Chateau Paradis: Rosé for all seasons

As we head towards winter, some of us may discard the habit of a glass of chilled rosé as a soothing balm for warm weather but this rosé is a delight barely chilled. This is a rosé that will take us through the winter and is one of the contrasts combining intensity of flavour with a silky subtleness. 

My tasting notes say strawberry and cherries on the nose, with a faint hint of citrus, belying its delicate, pale, crystalline appearance in the bottle. Peaches and a faint hint of cantaloupe melon combine with the red berry fruits to make this smooth, mellow, elegant, refined and long on the palate. 

The blend

Syrah contributes to 70% of this intensely flavoured rosé and is picked at the same time as Vermentino (Rolle) which makes up 10%, as they ripen together. Mourvèdre, which makes up the other 20% ripens later and is fermented on the lees for two months in oak barrels, which gives the wine its intensity while maintaining its subtleness.

Food pairing

We tried it before supper with vegetable gyozas and the red berry fruits and peaches were to the fore with these. Our starters were prawns and scallops in lobster sauce with a light sprinkling of Parmigiano and with this the Terre des Anges displayed a definite citrus nuance. With the Coriander Chicken (sauce tomato, crushed coriander seeds, garlic, lemon zest and cream) the palate returned to the intense, luscious red berries and peach. 

Rosé with cheese?

I managed to save a thimble full to try with my currently two favourite cheeses – Storm, a Welsh Red Leicester, produced in Snowdonia ( until I tasted this I had eschewed Red Leicester, except for grilled cheese on toast) and Sussex Charmer. It went beautifully with these cheeses, as well and held its own with quite strong flavours.

It comes in an elegant bottle with a glass stopper. I realised after I broke my thumbnail pulling the stopper out, that I needed to learn a new technique for accessing the delicious contents, but that is me not the wine! 

I can highly recommend that you give Chateau Paradis Terre des Anges a try, next time you eat seafood, creamy chicken or even mature cheese.

Chateau Paradis, Coteaux d’Aix en Provence, Terre des Anges Rosé 2019: Available in the UK from Finewinedirect.co.uk

 
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