Château Simone - Palette rosé 2024

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

This is the most famous château in the Palette appellation, where the Rougier family has been crafting its distinctive style for nearly two centuries. The 25 hectares of vineyards are situated at an altitude of about 200 meters, on a north-facing slope that shields them from the intense sun and the mistral wind. But the estate’s true treasure is undoubtedly its many very old vines, meticulously tended through sustainable viticulture, for which official organic certification has been pending since 2018. The wine, aged in vaulted cellars carved into the rock by the Grand Carmelite monks of Aix in the 16th century, is often underestimated in its youth. After a few years of aging, all the vintages—including the rosés—reveal admirable complexity and depth. It is therefore best to keep the bottles in the cellar for a while, even if the impatient may not agree.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The Palette Rosé 2024 offers a more understated and introspective expression than recent vintages, while remaining one of the finest interpretations of this unique cuvée. Opening with aromas of blood orange, grapefruit, spring flowers, rose petals, and a hint of spice, it is medium-bodied to full-bodied, round and fleshy, built around a soft phenolic structure and taut acidity. The finish is long, briny, and delicately ethereal. Less exuberant today, it promises to age magnificently in the bottle, gaining nuance and harmony over time. Once again, the Rougier family has skillfully risen to the challenges of the vintage to offer one of France’s most seductive and age-worthy rosés.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the estate:

From the heights of Château Simone’s hillsides, a scene straight out of a Cézanne painting unfolds: one can admire the century-old vines clinging to the Langesse limestone, opening up to the north toward Mont Sainte-Victoire. “La Simone,” as the Rougier family likes to call it, is undoubtedly the most famous wine among connoisseurs of fine Mediterranean white wines. It is true that René and Jean-François Rougier craft this white wine without relying on technical tricks, resulting in a wine of incredible character, balance, and richness. One of the secrets lies in the slow pressing and twenty months of aging in large oak casks, followed by barrel aging. It is also the result of an 8-hectare plot planted with several grape varieties, primarily Clairette (with 2% Muscat that makes all the difference!), harvested and vinified as a blend. The rosé, Simone’s other standout, always appears vibrant in color, with intense fruitiness. Its palate, highly concentrated, shows aging potential. The red now rivals certain great wines from the southern Rhône Valley. The Grenache and Mourvèdre give it a character defined by a level of maturity and a more developed mid-palate than in previous vintages.