Sacha Lichine has launched the world's most
expensive rosé. Jane Anson finds it more than lives up to its
reputation.
Sacha Lichine is not a man to just dip his
toes in the water. Eating, drinking, working ... even fatherhood, as his
five children attest, is something that he likes to dive right into. So
if you had to pick one winemaker to launch a daringly, laughably
expensive rosé wine, his name would definitely be one to bet on.
In retrospect, it seems incredible that
it's taken this long for some enterprising winemaker to launch the
world's first truly boutique rosé. Its popularity has been going through
the roof for a number of years; UK rosé sales have doubled in four years
and now stand at between 5 and 7 per cent of the wine market.
"Robert Parker said recently that Côtes de
Provence was France's most undervalued terroir," explain's Lichine. "And
rosé is booming all over the world, so it seemed like the perfect time
to see if we could make a serious version - the world doesn't need
another red wine, but this is a real chance to make an impact. And there
had to be something to challenge Domaines d'Ott."
How do you set about making a rosé that can
convince buyers to part with around £50 to drink it? In Lichine's case -
since deciding to concentrate on rosé in early 2001 - first take six
years to find the right property, choosing the €3 million sprawling
Château d'Esclans in the pretty village of La Motte in southern
Provence. Invest a further €2 million in updating the vineyard and
cellars, including individually temperature-controlled barrels. Then
hire Patrick Léon - former winemaker at Château Mouton Rothschild and
Opus One - use plenty of dry ice to keep the 80 -year -old Grenache
vines cold from vineyard to bottle, ensure only the free run juice goes
into the top cuvée and top it all off with eight months in 500 litre
Burgundian barrels, with lees stirring twice a week.
There are five wines in the range - all
shades of delicate pink. The first is a vins de pays rosé, from the
red-gold skins of the white grape Roussane. The rest are Côtes de
Provence, from the excellent value, deliciously crisp
Whispering Angel
(€15) to the top of the line Garrus, retailing at €75, and all 1,600
bottles of the inaugural vintage have already sold out.
Is it worth the money? I was, of
course, sceptical when I arrived at the property, as I have a slight
obsession with rosé wines - not so much in drinking them but in finding
fault with them. The Château d'Esclans (mid-price in the range) I found
a bit clunky, but the rest have undeniable freshness and delicacy, and
bursts of minerality that can only come from winemaking that really
respects the terroir. Garrus and Les Clans, the two top wines, have the
nose and length that you might expect from a white Burgundy, and the
barrel ageing has imparted none of the creaminess that can dampen the
palate of an over-oaked wine.
Garrus is definitely a rosé to be seen with
- it has already made an appearance at St James's Palace and the most
exclusive hotels on the Côte d'Azur. At that price, and with the Lichine
name, it was always going to find a market; it's an added bonus that it
stands up to its myth.
Jane Anson: Jane is a writer and columnist,
based in Bordeaux.
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