Château d'Aquéria Tavel 2021 (Rhône) - Wine Review

Tonight's rosé wine review is this refreshingly lovely wine from the Tavel Cru in the southern Rhône Valley that is coming to LCBO VINTAGES on May 21 as the Wine of the Month and featured as part of the theme on rosé wines.

The long and fascinating history of Château d'Aquéria began in 1595 when Louis Joseph d'Aqueria purchased this prime vine-growing area of Tavel known as "Puy Sablonneux" from the monks at the Abbey in Villeneuve les Avignon. His son, Robert d'Aqueria, hereditary Count Palatine, built a home which was transformed in the 18th century into the Château as it stands today. Many families have since owned the Château, cherishing the lands as they honed the art of crafting wine with knowledge of their terroir, the vines, and the fruit of those vines. Today, Aquéria is owned and operated by brothers Bruno and Vincent de Bez. Aquéria has been applying environmentally-friendly winegrowing techniques for over 20 years while also preserving and protecting local floral and fauna. Sustainable agriculture and respect for the environment is part of Aquéria's identity.

The 2021 edition of this lovely Tavel Rosé is a blend of mainly Grenache, Clairette, and Syrah, and typically also includes small amounts of other varietals. The grapes were grown around the Château on sandy-clayey soils which are ideal for producing great rosé wines that are both fruity and complex. The grapes were hand-harvested and de-stemmed, then macerated to extract colour and structure. The varieties were then blended two-by-two to enhance aromatic complexity, then underwent temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel vats. A second blending took place in December before bottling this unoaked rosé.

At Château d'Aquéria, the climate is quintessentially Mediterranean with low rainfall, strong sunshine, and exposure to the Mistral winds. The growing season in 2021 was marked by capricious weather and seasons. Although Château d'Aquéria was spared freeze damage, they did have to be extremely vigilant throughout the season and their efforts were rewarded with a superb vintage in terms of both quality and quantity.

Having enjoyed previous vintages of this rosé, including most recently the 2020 Château d'Aquéria Tavel last May, I would expect this dry rosé to also be quite lovely. Let's see how this 2021 Tavel Rosé is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

CHÂTEAU D'AQUÉRIA TAVEL 2021 - AC, Rhône, France (#319368) (XD) - $24.95
Blend of mainly Grenache, Clairette, and Syrah, the lovely, medium-high intensity aromatics offer fresh, red fruited aromas of raspberry, strawberry, cherry, and fine mineral notes with hints of citrus and peach. On the dry, medium-full bodied palate it is very nicely balanced with raspberry, cherry, strawberry, currant, mineral, and citrus flavours, plus lightly peppery and herbal notes, all lifted by fresh acidity. Minerally, red fruited, and citrus notes linger on the long, juicy, and crisp finish. I think even better than last year's edition. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91+ pts

Other lovely wines by Château d'Aquéria are available through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.