Clos Sainte-Magdeleine Rosé 2011 Provence France

Clos Sainte-Magdeleine Rosé 2011 Cassis ( normally famous for its whites) in Provence France by Yapp Brothers at £14.25, it is from  François Sack’s estate using the Provence grapes Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvèdre. It has an enticing salmon pink colour and aromas of tinned strawberries, nectarine, tangerine and honeysuckle flowers, these are softly echoed on the palate which is dry and has a medium length and a slightly salty finish. The alcohol (12.5%) is well integrated and the texture feels in the right place.

Score : 87

Domaine Pieretti Rosé 2011 Sartene Corsica

Domaine Pieretti Rosé 2011 from Sartene in Corsica, Phillipe Farinelli’s Corsican rosé wine, from a blend of Vermentino and Sciacarello with a splash of Nielluccio. It is pale salmon - nearly onion skin coloured and has low aromas of rhubarb, nectarine and flowers, clean but single dimensional. On the palate once more rhubarb, nectarine and strawberry with a medium acidity that merely keeps it fresh, the alcohol is low ( 11.5%) but the wine is a simple rosé wine that has a medium to short finish, best enjoyed with a shellfish or fish on a summers day. Supplied by Yapp Brothers £11.25.
Score : 79

Corsican Clos Culombu Rosé 2010

Corsican Clos Culombu Rosé 2010 is from Calvi in North West Corsica, it is from a winery founded by Paul Suzzoni in the mid 1980's and run by his brother Ettienne as is 95ha in size. Low intervention viticulture with few chemicals and weedkillers added, and low yields (by debudding and green harvesting) ensure good quality wine potential. The dominant grape here is Sangiovese ( a grape which one thinks of as an Italian variety.... well, Corsica is thought of as French/Italian)

This wine is a bright but very pale salmon and on the nose one immediately is struck by the red berry fruits interminglad with pink grapefruit and flowers, these are echoed on the palate and the length is good with a citric pith finish, the acidity is not high and the alcohol is merely 12.5% and well integrated. A fresh, clean wine of the easy drinking variety, though it would stand up to a risotto or simple chicken dishes. Sold by The Wine Society at £12.50.
Score : 85

Les Clans Chateau D'esclans 2006 Rose. Cotes de Provence Domaine Sacha Lichine

Les Clans from Chateau D'esclans 2006 Rosé from the  Cotes de Provence ( 80% of the wine produced in Provence is rosé) made by Domaine Sacha Lichine, this is a bottle that had hidden at the back of some boxes and we had not intended to leave it so long!
The bottle of this delightful wine is a beautiful sight on its own, clear glass to admire the wonderful salmon/onion skin colour, and an impressed emblem on the front.
Once poured and admired we commented on its viscosity, it has a 'thickness' to its flow, this alone made us want to dive in, but once we had popped our noses in the glass, we were sold again!
It has a nutty pear aroma with a slight herbal note, the grapes in this blend are Grenache ( 48% are 80 year old vines) and  Rolle.
The texture of this wine along reinforces the fact that this wine has been carefully and beautifully made, the acidity is freshning keeping the fruit remaining fresh and clean, it has a fattness too it and without the acidity it may tend to flabbiness - which this wine definetly does not! The alcohol is warming but in balance and adds structure to the blend, the tannins are very low, ripe and silky. There is a spicy note encapsulating the pear, peach and pithy citric, herbal flavours. The finish is good and long having a pithy bitter end which runs alongside lemon.
This is a truly beautiful wine, the lack of fruit is a shame, we had tasted this for the first time 2 years ago (it is aged for 2-3 years before it is released) - and it was singing - but this had a  certain maturity and some savouriness that has emerged that adds to its complexity, so maybe somethings are meant to be and the accident was to our benefit.
Sacha Lichine purchased Chateau d'Esclans in 2006 and brought in Patrick Leon (formerly of Mouton Rothschild) as winemaker to start making the world's best rosé ( Jancis Robinson) and also to prove that rosés can be wines to be taken seriously. Ch d'Esclans make four roses; their signature cuvee 'Whispering Angel' ( which is stunning - and I actually prefer it) vinified in stainless steel, the slightly weightier 'Esclans' which is part vinified in oak which adds to both its weight and structure and then the two seriously punchy efforts in the 'Les Clans' and micro-cuvee 'Garrus.' Les Clans, fermentation in new and second year demi muids (600 liter barrels) for 10 months in Burgundian style, and production limited to only 7 barrels, and   Garrus  limited to only 3 barrels per vintage, scored 91 from Wine Spectator . They all come with a fairly hefty price tag - with the Les Clans coming in at around £50-60.