I cover the indulgence of all things distilled, fermented and brewed.
Rosé is often thought of as a summer or spring wine, but it’s actually a great transitional wine from summer to winter, aka, fall. It’s also a versatile wine in terms of food pairings, which makes it perfect for Thanksgiving. Here’s a roundup of some delicious wines to pair with your turkey and sides.
If you like Whispering Angel, then you’ll LOVE Rock Angel Rosé. ROCK ANGEL
Château D’Esclans Rock Angel, $42.99
With a greater intensity and more richness than Whispering Angel, Rock Angel pairs well with so many dishes. Try pairing it this Thanksgiving with turkey and all its fixings.
Château d’Esclans releases 2021 vintage of Rock Angel
By Anne Krebiehl MW
Bertrand Léon, winemaker and technical director at Château d’Esclans, introduces Rock Angel as “perfect for Whispering Angel fans that want to take their love of Provence rosé to the next level.”
Singular success
Château d’Esclans in Provence was founded in 2006 by Sacha Lichine with the sole aim of producing a premium brand that would elevate Provençal rosé across the globe. He made 130,000 bottles of Whispering Angel in 2006 – by now millions of bottles of Whispering Angel are made each year, across several wineries. Sacha Lichine thus proved his point – he created a premium brand of Côtes de Provence rosé that is a global success.
Points of difference
Rock Angel, is one step upfrom Whispering Angel: it is made from the fruit of older vines of an average age of about 20 years, all grown inLa Motte, the area immediately surrounding the picturesque château. It is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle. Roughly a third of Rock Angel is fermented and aged in large 600-litre oak barrels called demi-muid. The wine matures on the spent yeast from the fermentation and throughout its maturation, these yeasts are stirred which gives a creamier mouthfeel and supple texture to the wine. Léon says Rock Angel “offers a more complex and structured taste profile” and thus is ideal for the changing season. Chicken pie and vegetarian stew are named as ideal autumnal pairings for the wine.
There is an initial hint of hazelnut and creaminess on the nose that precedes both lemon and red berry tones. The palate picks up the creaminess that is suggested on the nose and fills the mouth with textured lemony freshness. This is concentrated and rich, yet with a lovely pink grapefruit pithiness and real verve to make the mouth water on the long finish. 92 Points
16 Best Luxury Rosés To Drink All Year Long, According To Our Expert
From Provence to the Cotswolds, our experts reveal the best blushes for Autumn
By Stacey Smith
What country makes the best rosé? Most of us will automatically reach for the palest pink we can find from Provence. And while there are lots of wines from the South of France that grace this list, we urge you to stay open-minded to other regions, including some gems we’ve found on English soil.
What pairs well with a rosé wine? The main grape found in rosé is grenache — which tends to be a complete crowd-pleaser. Full-bodied and bursting with plump red fruit — think mixed summer berries and cherry — you might also detect a little white pepper too. Wines with added syrah are particularly food-friendly, pairing well with charcuterie and cheese boards, tuna, and lamb; although if all else fails, almost all rosé is excellent as an aperitif.
How we test rosé wine We recruited a panel of 10 testers (a mixture of WSET-certified wine experts and more general rosé fans) to give 33 blush bottles their undivided attention. They rated each, looking for flavours across the full spectrum — from fresh and fruity to rich and full-bodied. Here’s the best luxury rosé brands to try this year…
Cave D’Esclans Rock Angel From the team behind our beloved Whispering Angel comes this pale peach blush with bags of attitude. Despite the relatively high ABV (for a rosé), our panel found it surprisingly fresh and light, with a focus on delicate stone fruit and a long, dry finish.
Key specifications Country: France Region: Provence Grapes: Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle (Vermentino) 75cl, 14% ABV
Le Jardinier Debuts Summer Garden with New Happy Hour and Sunday Brunch Offerings
Miami Design District’s hidden gem and Michelin-starred French American eatery, Le Jardinier of the Bastion Collection, offers a summer garden experience in collaboration with Whispering Angel and Château d’Esclans.
Le Jardinier’s summer happy hour, available Tuesday through Thursday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, transports guests to the French Riviera with themed cocktails, summer dishes, rosé pairings, and music inspired by the Côte d’Azur’s favorite summer beach clubs.
Le Jardinier’s refined yet approachable Sunday Brunch menu, available from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm, offers seasonal dishes with local ingredients, curated by Executive Chef James Friedberg. Start with the popular Golden Beet Salad, choose from a variety of sustainable seafood entrees, and share a delicious dessert – with a range of plant-based, gluten-free and vegan options to satisfy any sweet tooth.
The limited-time Sunday Magnum bottles – Whispering Angel ($70), Rock Angel ($120), and Garrus ($250) – will whisk guests away to the south of France as they sip rosé in the Château d’Esclans garden of roses. Le Jardinier’s modern, light-filled space and lush outdoor dining in its summer garden invite celebrations of every kind. Follow @lejardiniermiami for more details.
Château d’Esclans Recognized and Decorated at The Drinks Business Global Rosé Masters 2022
The Chateau d’Esclans team are thrilled to once again have been recognized in the Global Rosé Masters, and with 5 of our wines no less. Judged by an illustrious panel of 7 wine experts, this year including 5 Masters of Wine as well as Master Sommeliers and senior buyers, this competition is globally renowned.
Whispering Angel ’21 and Rock Angel ’20 were awarded Gold medals respectively, while Les Clans ’20 and Garrus ’20 were both celebrated with the ultimate accolade of ‘Master’ – the only two wines in Oaked Dry Rose category to achieve this feat.
Further to that, amongst the 6 wines recognized as The best rosés over £25 for drinking this summer, Rock Angel, Les Clans and Garrus were chosen. Patrick Schmitt explains that this particular list is comprised of the ‘greatest still pink wines on the planet at present’. In a similar fashion, Whispering Angel was also identified amongst The best rosés under £25 for drinking this summer.
Whispering Angel 2021 wins Gold £ 15- £ 20 S till Unoa ked Dry Rosé
Significant production growth for this success story of a pink wine brand has not diminished the quality, or so it seems for Provence’s Whispering Angel, which came out as a class leader, picking up a Gold in this year’s blind tasting. It’s an excellent example of a pale dry rosé, mixing soft ripe fruit with a chalky dry refreshing edge. In terms of flavour profile, there’s white-fleshed peach and pear followed by redcurrant, citrus zest and a delicate herbal edge to bring additional interest to the persistent finish. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Rock Angel 2020 wins Gold £ 20- £ 30 Oa ked Dry Rosé
From the 147 hectares of vines at the Château d’Esclans estate comes this really delicious, gently oaked rosé wine. Located near the Golfe de Fréjus on stony soils, old Grenache vines deliver. Augmented by Vermentino (Rolle), a traditional variety in Provence (and Corsica) and Cinsault, the wine has a typical pale peach-pink colour. The delicate peach stone and redcurrant aromatics have just a hint of creamy vanilla-bean wood. Mid-weight and just dry, the wine has beautifully defined flavours and a gentle lift of white pepper and allspice. Elegant and well-balanced with very good length, this is a delightful wine for summer (and autumn) drinking on its own or with chicken or pork. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)
Les Cl ans wins ‘Ma ster’ accol ade in £ 50- £ 70 Oa ked Dry Rosé
The baby Garrus from Château d’Esclans, called Les Clans, gives a taste of skilfully crafted, barrel-influenced rosé for half the price of the range topper – and therefore, offers brilliant value relative to Garrus, even if it doesn’t quite match the quality. What you get with Les Clans is wonderful ripe yellow stone fruit, along with notes of orange blossom and pear, complemented by cashew nuts and toast, a touch of creaminess, and then some chalky-textured phenolic grip on the finish, giving this a dry, refreshing edge. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Garrus wins ‘Ma ster’ accol ade in £ 100 + Oa ked Dry Rosé
When it comes to Garrus, the original is still the best. This was the first rosé to be made like a fine white Burgundy or Bordeaux blanc – fermented and aged in a mixture of new and used oak barrels to create a wine with a creamy taste and texture, and the potential to age and develop over time after bottling. It was also the brand that started the category of luxury rosés, as the first non-sparkling pink drink to retail for more than £100 a bottle. And it was the best-performer in the inaugural Global Rosé Masters, and has consistently been the highest-scorer in this competition. The appeal lies in its brilliantly-balanced mix of ripe fruit, fine oak, and freshness. One sip, and the wine gradually unfolds, revealing flavours of peach and pear, pomegranate and pink grapefruit, then orange zest mingling with creamy vanilla and toasted marshmallow. As for the feel of this rosé, there’s a slight richness to the wine, with an oily weight to it, but a bone dry, chalk and citrus finish, which ensures it still serves as a refreshing rosé. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Wednesday Wines – Episode 122 – Elite Rosé Special
The final wine in this collection is the finest all-rounder of all. Rock Angel manages to bring freshness and poise to the party while also involving depth, gravitas and considerable length. This balancing act is extremely difficult to achieve as most roses fall into either everyday, forgettable, glugger camp or the wannabe, luxury, foodie camp. So many wines gain bronze medal scores in my notes, making them, to all intents and purposes, vinonymous. I only look for wines of character and credibility, and 2021 Rock Angel is such a soaring success it is incredible. It embodies the Esclans no compromise ethos while stepping up the drama. It also manages to sit in the mid-twenties price zone, which is amazing given the winemaker élan involved here. It is strange how many rosé producers scrap for shelf space for their sub-twenty wines and then release super-cuvées in the fifties, completely forgetting that discerning drinkers want to spoil themselves without going nuts. This is precisely where Rock Angel hangs out, further underlining its aim to give the Whispering Angel crowd a wine to graduate to when the waiter brings your food to the table! Well done, Esclans. I don’t doubt that this is your most refined Rock Angel to date, and having tasted it on many occasions this year already, it never disappoints.
Whispering Angel Opens Terrace at Yauatcha City for dim sum pairing
By Libby Zietsman-Brodie
You would have to have been living under a rock not to have heard of Château d’Esclans Whispering Angel and its premium big sister Rock Angel. These rosés have gripped the summer drinking crowd the last couple of years and now they are launching pop-up terraces around the capital for the sunnier months. At Yauatcha City, where the Whispering Angel pop-up resides until 27 September, it was decorated in pink flowers and abuzz with City-types unbuttoning collars.
The evening began with an Angel Spritz, a refreshing fruity blend of the aforementioned wine, Aperol Spritz, apricot liquor and tonic to cool you down.
Whispering Angel is a blend of juicy Grenache, floral Cinsault and Rolle and it is bone dry, meaning it can pair freshly with rich dishes yet not dominate more delicate flavours. Yauatcha, experts in the art of dim sum, have devised a special pairing menu for the terrace and the rosé slipped down a treat with the fragrant, delicate lobster dumpling lightly spiced with ginger and topped with Tobiko caviar.
For those in the mood for something meatier, the soft-shell crab bao is supremely satisfying and the Iberico pork truffle siew long bao is a triumph so good we had to order more.
I could have happily nibbled away for hours as the sun set but was advised not to miss the dessert, a shiny cerise globe of rhubarb compote, gin jelly and juniper mousse. But it was the Sakura and raspberry macaron that won my heart in the end – a skilfully crisp bite of daintily perfumed flavours.
You can pause for a glass, carafe, bottle, magnum or – for those who are going large – even a jeroboam (£256) of this popular rosé.
Other terraces serving the wine include Searcy’s at the Gherkin, Stoke House Terrace in Victoria and Wright Brothers Jetty in Battersea.
The rosé craze is so well established in the United States by now that no one can argue against its credentials as more than just a summer tipple — for large waves of the drinking public, pink wine is a year-round staple. But May continues to mark an important moment on the rose calendar: the point at which the majority of the most recent Northern Hemisphere bottlings are available on the American market.
May also heralds the moment VinePair’s tasting panel assembles to dig out the best of the best in the rose category, and this year certainly delivered. Compiled based on factors such as quality; value, and availability; 2022’s list features supermarket staples, bottles for orange and natural wine aficionados, and worthy opportunities to splurge.
This year’s final ranking pays noteworthy visits to Spain, Portugal, and Greece, as well as both coasts of the United States and, of course, Provence. Expect classic southern French blends and varietal bottlings from a range of exciting different grapes.
Here are the 25 best rose wines for 2022. Looking for our 2021 edition of this list? Head over here.
16. CHATEAU D’ESCLANS ROCK ANGEL 2020
Château d’Esclans propelled the rose movement into the American mainstream with Whispering Angel. This bottle, the more decadent, slightly pricier sibling of that wine, sees partial vinification in 600-liter oak barrels. That process brings a richness to the wine and softens the tartness of its fruit notes. If you’re a regular Whispering Angel drinker, seek out this wine for the next phase of your rose exploration. Average price: $34.
