Chateau d’Esclans Cotes de Provence Garrus 2022 Rose France

Garrus must, I suspect, blow the minds of some tasters. It’s enough trying to get ones head around a ros that sells for more than 100 per bottle, but this wine is also anything but ‘showy’. Instead, this blend of Grenache and Vermentino is subtle, restrained and intellectual. It seems obvious that the ambition of Sacha Lichine of Chteau dEsclans is to create a pink wine with the qualities of a fine white Burgundy: vines are 100 years old, and the wine is fermented and aged 10 months in 100% new oak – though the the barrels are big 600-litre ‘demi-muids’, so there no overt ‘oakiness’ on either nose or palate. Instead, intense and concentrated small red berry fruits mingle with firm lemon and ripe apple, a minerality at the core of the aroma giving a strict but inviting character. In the mouth this is so youthful and will surely improve over a decade or more, though for now it is deliciously powerful and yet linear and taut. Those small red berry flavours ease into gentle spice, with the subtlest oak creaminess and plenty of shimmering acidity.

95 Pts Tom Cannavan

A complex and intense ros with notes of oak spices to the elegant red berries and strawberries, together with hints of orange and grapefruit. Impressive purity and tension on the full-bodied palate, with an ethereal feel and a long, subtle and refreshing finish. Tactile, flavorful and elegantly structured. Very serious. Drink or hold.95 Pts James Suckling