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.

This post marks the final installment of notes from my tasting of 71 wines from the IGP Méditerranée region. Once the tasting had finished, I was not quite done, not by a long shot.

First, was a lunch and another tasting at the incredible Château la Coste. I say “incredible” since it is really hard to believe. On the grounds there are six restaurants, two hotels (with plans for more), a couple of spas, and countless art installations. To call it an adult Disneyland is not far off.

There are art installations everywhere at Château la Coste, both indoors and outside.

Lunch, which we had at the outdoor restaurant, Tadao Ando, was spectacular. Unfortunately, the Francis Mallmann restaurant is not open for lunch during the week.

And there was wine, of course. Tons of wine.

After a wonderful lunch and visit at La Coste, I headed to Les Quatres Tours for a tour of the cooperative and, wait for it, another wine tasting. Les Quatres Tours is a pretty big outfit, with growers from five different towns around Aix-en-Provence. They make several IGP Méditerranée wines (includingwhite and red) as well as a number of AOC wines.

After Les Quatres Tours, I headed back to my hotel and headed out into a downpour for dinner. I opted for some pasta and, well, a rosé (from Château la Coste) naturally.

Many thanks to the kind folks at IGP Méditerranée for an incredible day!

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 Des Masques Exception Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $25. 100% Syrah. Medium pinkish-orange color in the glass with a bit of flint on the nose. Good fruit on the palate with tartness and balance. Yup. All you want in an IGP rosé. Excellent. 91 Points.

2023 Domaine Des Masques Essentielle Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $25. 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah. Lighter in color and perhaps style to the Emotion. This wine is still quite fruity but more of a melon and pear vibe than berry fruit. Bright fruity, tart, even really tart on the palate, this is great on its own but will also do quite well on the table. Yeah. This works. Excellent. 92 Points.

2023 Domaine Des Masques Emotion, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $24. 50% Carignan, 50% Grenache. Another solid offering from Domaine des Masques, which is quite light in color, with a legitimate red apple vibe on the nose. Quite austere on the palate, yowza that’s tart, with maybe a hint of fruit? But otherwise, acid a go-go. Yeah. Tart. Holy cow. I like it, even a lot, but pucker up. Excellent. 91 Points.

2023 Domaine Isle Saint Pierre Depuis 1927 Rosé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $24. Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec. Light to medium color in the glass; fruity even really fruity on the nose with a bubblegum aroma. Same on the palate with that sweet fruit. Good tartness. Yeah, it works. Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Domaine Isle Saint Pierre Nielluccio, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $21. 100% Nielluccio (Sangiovese). Light to medium color with ripe peach and red fruit primarily on the nose. On the palate, it is a bit shy when it comes to the fruit but there is plenty of zing. Very Good. 89 Points.

2023 Domaine Isle Saint Pierre Syrah, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $21. 100% Syrah. Bubblegum pink. A bit dirty and perfumed at the same time on the nose. The palate is tart. Very tart. Even very, very tart. Unfortunately, there is not a lot else discernible here. Would I drink it at a party? Probably? Very Good. 87 Points.

2023 Domaine Isle Saint Pierre Ripisylve, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $28. 100% Tannat. I can count on one hand the number of Rosés made with Tannat (I believe it is one, this one), and this is 100% Tannat, one of the more austere varieties in France. Medium to dark in color, even approaching amber. An interesting nose that is not quite tropical but certainly aromatic. Not quite pineapple; maybe more of a lemon aroma? Good fruit on the palate, but this is certainly a darker style. Odd maybe? I’m hard-pressed to call this rosé, and if it were served at room temperature in a dark glass? I would have no idea what this was. I think I like it? Very Good. 88 Points.

2023 Domaine de Sinaca Villa, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $24. 40% Caladoc, 30% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. A somewhat dirty nose with not much, just a hint of peach. Good acidity on the palate but not a ton of fruit, in fact, there is not much at all. Would it be a good aperitif wine? Very Good? 87 Points.

2023 Domaine de Sinaca Villa Mediterranée Arômes, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $30. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Light, even really light, even “is this a rosé?’ kinda light. Sweet on the nose with notes of peach and melon, even some caramel? The palate continues along this unique path as there is not a lot of red fruit at all, but there is some citrus and plenty of zing. But is this a rosé?? Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Maison Johanès Boubée Rosé Pétanque, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $18. Screwcap. From a huge producer/conglomerate in the South of France, but I could not find any information on this wine online. It seems to be a new brand for the group and looks to benefit from the popular French game (pastime?), la pétanque (similar to bocce), and the desire to consume rosé while doing so. Light to medium color in the glass with dirty peach and strawberry on the nose, very light and subtle on the palate with a nice zing. Very Good. 88 Points.

2023 Vincent Boyer Rendez-vous à la Bastide, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail $18. 40% Caladoc, 25% Carignan, 20% Grenache, 15% Syrah. As far as I can tell, a “bastide” is a stately manor house in Provence. That tracks, I guess? Medium color with a candied red apple nose. But dry and tart on the palate with a bit of that candied apple on the mid palate. Nice and tart. Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Château Cavalier Aimé, IGP Méditerranée Rosé, France: Retail? Another wine from a fairly large producer but with virtually no information available online. Zero. Medium color with a sweet nose of subtle fruit and caramel. Good acid but not a ton of fruit on the palate, which seems to be a bit of a theme in this tasting. Perfectly quaffable without the need for introspection. Very Good. 89 Points.