July 7, 2023 – This is the heart of rosé season, so having options is a good thing. Our local ones are indeed abundant, and tend to skew towards Pinot Noir, although CRU does have a tasty Grenache-based rosé. If you will not be clogging the airways to France this summer, you might appreciate the opportunity to relax poolside or on your patio, with something that flew to you instead.
Such is the case with the 2021 Protégé from Bernardus, a gorgeous wine presented in an equally gorgeous package. Featured in a stunning ad in the Summer issue of Edible Monterey Bay magazine, it may have caught your attention with its pretty in pinkness.
Protégé is made from organic grapes in Coteaux D’Aix-en-Provence and is 12.5%, giving you a bowl full of refreshing watermelon, strawberry and peach bellini flavor in a clear as a bell beverage. It flashes me back to the images of the Saint-Tropez of my youth, when those sexy Bain de Soleil commercials tempted me to spend a little too much time in the sun as a teenager. How could you not want to turn a fantastic shade of whole wheat toast, while buttering yourself with the most expensive sunscreen in the entire drugstore? Oh, how I coveted that aroma, which was so much more sophisticated than the oily toasted coconut of Coppertone?
This purely mouthwatering beverage makes the case for Provence rosés as convincingly as Angie Dickinson could flip a stooge. Opening with rose petals, white currant, fresh cut mango and creamy strawberry, the palate is sleek, with that coveted mineral-slaked watery middle around which float flavors of quince, peach, guava, white currant and papaya. It’s like a continuously flowing stream of smoothness, wrapped in peachy pink chiffon. Really, you want a magnum of this. It’s $30 for a 750ml. Sorry, no magnums.
We learned that although Bernardus has been producing a small bottling of rosé from their local vineyards for many years, they partnered with a prestigious French winery, La Coste, to make this special collaborative Bernardus French rosé. It was made from 50% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cinsault. The grapes were pressed at low temperature while blanketed with inert gas. Stainless steel tank fermentation and a bit of time on fine lees helped preserve its freshness and fruit aromas. The results are definitely not something typical of CA rosé, which is the whole reason for its being.
But one cannot, like Molly Ringwald, be pretty in pink all the time. So, we ventured into the Chardonnay collection of beloved Bernardus winemaker, Dean DeKorth, who has the pleasure of retiring this year. He’ll be turning the reins over officially to assistant winemaker Jim McCabe as of August 14, so if you want to bid him a fond farewell, you might want to visit Bernardus before then.
And you might want to get a set of his incredible 2021 Chardonnays, including the Rosella’s, Sierra Mar and Soberanes, the finest set of single vineyards he’s done yet, despite the rather curious packaging. But you can also chalk that up to a collector’s item, as this will also be replaced, thankfully, by a return to a label that looks a lot more like the original.
While the entire lineup of Bernardus wines is worthy of exploration, invest in the single vineyard Chards and you won’t be disappointed. The 2021 Bernardus Rosella’s Chardonnay captures the exotic floral fantasia of this vineyard, layering on both orchard and tropical fruits for intrigue and complexity. Gardenia and white nectarine combine with aromas of sweet buttercream biscuits, and the palate rewards with tangerine, nectarine crème brulee and peach cobbler. It’s a special wine where delicacy meets decadence. A feat, for sure.
Also a big fan of the 2021 Bernardus Sierra Mar (“Mountain Sea”) Chardonnay, which comes from a steep 44-acre vineyard, set like a crown on the brow of the Santa Lucia Highlands, at over 1,000 feet. Originally part of a 420-acre cattle ranch, it has been in the Franscioni Family for four generations, and was established by Gary and Rosella Franscioni in 2007. The wine is a perfect melody of peonies and gardenias, and the generous new oak makes for a long, finely focused finish. (93 pts Wine Spectator)
Bernardus is always full of surprises, and there will certainly be more on the horizon: hopefully all of them as pleasant as these.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
