perrin of Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, so the wine officially lists Jolie-Pitt & Perrin on the back label.

Miraval Rosé

Before we will talk about the wine, I want to mention that Château Miraval has very interesting history – in the 1970s, it belonged to the famous jazz musician Jacques Loussier, who converted the chateau into the recording studio. Many famous musicians, such as Pink Floyd, Sting and others, used that studio to produce their albums.

Now, let’s get to the wines. While celebrity status of winemakers is nice, in the end of the day, I care about content of my glass. So in this particular case, I wanted to have some frame of reference – of course in the form of another wine. As Miraval Rosé comes from Provence, I wanted to compare it with another Provence Rosé. Looking at the wide range of Rosé available, my eyes stopped at the label. Whispering Angel. I think I heard it somewhere. And it is from Provence. Problem solved – I got my second Rosé, and the battle (okay, it is only two, so let’s call it a mini-battle) of Rosé was set.

Then I found out that I have chosen well. It appears that Whispering Angel Rosé was a hit of 2012, and it was literally impossible to get it last year. Thus it was very interesting to see how the two will fare, and how the arrival of the Miraval might affect the cult status of the Whispering Angel.

Whispering Angel and Miraval side by side

Now, before we get on to the wines themselves (didn’t I say it already? yes I did, sorry for the interruption once again, but please read on), I need to let out a little rant. When I visit a winery’s web site, I’m doing it because I’m looking for information. Information for me includes history of people, story of the winemaker, information about vineyards, but most importantly, I want to know about the particular wine made at that winery. I want to know what grapes went into the wine, how the wine was made, what winemaker thinks about wine, and so on. Anything and everything which winery is willing to share about the wine, I’m willing to read, but (ahh, my finger is dancing above the Caps Lock key – I’m not going to press it only because I really respect you, my readers, but read rest of this sentence in the loud voice) – I’m not looking to read four praising quotes from the different sources and none, zero, nada, zilch of any actual information about the wine. The wine I’m talking about here  – Whispering Angle. 4 quotes on the web site – and no wine information to be found anywhere. Yes, some of those quotes are wine tasting notes from the critics – but you don’t even know what vintage is being described. Yes, I do find it very annoying. End of the rant.

Now, let’s [finally] get to the wines. Here are the two wines side by side:

Whispering Angel and Miraval, now in the glass

2012 Whispering Angel Rosé Caves D’Esclans Côtes de Provence AOC ($17.99, 13.5% ABV) – supposedly a blend of Grenache, Rolle, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvedre – the reason I say “supposedly” is because I didn’t find this information at winemaker’s web site or the back label – see the rant above.

Literally non-existent color in the glass. Pretty intense nose, more on the sweet side, with some tropical fruit (uncommon for Rose?). On the nose, it is more white wine than a red wine. Opens with the degree of sweetness on the palate, but as wine warms up, the sweetness disappears. After the wine opened up a bit, the palate is almost insignificant – there no traditional strawberries and onion peel. The wine is pleasant, but behaves more as indistinct white. Drinkability: 7

2012 Miraval Rosé Côtes de Provence AOC ($21.99, 13%ABV) – a blend of Cinsalt, Grenache, Syrah and Rolle. Syrah was vinified by saignée (bleeding, the pink juice is collected separately instead of leaving the juice in contact with skin for the short period of time), and the other varieties were direct pressed. 5% of the cuvee was aged in the oak casks.

Here are the tasting notes: Nice rose color, more intensity that the previous wine. Some strawberries on the nose, no sweetness. Nice density on the palate, more strawberries, very round but with the character. Drinkability: 7+

Time to conclude our small Rosé competition. I would give a small edge to Miraval, it was a bit more interesting. Miraval Rosé was good, but – it was not a wow wine I can’t live without. In that price range ($20+) there are plenty of interesting Rosé, lots of options are available to the curious palate in need of refreshing sip – in other words, I don’t think I will be specifically rushing over to the store to pick up whatever supply is left for either one of these Rosé.

Before we done here (I know, I keep testing your patience), I want to mention an excellent Rosé post by The Armchair Sommelier (I hope you discovered and follow her blog already, if not – fix that problem immediately). One of the dishes in that blog post looked so good and simple – Grilled Avocado with melted cheese – that I asked for the recipe (very easy – take avocado, make some holes with the fork, smother with the hot sauce, cover with cheese and broil for 5 minutes). I made it to accompany my Rosé and the dish came out perfectly and was very enjoyable, especially with the wine.

Grilled Avocado with melted cheese

Now it is the time to conclude for real. Until the next time – cheers!