Tavel is sort of a wine trivia question. It’s the only AOC (French wine appellation) that is just for rosé wines. They aren’t your usual rosés, however. They can be something of an acquired taste. Is it a taste worth acquiring? Read the rest of the review to find out.
In the glass
It’s a strong colour, demanding to be noticed. It’s not your usual pale, washed-out Provence rosé. I’m not 100 percent sure what I should call it. Pink is probably the technical colour, deep pink to be precise. But that doesn’t do it justice; it is too bland a description. It’s pretty. I like Tavel rosés. But pressed to name the colour – hmm…. A sort of watermelon-y colour? Really, it’s bright, it’s vibrant. I like to look at it almost as much as to drink it. So who really cares what you call it? (Actually, I am thinking something a bit saltier than ‘who really cares,’ but I went with that for the more sensitive readers out there.
The nose
As usual, I’m not clear what I’m smelling. But then again, at least I’m smelling something. Bright red fruits, but that may well be influenced by the colour. There’s something else, but I can’t decide what it is. But after a couple of really deep whiffs, there seems to be a hint of something darker, almost bitter, lurking underneath.
The palate
Dry, medium body. Ok, you’ll laugh, but my notes at this point say ‘wet.’ It’s weird. I know. A liquid feeling wet. But what I’m trying to get at here is I’m slightly surprised that there’s not more body, or more prominent tannins, given the relatively dark colour for a rosé.
There are red fruits here, as you’d expect. Red currants, maybe? On the second or third tasting, I start to wonder if there’s some strawberry in there. There’s a tiny, tiny hint of lingering alcohol heat on the finish. There’s also a bit of bitterness on the finish, but for me, this comes across as quite pleasant. That hint of darkness on the nose doesn’t resurface here.
Rating
This gets a yummy-plus. It’s not your usual rosé, and probably won’t be to everyone’s liking. It may well be an acquired taste. But I like it. It is well-suited to food, although that isn’t strictly a requirement. After my initial tasting, I had it with a dinner of cheese. It worked pretty well. Would also probably work with some seafoods and salads. I find it a very more-ish wine.
Sustainability
Domaine Maby’s website says they are engaged in sustainable growing and winemaking, which means for them as little use of pesticides, etc. as possible, and doing most of the vineyard work by hand.
Other stuff
Apologies for this not following the Wednesday-ish/ / Thursday-ish schedule. I’ve been under the weather (what a weird phrase, no?) this week, so a bit behind. This also means the post that should appear on Sunday may well appear on Monday.
The technical info and such
14.0% ABV. Grenache and Cinsault. £12.50 from The Wine Society