What if I told you there was a place in the world where the soil, climate, tradition and philosophy of winemakers is so in-tune that the growers decided to only make one style of wine in that region. When you can make a wine so aligned with the terroir, why make anything else. One such region is Tavel in the Rhone valley of France.
Tavel is reputed to have been a favorite wine of kings Louis XIV and Philippe le Bel, the Popes of Avignon and Ernest Hemingway to name just a few! Tavel wines must be rose wine and have a minimum alcohol content of 11%. This makes the style drier and more masculine than most pink wines. It is also one of the few rose wines that will actually get better with age. The wine is also aged longer on the skin than most rose wine. This style makes this wine a near perfect food wine. Many great chefs will tell you that if you don’t know what wine to pair with a meal, serve Tavel. It pairs will with nearly any food. It’s also superb as the sun starts shining the the birds start singing!
One of my favorites is Domaine de Chantepierre. Organically grown from a small family farm. It is imported in tiny lots into the U.S. but still manages to give great bang for the buck!
