Alain Pascal of Domaine du Gros ’Noré was once profiled during harvest for the major French news station TF1, and after seeing footage of his rigorous sorting practices, it’s easy to see why his rosé tastes so good.        
      “It all depends on the raw material,” he says. “If we don’t have that, we can’t make a high-quality wine.” Standing atop his tractor amid a bounty of freshly-clipped Mourvèdre, he inspects each and every cluster. Grabbing one whole like a giant drumstick, he tears off a bite with his teeth and swishes the skins, seeds, and pulp as if it were already wine. He pauses in reflection, then spits vigorously into an imaginary spittoon. “Too acidic, we can’t use that bunch.”          
      During harvest, Alain and his team pick before dawn to ensure the grapes remain cool. As the sun stretches up over the hills of La Cadière d’Azur, he practices yet another quality control technique. Holding up a gorgeous, plump cluster of Mourvèdre to the first rays of light, Alain fixates on where the sun enters the translucent skin of some pinker-looking berries, then tosses it to the ground. “Not ripe enough,” he indicates. It seems crazy to reject so much decent fruit, especially for a mere rosé, but Alain isn’t one to settle, and this is no ordinary rosé. “As soon as my grapes enter the cellar, the wine is ninety percent complete. I am just there to accompany them.” Alain repeats the sunlight test with a different bunch, only this time a glowy halo appears, and every berry looks deep, dark, and densley purple. This one makes it to press. With such ripe fruit, how does Alain keep his rosé so refreshing? “I press gently, never over-extracting. I prefer to lose in quantity over quality, that’s how to preserve finesse.”          
      The video ends with Alain checking on another parcel. One of his hunting dogs, trailing closely behind, devours some low-hanging fruit. Alain laughs, “Their palates are sharp, they won’t touch anything unripe. Yet another indication it’s the perfect time to harvest!”

I love a wine that sparks debate, and this one can get heated: is it rosé, as its hue suggests? Orange, owing to its brief skin contact? Pinot Gris is in rare form here—notes of elderflower, grassiness, and honeysuckle turned silky and sheer. Rosé, orange, or perhaps a gray area (pun intended) in between…whatever it is, it’s delicious.

This dark and vinous iteration from the southern Rhône commands the stage with its hearty presence. Ripe red berries and fine tannin make this Tavel an ideal match for a bistro burger with fries or a charcuterie and cheese plate. In terms of food pairings, you might look to this as you usually would a quaffable rouge from nearby (see our Côtes du Rhône Villages), but there’s a sheen and shimmer both in the glass and on the palate that sets it squarely in its own denomination.