Provencal Rosé En Primeur: 2022 L'Oratoire
Made by the owners of Château Talbot, our excellent L'Oratoire Provence rosé from Domaine Saint Andrieu has grown in popularity year by year. We tasted cask samples of the 2022 from the domaine this week and we were very surprised by its pale, delicate colour and balance on the palate. From just £95 per dozen bottles in bond*, we think this is the best quality you will find at this price by some distance.
You may think of Bordeaux and Burgundy when it comes to buying en primeur, but buying your rosé this way is an enjoyable and cost-effective way to ensure you have plenty to see you through the summer. At £12.18 including all taxes (*when you buy 3 or more cases) this is unbeatable value.
2022 was a hot, dry year in Provence and there were no vine maladies to contend with, so the fruit achieved optimal ripeness and was in perfect condition at harvest. The harvest began early and this appears to have been a great success in retaining acidity in the fruit.
We particularly noticed fresh, clean aromas and flavours of cucumber and mint in the 2022, along with delicate peach fruits, all leading to an impressively long finish. Quite how the domaine has made a wine like this in such a warm year is beyond us, but it's worth remembering Saint Andrieu's connections with Château Talbot in Bordeaux...an assurance of a very accomplished winemaking team, able to find the perfect balance in any year.
Please simply e-mail us if you would like to order.
Offered en primeur, expected June 2023.
Producer Profile
Domaine Saint Andrieu, Provence
Domaine Saint Andrieu is in an achingly beautiful setting, in the foothills of the Alps, a few kilometres north of the medieval town of Brignolles (an ancient capital of Provence). This is the heart of the Coteaux Varois En Provence AOC. The limestone soils here give the rosés more structure than is generally found in wines from nearer the coast.
Nancy Bignon-Cordier bought the domaine in 2003, with 30 hectares of vines and olive trees set amongst the larger 600 hectare estate of woodland and garrigue. Cordier and her winemaker Gregior Guibergia (below) bring all the expertise and technical know-how you would expect from the owners of the great Bordeaux names of Châteaux Talbot and Sénéjac.
The winery is gravity-fed and the parcels of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Rolle grapes are vinified in small batches, with an extremely delicate pressing for the rosé; in fact the first 70% of the juice runs freely from the grapes, under their own weight (known as the 'jus de goutte'), with minimal skin contact.
