Producer: Domaine de la Courtade
Wine: L’Alycastre Rosé
Vintage: 2004
Country: France
Appellation: Côtes de Provence AC
Wine Type: Rosé
Primary Varietal: Grenache, Tibouren, Mourvedre in equal parts
Grade: B+
Designation: Good and Cheap
Price: $10

I am a confirmed seasonal wine drinker. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy a healthy combination of reds and whites all year round, but when the steamy days of summer arrive, I start trying to get my hands on all the Rosés and crisp, clean whites that I can find. And there certainly were a ton of tasty Rosés on the market this year, especially from Provence. For many producers in the south of France, 2004 was a welcome return to “normalcy” after a couple of vintages of freakish events – floods in 2002 and extreme heat in 2003. As a result, the wines coming out of 2004 show more reasonable alcohol levels and an overall greater balance and length.

Domaine de la Courtade, however, didn’t even need to consider their flood plan in 2002 – they are one of only three estates nestled high in the hills of the charmingly quaint Île de Porquerolles just off the coast of Nice. Life is hard, right? Well, I may not have been in the south of France this summer, but the 2004 L’Alycastre Rosé certainly made my night complete on a sticky, sultry summer evening in Brooklyn (what evening wasn’t sticky and sultry this summer?). We managed to slosh this wine down quite easily at a backyard garden party complete with juicy barbequed ribs and grilled duck breast with a silky curry sauce. An intense coppery color, the L’Alycastre is assertive and stands up with ease to spicy foods and extraordinarily hot weather. Practically exploding with flavors of very ripe raspberry and peach (Île de Porquerolles happens to be the sunniest place in all of France!), this wine is fresh and clean, crisp and balanced. A perfect beverage to bring summer to a close.

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