Design and Technology
ROSÉ ALL DAY
AIX Rosé might be complex enough to WIN AWARDS, but this dusky pink wine from the SOUTH OF FRANCE is easy-drinking enough to enjoy every day
“I wanted to make a rosé that was easy to drink, but also complex and exclusive enough to win gold medals and be awarded good reviews around the world,” says Eric Kurver, the man behind the enormously popular AIX Rosé. In both respects, he has succeeded. And then some.
The 130 year-old winery, which former advertising executive Kurver bought together with his wife back in 2009 and renamed Domaine Saint Aix, is situated an hour out of Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. The location (and altitude, at 420m above sea level) is ideal for the craft of wine-making, with mineral-rich soils, warm days and cool nights. “The frequent mistral wind ensures the tendrils are blown dry,” says Kurver. “And then, of course, we have at least 300 days of sunshine.” There are worse places in the world to find your calling.
In addition to the convenient geography and dreamy weather conditions, AIX Rosé is also organically-produced, using a certified, nitrogen-based technique to avoid oxidation. “It is very important to avoid oxidation when making a top rosé,” explains Kurver. “In the past they used a lot of sulphate for this, but we took a different approach and use less than a quarter of the amount than is allowed by regulation.” Kurver is famously meticulous about production methods and the results speak for themselves; the salmon-pink wine he helped bring to life now has cult status in countries all over the world.
Fresh and elegant, AIX is a winning blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault; it’s the sort of wine that can be enjoyed all day long, just as Kurver always envisaged. To that end, he decided to make the wine available in large formats, from magnums and jeroboams to the mammoth 15-litre nebuchadnezzar. “The idea behind this is that people can share a bottle with the whole family or a group of friends, for example,” says Kurver. People seem only too happy to oblige – and from superyacht parties in Monaco and long lunches in London to birthdays and beach parties in the Caribbean, there are endless, large format bottles of AIX being opened, shared and enjoyed.
The experts are also in agreement that AIX is a wine that deserves recognition and praise. Right from the very first harvest, it was winning prestigious awards across the world, including the Mondial du Rosé 2016 in Cannes. For Kurver, it’s exactly as he envisioned when he took over the vineyard a decade ago, blind tasting endless varieties of Provence rosé and using the results to concoct the ultimate blend. “It’s our ambition to be make one of the best rosé wines in the world,” he says. Some might say he’s already succeeded.