Maison Saleya Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Rose 2020

In the “city of a thousand fountains”, wineries such as today’s Maison Saleya, much like the Sabine from a few weeks ago, enjoy the distinct advantage of nearly 300 meters in altitude. At these heights, the cooler, windier nights allow for slow steady development, extended hangtimes and yield grapes with perfect acidic balance.

Maison Saleya combines the wonderful terroir of the Coteaux d’Aix with a terrific winemaking team, so I’m never surprised by all the high scores and all the accolades like last year’s “Best Buy” from Wine & Spirits Magazine. But, I was surprised to get an email that the new 2020 release was not only stateside but even available.

You may remember, a few months back all French wines under 14% alcohol were facing a 25% tariff that threatened to go up to 50%. Many importers bailed on the idea of 2020 rosé all together, instead holding onto their 2019 inventory and hoping to space it out through the spring and summer seasons.

But after one sip of the 2020 Maison Saleya, my importer friend doubled down and increased his order by 50%. After the sample bottle crossed my desk last week, I followed suit and took every case available to me.