2009 Château Simone Palette

Most unusually this comes in a dark bottle and was aged in old wood for an extended period. It’s also made up of some saignée and some pressed fruit. Blend of southern French varieties. Pale red. Smells really meaty and substantial. Very distinctive – almost more like a claret in build than a rosé. Very big mouthful with lots of chew. Obviously no hurry to drink this – very distinctive. Real structure and still quite a bit of tannin. Very interesting, intellectual wine – quite different from most rosés. (JR)