Domaine du Bagnol "Cassis Rosé" Cassis, France 2024

FROM ROSENTHAL:

THE WINE: 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, and 20% Mourvèdre. No estate expresses the salt-kissed limestone-driven terroir of the idyllic Provençal seaside village of Cassis like Domaine du Bagnol, and the current generation, Sébastien Genovesi, crafts a rosé of scintillating energy, chiseled calcareous musculature, and gleaming red fruits. Bagnol’s Cassis Rosé is pressed directly and rapidly (in under two hours) to extract as little color as possible, and the bottled wine (certified organic) contains only 20 milligrams per liter of total sulfur—a factor which contributes to its gorgeous purity of texture and intense evocation of limestone soil.

THE PRODUCER: Our love affair with this magnificent seven-hectare estate, situated a short walk from the center of the Mediterranean village of Cassis, began in the early 1980s when we first met Claire Lefevre, a vigneronne of great class and character. This was our introduction to an appellation with an ancient history and a magical atmosphere. Cassis was first planted to the vine in the 12th century and the vineyards were developed on the north, east and southeast slopes that surround the village which sits immediately on a little bay on the Mediterranean; thus, the perfect circumstances for marrying wine to the bounty of the sea! Phylloxera wiped out the vineyards in 1870 but by 1892 the citizens of Cassis had re-established their vineyards but this time without the Muscatel variety.

Jean-Louis and his son, Sébastien, have revived the domaine and the wines, both blanc and rosé, are more compelling than ever. The domaine sits just beneath the imposing limestone outcropping of Cap Canaille and is a mere 200 meters distance from the shores of the Mediterranean. Thus situated, the Domaine du Bagnol is the beneficiary of the cooling winds from the north, northwest and northeast (Tramontane, Mistral and grégal) as well as the gentle sea breezes that come ashore.