As many of you know, I was once a cycle tour guide in Europe (which was the genesis of this blog). The company where I worked for all those years, Blue Marble Travel, has shaped my life in countless ways but sadly no longer exists. A couple months ago, I was back in France, riding one of those Blue Marble routes, but not as a guide; this time I was riding solo.

After two days of heavy, gloomy, and wet skies in Nîmes, today I am headed east (and a bit south) to the quintessential Provençal town, Aix-en-Provence. There, I will meet with some of the fine people of Intervins Sud-Est to have a small tasting of rosé wines from the region.

The weather, of course, was fabulous the morning I left Nîmes….

Even though Nîmes and Aix-en-Provence are a mere 100 kilometers (about 63 miles) apart, the train trip involves first heading to Marseille, a change of trains, and then on to Aix. Having spent a good percentage of my adult life leading bike tours in France, the concept of the trip was no problem.

But.

I had my bike with me (not really a problem) and I was in France, where public transportation is fantastic, when everything runs as it should.

But.

That is rare.

As was the case on this particular Wednesday. Arriving in the Marseille Saint-Charles train station, I had ten minutes to make my connection, which not might not sound like much, but I was pretty used to moving several bikes in much less time. This was a piece of cake.

But.

After getting off the train and unloading all my gear, I realized that my train to Aix had been canceled. There was no clear indication as to why (was it a strike? a mechanical issue? or general malaise?) but I had no time to figure it out. The SNCF (the French national rail system) is required by law to provide alternative transportation if they have to cancel one of their scheduled routes.

And that meant a bus.

Ugh.

Again, I was kind of used to this sort of upheaval, but now I had about six minutes to find the bus, which was somewhere outside the station.

I eventually found the appropriate line to get in (there are a ton of buses) and loaded my bike with a minute or two to spare. Onto Aix.

You can’t really tell, but my bike carrier is in there, behind the red suitcase (also mine).

As many of the readers of this space know, while I am far from an “expert” when it comes to rosé wines, I have tasted my fair share of them through both personal consumption and my annual “World’s Largest Blind Tasting of American True Rosé” (which will have its ninth iteration this May).

While my tastings focus on American pink wines, today’s tasting will obviously be of their French counterparts, specifically those produced under the Méditerranée Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) designation.

So what is it like to taste 71 rosés? Well, there is no easy way to answer that question, but here is a video, just over a minute long, that tries to convey the chore.

Here are the next dozen wines of the tasting, I will do my best to get up the remainder over the next few days or so…

2023 Château Les Mesclances Charmes, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Tibouren. Medium to light color. Fruity and salty red berry dominate the delightful nose with touches of perfumed white flower. Round and fleshy on the palate with good fruit all the way through, and that salty note comes in right before the finish. Nice. Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Famille Quiot Mediterranée La Filature, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $18. Screwcap. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Syrah. Really dark in comparison to others in this lineup. Bubblegum red, much more of the Rhône-style than Provence. Darker ripe red fruit on the nose, really jumping out of the glass. Rich and bursting with fruit on the palate, just so juicy. Really a fruit bowl with enough acidity to hold it together. I love it. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2023 Vignobles Mousset-Barrot Bois De La Garde, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $20. 50% Grenache, 50% Cinsault. Lovely nose of ripe red fruit with some freshly cut red rose. Medium pink color, just delightful in the glass. Another classic rosé from the south of France. Great mouthfeel, plenty of fruit and acidity and lengthy finish. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2023 Les Vins Breban Rivage Bleu, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $12. Under screw cap. 70% Grenache, 30% Cinsault. Light to medium color with a salty mineral nose. Good fruit (bright red berry) with that salinity on the palate. Good food wine for sure and perfect for the pool. Excellent. 92 Points.

2023 Savatier Sélection VRAC, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $16. Under screw cap. 60% Cinsault, 30% Grenache, 10% Tibouren. Medium to light color in the glass with a pretty intense fruitiness on the nose, which transfers over to the palate. A bit lacking in tartness, though, at least for me. Very Good. 88 Points.

2023 Savatier Sélection Le Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: etail $16. 60% Cinsault, 30% Grenache, 10% Tibouren. This is the same producer as the VRAC (above). The same apparent blend and almost exactly the same hue of rosé with a slight tinge of orange in the glass. Fruity and lively on the nose, but again, this could use some more acidity. I find this in slightly better balance than the VRAC, however. Very Good. 89 Points.

2023 Famille Negrel Horizon Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $16. Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah. Medium to light color in the glass with a refreshing salty melon on the nose. Medium to light fruit on the palate with the salinity coming through on the finish. A solid pink from top to bottom (or start to finish?). Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Mas Bleu SG Rosé Fruité, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. Grenache, Cinsault, Muscat Petits Grains. Light, even really light in color. Almost white. Intense tropical fruit on the nose. Mango, papaya. Wow. Intense. That tropicality travels right onto the palate with great acidity and focus. Personally I don’t love tropical fruit in wine but this one has it in spades and is very well done. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2023 Vignerons du Mont Ventoux, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $14. Caladoc, Carignan, Grenache. Medium color. Mineral with some rhubarb on the nose and ripe strawberry. Light to medium acidity on the palate with subtle red fruit and an above-average finish. Fine. Very Good. 89 Points.

2023 Château Les Amoureuses, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $25. Grenache, Syrah, Counoise. DIAM5 closure. Heavy bottle. Before smelling I know a lot of money went into this wine, from the bottle to the cork, to the presentation. Medium to light color. A classic nose of red fruit and perfumed flowers. Lovely. Whoa. Rich, layered, voluptuous on the poalate. Whoa. A classic rosé with a wonderful and lengthy finish. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2023 Domaine de Verquiere, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $18. 40% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre, 20% Cinsault. Medium color. Ripe fruit and perfumed with a slight herbal aspect. Good fruit, ample acidity, nice balance. Solid effort, but lacks a wow factor. Very Good. 89 Points.

2023 Château Vignelaure Le Page Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $16. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot. Medium to dark with a fruity almost smoky nose. Seashell and fruit on the palate with good balance and some length. Excellent. 90 Points.