Pink is always in fashion. Image: the Heatherette Fall 2006 fashion show (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The end of the summer in New York City brings a near collision of three major events: the US Open Tennis Championships, with Fashion Week following on its [high] heels and just before the United Nations General Assembly. I hesitate to pair wines with an athletic event or a somber diplomatic one, but Fashion Week just calls for wines high in style—both in taste and packaging. Here’s a look at what we drank during Fashion Week and there wasn’t a better-looking gathering.
High five! Provence makes a stylish entrance into Fashion Week
Producers
Chateau d’Esclans Garras 2024. Featuring an herbal nose and a creamy and smooth palate, this is a medium-bodied wine made from old vines. Concentrated fruit, anise and some garrigue tones makes this a friendly partner to anything on the grill. Also in the Esclans family, “Les Clans,” a fresh and finessed blend of Grenache and Vermentino (2023), offers a definite herbal edge of anise and wild mint along with the sour cherry and red currant.
Château d’Estoublon Roseblood. Hailing from a historic estate and in collaboration with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, France’s First Lady, Roseblood, is a stylish and energetic blend of Grenache Noir, Syrah and Vermentino (Rolle). Fresh but not jumpy, and in elegant packaging as fit for the former top model.
Chateau Minuty “ Rosé et Or” 2024, Côtes de Provence. A reliable “plus one” for a fashionable party, this is the equivalent of wearing a pink chiffon dress—light, ethereal, fresh and finessed. A blend of the traditional Rhone grapes and driven by Grenache (70%), this year’s vintage is showing more pink grapefruit and delicate white flowers along with the fresh strawberry.
Gassier Cuvée Le Pas du Moine-350, Sainte-Victoire Côtes de Provence 2024. This arrives in an eye-catching six-sided bottled and delivers a super grapefruit tang, thanks to the Vermentino in the blend. Clean and fresh with a typical Provence brushy underlay, but with plenty of style to match the bottle. The cuvée is named for the ancient path once travelled by monks to reach the Croix de Provence on the Montagne Sainte-Victoire.
Four for the taking.
Producers
Miraval Côtes de Provence, AOC. Once launched under the celebrity banner of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, this rose has finally escaped its star-crossed novelty to be recognized as a solid representation of the region. And with good reason: Made by the Perrin Family, it was always a reliable performer, It is still a fresh offer with cranberry and strawberry notes delivered in a crisp, pleasing tropical-fruit inflected envelope.
Summer in a Bottle from Wölffer Estate Vineyard, presented a pretty pair from Long Island and Côtesde Provence, “twinned” in the signature floral bottle. And, it was, indeed, still summer when sampled. The North Fork bottle was savory and structured with deeper summer fruits, and the French bottle, made by Vins Chevron Villette for Wölffer, was fresh, light and crisp, redolent of spring fruit baskets.
Vera Wang Côtes de Provence 2024. This inaugural collaboration with Valerie Roussell of Chateau Roubine, delivers a savory, fresh and tart red-fruited wine. Fresh market cherries and strawberries lead the nose and follow onto the crisp palate of this shell-pink-colored wine (think tutu). The acid is there, but not austere, making this a crisp, dry offering.
