The wine

Mirabeau is an AOC Cotes de Provence Rosé which is made from vineyards from around the village of Pourcieux, to the south-east of Aix-en-Provence.

AOC stands for Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée and is the French certification granted to certain wines, cheeses, butters (even a turnip!). It means we have to make the wine with specific grape varieties and have to limit our yields etc. It is based on the the the concept of terroir.

The grape varieties we are allowed to use are Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan and Tibouren and more recently we can use Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Mirabeau is made up of a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah grapes.

We have set up Mirabeau as a négociant, which means we can assemble the produce of various high quality growers and winemakers to create a particular style of wine. This allows us a huge amount of flexibility to pick and choose from some of the best vineyards in Provence, which might be private estates or some of the more progressive cooperatives. This year all the grapes have come from one area, but in the future we may blend from across the region.

The vineyards that produced the Mirabeau 2010 grapes enjoy their own special micro-climate in the foothills between two beautiful mountains, Mont Aurelien to the south and Mont Saint-Victoire to the north (made famous by the likes of Cézanne and Picasso) with an altitude of between 300-400m above sea level. The soil is predominately clay and limestone.

2010 was a late harvest (about 2 weeks later than usual) and some of the grapes were still being picked in early October, which meant very cool, early morning picking was possible, helping to preserve the freshness.

Mirabeau is a “vin de pressurage”, meaning that it is made from a direct pressing of the grapes, rather than the usual saignée (free-run juice) method.

The growers of our grapes respect an environmentally friendly system of viticulture known as lutte raisonnée (or rational agriculture) which focusses on sustainable farming in order to preserve the balance in the environment. To back this up, they have committed to a programme of sustainable agriculture known as the Agriconfiance® quality certification programme.

Tasting notes

Mirabeau rosé has the most exquisite rose pink colour, making it really beautiful to look at. The nose has aromas of the classic “fruits rouges”of wild strawberries, raspberry and redcurrant. A hint of pear drops falls away with a little time, to be replaced by a nice creaminess, and the aromas begin to meld together into a beautifully clean, complex whole. The palate offers a combination of ripe red fruits and zesty apple, with a decent amount of acidity which adds grip and texture. This is a wine that tends towards elegance, rather than power, yet it has a very impressive finish – those tangy, zesty, herby, almost spicy flavours linger for a very long time on the palate.