Whispering Angel Rosé 2021 - 'Queen's Platinum Jubilee' Limited Edition
£29.95 per bottle
LIMITED AVAILABILITY
ABV 13%
We are delighted to be the first UK merchant to offer Sacha Lichine's amazing new Whispering Angel Rosé 'Queen's Platinum Jubilee' Limited Edition 2021 in bottle format available for immediate delivery. The wine has just arrived from Chateau d'Esclans.
Why the Jubilee?
Whispering Angel, launched by veteran wine industry luminary Sacha Lichine in 2006, is today’s worldwide reference for rosé wine is from Côtes-de Provence France, which is considered to be the greatest rosé wine producing region in the world.
Inspired in part by the strong axis between the United Kingdom and Provence, Lichine sensed that giving his French rosé an Anglican name would raise its profile significantly while amplifying its identity and appeal.
The United Kingdom has played a key role in this evolution when Whispering Angel’s first 2006 vintage went into distribution. Since then, Whispering Angel’s prevalence in the United Kingdom has become increasingly pronounced ultimately making it the leading Côtes-de-Provence French rosé in the country.
Sacha Lichine recently stated that “The United Kingdom represents one of the greatest wine platforms and markets in the world” strengthening his unbridled enthusiasm and sense of honour to be part of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.
The Bottle
As a proud official partner of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, Whispering Angel’s distinctive white label will become a beautifully embossed Platinum shade over the Jubilee celebrations summer period. As the Jubilee Pageant’s official wine, these limited-edition Whispering Angel bottles, which shall be released at Easter time, will proudly display the Jubilee Pageant identity alongside the iconic Angels and scripted brand marque.
First taste – 2021 Whispering Angel, Caves d’Esclans, Matthew Jukes
"I was unpacking a few cases of wine on New Year’s Eve and popping the bottles into gaps in my cellar when I came across a plain brown single bottle sample box. How had I missed this? Perhaps my wife had signed for it earlier in the day, and it was lost among other boxes in our hallway. There was no indication on the outside of its contents, but I am delighted that I felt moved to open it because it meant that I managed to taste 2021 Whispering Angel in the last few hours of 2021. It is oddly exciting to taste a wine when it is so young and so recently bottled, and one rarely gets the chance to taste Northern Hemisphere wines in the year of their birth. More often than not, newly bottled samples taste shocked and reticent, but these are not descriptors of this tremendous wine. I usually taste alone, but as my wife and I felt obliged to abandon plans for a party in favour of inviting a handful of neighbours around for an early evening drink, I opened this nascent Angel for a small group of us to taste. The appreciation was unanimous, and I was impressed with the many descriptors offered by our friends – after all, they are all keen wine drinkers. The overarching feeling of the group was that this was a superb effort and one which tasted delicious already but which had a seam of nervy acidity which might propel it forwards for more than just one summer, and I couldn’t agree more. There has been a gradual tightening up of Whispering Angel since the 2019 vintage and in 2021 there is a wonderful backbone to this wine from which the fruit is carefully draped. With the trademark watermelon and pomegranate hints and a deeper and more structured mid-palate than was found on the lithe 2020 this is a more sophisticated wine than its crowd-pleasing predecessor. This, in turn, means that it is a foodier proposition, too, which is great news. So, my very first 2021 Provence Rosé is set to, once again, wow all-comers and this is encouraging news not least because the price has moved up from late-teens to £20 for this vintage in order to reflect its heightened ambitions."
Quotes from previous vintages-
“Always delicious”
James Suckling
“Chewy and mouthwatering”
Decanter
“Very clear and clean and will gain flavours during the year”
Steven Spurrier
“You could drink it from mid-day to midnight”
Matthew Jukes
“It’s hard to find fault with this sensational rosé”
The Times
About Château d’Esclans
Chateau d’Esclans is located on an exceptional site, on elevated land near the Gorges de Pennafort, twenty five kilometers northwest of the ancient Roman city of Frejus on the Mediterranean coast. The first traces of the chateau’s site date back to Gaullist times during which its location served as a lookout point to spot intruders coming by boat into the Gulf of Frejus. The chateau’s cellar structure or foundation (known today as the oldest in the region) housed an original Chateau that was given by the Comte de Provence to Gérard De Villeneuve, in 1201. The current chateau, inspired by Tuscan Villa design, was built during the mid 19th century.
Château d’Esclans lies in the center of the Department of the Var, where the majority of Provence AOC rosé is produced. The land was occupied as long as 2500 years ago when it was probably used as a lookout point for intruders sailing into the Gulf of Frejus. The original château—of which now only the cellar remains—dates back to before the 12th century. In 1201, Gérard De Villeneuve, part of a wealthy family from Marseille, took ownership of the château and the majority of the surface area of the Vallée d’Esclans that would eventually be sold off in lots. Two brothers, Sauver Louis Ranque and Francois Alexandre Ranque, were the next to own the château, known then as Terre d’Esclans.
In 1875, they sold the property to Joseph Toussaint Caussemille, who manufactured wooden matches near Marseilles. In 1955, the Perraud family owned the property until 1994. At that time, it was purchased by a Swedish pension fund that produced a small amount of wine and the remaining grapes were sold to neighboring winemakers. Sacha Lichine aquired Château d’Esclans in 2006. Today there are 108 acres (44 ha) of vineyards. The total proprety has 659 acres (267 ha).
The primary grape grown on the property is Grenache followed by Vermentino. Other grapes include Cinsault, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Tibouren. The château is known for its old Grenache vines which produce grapes that offer greater concentration of flavor than do the younger vines. As the elevation to where the lots are situated increases, so do the age of the vines. At the highest elevated lot vines are as old as 90 years.
