SACHA LICHINE TALKS ABOUT MAKING ROSÉ IN PROVENCE AND WE TASTE HIS WINES…including the just released 2013 Whispering Angel

Posted on February 17, 2014February 13, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Sacha Lichine, the man behind the wine at Château d’Esclans, was in his old stomping grounds this week. In Boston for the city’s Wine Expo, I caught up with him at the Seaport Hotel where he was hosting a seminar on—guess what—the four tiers of luscious rosé produced in his now well-known Côtes de Provence château. In ascending order of quality, our tasting at the seminar would include Whispering Angel (2013), Château d’Esclans (2012), Les Clans (2010 and 2011), and Garrus (2010 and 2011). ...

NORTH AFRICAN COUSCOUS, PROVENCE ROSÉ, AND RHONE RED: A COSMOPOLITAN COMBINATION THAT WARMS BOTH BODY AND SOUL

Posted on January 12, 2014February 13, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Provence is a melting pot of immigrants and nowhere is this more apparent than in Marseille where residents hail from neighboring Italy and Spain as well as Greece, Armenia, Indochina, and West and North Africa. Given that Marseille is the Mediterranean Sea’s largest port (and Europe’s second-largest), its cosmopolitan composition is not surprising. Upwards of a quarter of the population of France’s second largest city has roots from North Africa, especially Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria (ref...

TASTING WINE AT THE NEW YORK CITY WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL: “CHÂTEAU D’ESCLANS — THE ROSÉ LIFESTYLE OF SAINT-TROPEZ”

Posted on October 28, 2013December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

To learn more about Provence rosé and Château d’Esclans, please read my earlier post, “Château d’Esclans’ Garrus Rosé Bedazzles.” I am grateful to Win Rhoades, proprietor of South Street and Vine in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for his quick lesson in viticulture. Any errors here are not those of Paul Chevalier or Win Rhoades; they are mine (although they may be related to drinking wine while taking notes!) What could be more fun than sitting in front of six glasses of pale ros...

CHÂTEAU D’ESCLANS’ GARRUS ROSÉ BEDAZZLES

Posted on September 2, 2013January 3, 2016 by Susan Manfull

"It's a big wine....it's a long story." I bemoaned in my last post that I am not in Provence right now (as I often am this time of year). But, our recent tasting of four rosés from Provence, transported me to that part of the world —tout de suite and without so much as a click of my espadrilles. Ooh la la. That’s what good rosé can do. I landed in the tiny village of La Motte-en-Provence, in the Var, at Château d’Esclans from whence the star of the tasting hails. We had, for the first time...