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.

The past few weeks I have been posting a lot about my day with the kind folks at the IGP Méditerranée, but the night before the big tasting, I had dinner with Béatrice Manzato, a representative from Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Tourism Board who help promote La Méditerranée à Vélo.

When I agreed to the dinner, I really did not think much of it, mostly because I did not have much information about the organization. And I had next to no time to research the it (which I always try to do). All I knew was that it was a group that was promoting cycling in the region, which, frankly, was good enough for me.

I had met with local cycling-centric organizations before in France and I always left underwhelmed; the French idea of “recreational cycling” is usually quite different from the American concept. In brief, Americans tend to see it as exercise, while the French think of it as more of a leisure activity.

Meh.

Well. I was in for a surprise. Over the next couple of hours, Béatrice laid out the rather ambitious and impressive project that is La Méditerranée à Vélo. Basically, it is a contiguous route along the entire Mediterranean coast, starting near the Spanish border in the Pyrenees Mountains and ending on the French Riviera, within shouting distance of Italy.

The last stage of La Méditerranée en Vélo from Nice to the Italian border.

In all, the route covers about 850km (~530 miles) and is broken up into 15 étapes (stages) that range from relatively short (about 30 miles) to moderate (about 60 miles) in length. The information provided on the website, including .pdf and .gpx files of each of the routes is very impressive, providing details about places to visit, stay, and eat.

The website is loaded with information and tons of compelling photos, like this one from the 2nd stage, of the bluffs of Leucate.

I have been riding almost all my life and I have really seen nothing like this. An incredibly ambitious project that seems to be incredibly well-done.

WARNING: I have not seen one meter of the route much less ridden any of it, so this is not a “seal of approval” in any way, but with a little work, that will hopefully change soon!

The ramparts of Aigues-Mortes, from the 7th stage.

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 Domaine de Cabasse Le Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. 60% Grenache Noir, 34% Syrah, 6% Carignan, Clairette, Counoise. Under screw cap. Medium color intensity, right down the middle in this lineup. Salty and ripe with wild strawberry and cherry on the nose with good balance and plenty of verve on the palate. A classic profile top to bottom. Excellent. 92 Points. 

2023 Lou Bassaquet Ladie Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $20(?). Could not find the varietal composition. Certainly on the light side in color in this tasting. A bit dirty and salty with not much fruit on the nose. Salty, even really salty on the palate and again not much fruit to find. But the tartness is there, in spades. Sure, rosé should have more fruit, but I really like this wine. Oysters anyone? Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Remi Pouizin Amour de Fruit, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $18. 50% Grenache Noir, 50% Cinsault. Organic (Bio). One of the darker hues in the tasting. Really smoky and meaty on the nose with maybe some raspberry (but is that the color fooling me?). Dark red fruit on the palate with a nice zing but make no mistake, this is a heavier style. would be fantastic with roast chicken or grilled salmon. Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Domaine Attilon Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. Primarily Caladoc. Another wine that certainly slots into the “light” category in terms of color. The nose, however, is anything but shy with great aromas of strawberry and melon. The palate is tart and a tad salty with good fruit and balance. This is fantastic. Bravo. Excellent. 92 Points.

2023 Domaine Attilon Aparté, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. 50% Caladoc, 25% Syrah, 25% Merlot. Light in color, virtually the same hue as the Allusion, but this is riper with more tropical fruit (mango) and melon. The exuberant fruit found on the nose was much more shy on the palate fruit on the palate but there was plenty of zing. Another foodie wine; perhaps some Korean tacos? Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Les Vignerons de Mistral Baou Tailla, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. Merlot, Grenache, Muscat, Chenanson, Caladoc, Syrah (2022 vintage). OK, here we are. This is the 54th wine in the tasting with a sheet-ton still to go and I had hit a wall. Sitting in the same chair, by myself, tasting through almost five-dozen wines with nary a chance to stretch, I needed a moment. I got up, walked around, ate a cracker, and I may have sneezed. Back to work. Light in color. Fruity in disposition with oodles of melon and peach on the nose. Lovely. Nice fruit on the palate as well, tart, on the verge of “quite tart” but balanced and nuanced. Excellent. 92 Points.

2023 Les Vignerons de Mistral Baletti, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. Merlot, Grenache, Chenanson, Muscat petit grain, Colombard, Cabernet Sauvignon. Kind of a kitchen sink wine here (but it also has Chanson, which is a new variety for me, so giddy-up!). Light in color in the glass but loaded with sweet, ripe melon on the nose with some distinct salinity. A little light on the fruit on the palate, but this is excellent. Good balance, another beauty here. Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Les Vignerons de Mistral Souleou, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $15. Muscat petit grain, Merlot (2022). Really light, particularly when compared to the other two wines from the same producer. Essentially a white. Really tropical nose this must have some Muscat (later I found out it does; go me!). Fruity fruity fruity and all tropical on both the nose and the palate, this is the most aromatic of all the wines that preceded. Well balanced though, and comes off as completely dry despite all that fruit. Did I mention that this was pretty fruity? Excellent. 91 Points.

2023 Maîtres Vignerons de la Presqu’ile de Saint-Tropez, La Jolie Fleur Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $16. Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre. On the lighter side in color with a lovely nose of delicate but ripe peach fruit with salinity. On the palate? Fruity, ripe, balanced, lovely. I paused a moment here, 57 some wines in and wondered if this was truly the best wine thus far? I think so. Not huge by any means but a complete delight. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2023 Maîtres Vignerons de la Presqu’ile de Saint-Tropez, Week-end Sur La Côte, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $16. Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Carignan, Caladoc. Light to medium in color with a ripe nose of strawberry, cherry, and a nice floral aspect. Yum. Rather light in fruit initially on the palate with a subtle wave coming in on the mid palate and a robust zingy tartness. Nice. Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Domaine de la Royère Les Oliviers, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $18. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, that is a first for this tasting: a mono-cépage and a Cabernet to boot. Medium color in the glass with quite a nose: Rich, sweet, enticing. The palate is bold and rich with tons of fruit, plenty of flavor, maybe a slight hint of sugar? Could use a bit more tartness with all of that, but this is a big boy for sure and quite a departure for the genre. Excellent. 91 Points.