Le Grand Cros launches Aurélia 2019

Le Grand Cros has announced that its eagerly awaited cuvée Aurélia 2019 is now available in the UK.

Hailing from Côtes de Provence and originally launched by award-winning wine producer Julian Faulkner with a 2015 vintage named in honour of his eldest child, Aurélia was created to showcase the very best of the terroir at Le Grand Cros.

Having trialled alternative styles over the years, Faulkner sought to offer a fuller-bodied, more structured take on the region’s classically light rosé, and so experimented with different varieties, levels of maturity and blends.

“As a producer I had become bored with only making the Provençal style rosé,” he explains. “It had reached a point when these wines had become so popular that even traditionally non-rosé producing regions had begun to produce rosés in this same style.”

Such was the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Aurélia 2015 that a 2016 release followed.  A three-year gap ensued, with Aurélia 2019 created using grapes hand-harvested in September, before spending eight months on lees and partially in oak, making for a creamier texture and greater complexity.

With its elegant pink hue, Aurélia 2019’s nose is expressive and complex, with floral notes accompanied by candied melon and mango, sweet spices and a zesty lift of grapefruit. The mouth, ripe and full, is balanced; a beautiful structure reinforces the original and elegant character.

“If you have tried previous vintages, the 2019 is more feminine with less vinosity,” says Faulkner. “Just like her namesake, she is growing up and showing immense charm and finesse.”

Aurélia 2019 was bottled at Le Grand Cros in June with just 200 cases produced. The vineyard, located 50km west of St Tropez in the foothills of the Massif des Maures, is best known for its quality rosé wines, but also makes red, whites and sparkling under the Faulkner Wines umbrella.

www.faulknerwine.com