Château Simone Rosé | 2024

In 2009, I drove the backroads of Provence with no phone, only a coffee-stained map and piecemeal directions to Château Simone. The importer had one instruction for me, "Whatever you do, don't be late!" I wandered pebbly roads in my Lego car, endlessly, growing anxious as every turn became a dead end. I was late.

Palette is a tiny appellation on the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence defined by its glorious limestone hillsides, and Château Simone accounts for more than half of the vineyards there. Once you pass the unassuming gate, it’s like stepping into The Sound of Music — a sweet humming of birds and bees, exquisitely manicured lawns that the look painted, and West Wing-like quarters with a grand circular driveway. Over the years, I somehow lost touch with Simone. I moved across the country, built new wine programs, chased new producers, new grapes and trends, and briefly stepped away from the front-facing side of the business. An estate I loved so dearly, I accidentally buried it beneath the ever-growing pile of what's next. Then, in March of 2024, I was at Amara in Edgewater. My friend and beverage director, Amanda Fraga was pouring Simone Rosé by the glass for an industry-friendly price. At first sip, came tingles of joy and nostalgia and all the adventures of coming-of-age. I enjoyed a nice big glass, then another one.

Owned by the Rougier family since 1830, Château Simone benefits from an easy microclimate, protected by pine forests and the cooling influence of the nearby Arc River. After the phylloxera crisis, the estate replanted vine by vine, and today many of its vineyards are more than a century old. Its legendary rosé is built from the same bones as the red — Grenache and Mourvèdre dominant with Cinsault, Syrah, and a handful of wonderfully obscure Provençal varieties. Collectors swear by drinking Simone Rosé with bottle age, but in its youth, it's breathtaking too. Packed with every shade of raspberry and blue, the fruit is exuberant, then it morphs into its mystery umami-self on the palate. Its color, a strawberry punch of sorts, completely flips the consumer model in which pale-pink reigns supreme. This stuff is glorious. I'm glad I reconnected with Château Simone, after all these years. This time, I won't forget her. ~Allegra Angelo