Decade-old, terroir-driven rosé, anyone? That’s the plan for a new cross-border campaign in Europe.
© Karolina Grabowska/Pixabay | Rosé is considered a fun, frivolous wine; a new French-Italian campaign aims to change that.
In an unlikely partnership, two of the world’s great wine rivals are looking to work together to raise the profile of a much-maligned category – rosé wines.
France is looking to Italy to forge an alliance on “rosés de terroir”, terroir-driven pink wines born more from winegrowers’ awareness than market-oriented reasons. They are looking to make wines that can age for years, like the most prestigious international whites and reds, rather than being consumed immediately, as the vast majority of rosés worldwide.
Although a France-Italy alliance may seem improbable, given the rivalry between two leading countries in global wine production, the matter is serious, and negotiations are already well underway. Last month, Philippe Guigal, president of the French association Rosés de Terroir and owner of Château d’Aquéria in Tavel, came to Milan to launch an appeal to Italian producers: “Rosés de terroirs, unissons-nous!” (Rosés de terroirs, let’s join forces!). The goal is to expand the association to include new Italian members and create “the world’s first collection of Rosés de Terroirs”, Guigal explained. “A micro-market of collectible rosés, aged for a decade or so.”
The French producers’ association, which already includes 59 wineries in France, Italy, Greece, and Spain, invited the press to the Grand Hotel et de Milan. The event featured a successful tasting and pairing of rosés (and Italian rosati), supervized by Alfredo Moccia, head sommelier at 67 Pall Mall, and chef Francesco Potenza. This was not a competition, but rather an invitation to formalize a “terroir rosé manifesto”, signed by Philippe Guigal and endorsed by some of France’s best rosé producers.
The lion’s share of the association is based in Tavel, an appellation in the southern Rhône renowned for producing some of the world’s most prestigious rosés. However, the quality of the wineries seeking to collaborate with Italy, and in the future with other European countries, is uniformly high.
20 years a-growing
At the event in Milan, 22 wines were presented. Italy was represented by wines from three wineries from Bardolino: the 2023 Villa Calicantus Cuvée Chiar’Otto, the 2023 Guerrieri Rizzardi Cuvée Keya, and the 2021 Le Fraghe Cuvée Traccia di Rosa. While Villa Calicantus’ entry into the Rosés de Terroir association is recent, Le Fraghe and Guerrieri Rizzardi have represented Italy in the prestigious transalpine group since 2021. Following Philippe Guigal’s appeal, the circle of exceptional rosé producers may expand to include other wineries.
“The ambition of the Rosés de Terroir Association is to serve as the ambassador for the world’s great terroir-driven rosés,” Guigal explained. “In line with our founding call to action, ‘Rosés de terroirs, unite!’ launched by the Tavel appellation, I invite winemakers producing the finest terroir rosés in the world to join us. After 20 years of historic growth, the rosé market is entering a new phase of development, with the potential – and indeed the need – for greater diversification of offerings. This includes rosés that emphasize their terroir, positioning themselves as a niche market that is valued, or even highly prized. That’s why the creation of a micro-market for collectible rosés, capable of aging for a decade, is now an idea that can be seriously considered.”
However, producing rosés outside conventional boundaries is not an easy task, especially in Italy. For example, one of the latest vintages of Chiar’Otto by Villa Calicantus (the 2020) was initially rejected by the tasting commission of the Bardolino Chiaretto DOC, a body of technical tasters responsible for verifying a wine’s conformity with the appellation’s characteristics. The commission ruled that the rosé fell outside the parameters. Nevertheless, its recent inclusion in the world’s best rosé club, led by the French, is a point of great pride for the passionate winemaker and Villa Calicantus owner, Daniele Delaini.
Villa Calicantus’ approach has earned praise far beyond Italy’s borders.
“We enhance the grapes from the best vineyards in the finest areas,” Delaini explains. “In the cellar, we respect the natural qualities of the grapes, allowing them to express the characteristics of the vintage. We do not alter parameters such as alcohol content or color in any way and only use indigenous yeasts. Why? Simple. We want our wines to express the vineyard they come from. One of our core principles is that each vineyard has its own wine, and each wine its own vineyard, giving voice to that place, that vineyard, and ultimately, that vintage.”
All in all, with or without DOC status, the Chiar’Otto blend of Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, and Sangiovese, grown in south-facing pergola vineyards, will always turn out stunning. Believe it or not, the French agree.
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