Winery & Vintage Info
AIX Rosé is made in the Provence region of France, just an hour North-East from the historical city of Aix-en-Provence. The Provence region is known for making the best rosés in the world. From the renowned appellation 'AOP Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence', AIX nurtures its heritage and has a passion and dedication to make the best Provence rosé.
2021 will be a year remembered as a year of adversity, but also of celebration as the Maison Saint Aix team rose to the year’s challenges and harvested a classic vintage of their famed rosé.
Extreme weather and fires impacted several vineyards in Provence but thankfully Maison Saint Aix was spared any direct impact, with the aspect and slopes of the vineyard fending off the worst of the spring frost. With the pandemic adding further obstacles into the wine-growing season the team’s hard work in the vineyard, followed by a minimal intervention winemaking philosophy in the cellar has cumulated in a classic vintage, shining of terroir and the year mother nature provided.
2021 was a unique year for most winegrowers in Provence. There was frost in mid-April, which was very unusual, and thankfully not as serious as initially feared, followed by a hot and dry summer. With no rain in July and August, we welcomed the rain in early September which extended the growing season and ensured a perfect balance between sugar ripeness and fresh acidity, the perfect result for rosé production.
After 2020's very early vintage, 2021 led to a later harvest ensuring perfect ripeness across all grape varieties. Cinsault really shone this year which added a little extra aromatic lift to the wine. Harvest officially started at Domaine de la Grande Séouve, home of AIX Rosé on Tuesday 14th September. Parcels of Grenache were picked first, followed by the gathering of Syrah and Cinsault in the early morning to ensure no oxidation before getting to the cellar. It took us almost four weeks to bring in all the grapes from our 75-hectare domain with the 2021 harvest ending on Saturday the 9th of October. The grapes were of very homogeneous ripeness this year, with sugars a touch down on 2020 yet optimally ripe with a slightly higher, bright acidity. This has lent the wine a classic elegant and fine-boned style that our higher elevation vineyards are characterised by in the very best of vintages. Winery Notes
