Red Provençal wine has never been particularly in demand, as we are in the middle of the world’s rosé navel. But lovely red wine is not the only thing made; Well-designed versions also deliver a surprising amount of bang for the buck via low demand. Family-owned Chateau Barbebelle’s red wine is powerful proof of this claim.
Barbebelle is in the process of converting to organic, so while the cultivation is already organic, you have to wait a few more years for the certification. The vast majority of Barbebelle’s production is rosé, and perhaps precisely because of this discipline’s requirement to harvest at the right time and the need for a carefully controlled fermentation, they have succeeded convincingly in making a vital, precise and drinkable red wine from a blend of mostly grenache with the addition of cabernet sauvignon and syrah.
The destemmed grapes are fermented on steel and aged for a few years, partly on steel and partly in fashionable concrete tanks, which microoxidise the wine without it taking its flavor. This is a well-aged, rounded wine, but the freshness of the fruit is intact, so the wine appears sparkling and healthy. The grape mixture is probably not seen anywhere else but in Provence, but it works absolutely brilliantly.
There is good intensity here with dark berry aromas, stylistically kept in a drinkable, well-groomed style, without the wine becoming boring; a difficult exercise.
The wine has enough muscle for roasts or stews, but it is also gentle enough to be drunk as a cozy wine.
Enjoy the wine now until approx. 10 years from the harvest year.
