It’s baaaack! Triennes is a rose standby – not hard to find, consistently great, and priced to buy by the case at about $16/bottle. It’s a classic Provence style: refreshing, equal doses of minerality & tart/ripe fruit, all in balance, a very light color – lots of length this year, too. 2014 is not a departure in style from previous years, it tasted familiar with the first sip I took – a visit with an old friend!
This is the type of wine my friends & I load up about half a case in a cooler and set up shop on the beach with a bag of stem-on cherries, a bag of Cape Cod Chips, and if we’re lucky – a bag of oysters to shuck & eat on the half shell. Helps that Triennes is now under screwcap, no extra equipment needed. I’ve never tried to uncork a wine with an oyster knife….but I assume it can be done with some effort (and I now intend to try.)
Made primarily from Cinsault – often used in southern French red & rose blends – Triennes is technically from the “Méditerranée” IGP, a large winemaking area in Provence/Rhone. The winery is located in Nans-le-Pins, about 30km inland from the coastal town of Cassis (we will surely be covering the few roses that are produced in tiny Cassis as soon as we can get our hands on them!) Triennes has been making wine since 1990, when famous-in-certain-circles Jacques Seysses and Aubert de Villaine set out from Burgundy in search of new conquests. Website says they also make a couple whites and reds, but damn if I’ve never laid eyes on them – these guys are best known for their rose. This is all estate fruit, and their 115 acres are in the process of being converted to organic. FWIW, the winery is named after Triennia, the Roman festival for Bacchus, so don’t feel bad going back for another glass (or bottle.)
Triennes Rosé 2020
Méditerranée IGP, Provence, France
$16
The Verdict: delicious & light, easy to find thanks to wide distribution and (relatively) larger production
When to drink it: on the beach
Flavors: watermelon, citrus, strawberry
How sweet: very dry
Value for $: 3/5
Availability: pretty easy to find