Château d’Esclans Garrus Rosé 2022
Garrus is the wine that proved rosé could be grand. When Sacha Lichine took over Château d'Esclans in 2006 with the winemaker Patrick Léon, this was the flagship — a rosé made with the ambition, and the price, of a top white Burgundy. It comes from a single plot of near-hundred-year-old Grenache vines in the Esclans valley, northeast of Saint-Tropez, blended with Rolle (Vermentino).
What sets it apart is the winemaking. Garrus is fermented and aged for around eleven months in large new French oak barrels, with lees stirring — unheard of for most Côtes de Provence rosé. The result is a wine of real weight and texture: pale in colour but rich in the mouth, with white peach, wild strawberry and citrus giving way to vanilla, brioche and a subtle toasty spice. Underneath runs a mineral, saline line and a fresh acidity that keeps all that richness in check. The finish is long and creamy.
This is rosé to sit down with, not to knock back — it can even take a few years of age. Serve it the way you'd serve a fine white, at the table, with proper food.
How to Serve
Serve at 10–12°C, not ice-cold — too much chill hides the texture. Use a large white-wine glass. A short decant lets the oak and fruit settle into one another.
Where to Drink It
Scott's for the glamour and the seafood. The Wolseley for occasion. J Sheekey over a plate of shellfish.
Food Pairings
Grilled lobster or a whole roast turbot. It's rich enough to partner roast chicken or veal, too.
