By Diana Rice



Château Coussin Ste.-Victoire Rosé, 2009
Available at Bedford Wine Merchants
Retail price: around $19.99

It wasn’t an accident that Paul Cézanne chose to spend more than 20 of his most productive years painting the landscapes in and around Mont Ste.-Victoire, in Provence. With charming pink stone walls and tiled farmhouse roofs, and glorious Southern sun that seems to bathe Ste.-Victoire in rich ocher tones, this particular location has inspired and intrigued artists and visitors alike for centuries. The vineyards in the region also do well: the combination of the mountain’s microclimate and its unique red clay and limestone soil, as well as that exceptional sunshine, encourages the grapes to ripen and express their full arsenal of flavors. These are simply nature’s gift to les vignerons provençaux.

A marvelous example of what an AOC Côtes de Provence Ste.-Victoire rosé can be is the 2009 Château Coussin. Lively and fresh, a bit chalky, dry and ultrapale, it is precisely what many are hoping for from a Provençal rosé. During these precious summer months, when we find ourselves lingering with a glass of wine under the stars, on a beach or even on a boat, a chilled rosé is often the perfect wine for the perfect summer moment.

To the eye, Château Coussin is an elegant and crystalline pink. If its exact color were a gemstone, we’d all be coveting the earrings and matching necklace! The nose shows a mélange of berries—strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and even cranberries. The texture is full but not too rich, substantial without being heavy. The blend is 80 percent grenache, 10 percent cinsault and 10 percent Syrah—les cépages traditionnels provençaux.

According to the importer, T. Edwards Wines, Château Coussin, which has been owned by the Sumeire family for many generations, is the largest family-run eco-certified (organic) property in Provence. Sans chemical weed killers or fertilizers, the consumer is enjoying a more natural product of the land.

Fortunately for all of us, whether on canvas or in the glass, both Cézanne and the Sumeire family found a way to express Provence with style and savoir faire.

Want more? View past Wine of the Month selections.

By Diana Rice

Parigot & Richard Crémant Rosé Brut
Available at Wine Geeks Armonk; to order, call 914-273-WINE (9463).
Approximate retail price: $25

Holiday entertaining should be sparkling, colorful and fun from first sip to midnight mistletoe. Parigot produces a charming sparkling rosé that can aptly accompany you for an entire evening of festivities, from canapés to chocolate cake. The wine is a pink salmon color with soft bubbles imparting a youthful mousseux-like quality. Although the flavors are dry (brut) they suggest fresh fruit with hints of spice. Slightly underripe strawberry and tart apple flavors mingle with clove and lemon zest to give this sparkler its own personality. If you imagine a classic French champagne as a beautiful and confident woman, then the Parigot crémant rosé is instantly recognizable as her pretty and flirtatious younger sister. At less than half the price of comparable champagnes, crémants are a versatile alternative. Made from 100 percent pinot noir, this rosé draws its delicate hue from only a few hours of contact with the pinot’s red skins. Afterward the rosé is put through the labor-intensive methode champenoise—considered the superior process to ensure the highest quality of sparkling wines. In other words, the Parigot crémant rosé is produced as if it were champagne, but it uses pinot noir from Burgundy instead of grapes grown in Champagne itself.

Note: Serve crémants in flutes rather than the old-fashioned champagne glasses, which are flatter.