Cinsault Wine

Studio by Miraval Côtes de Provence Rosé — Provence 2025

Studio by Miraval is a collaboration between the celebrated Perrin Family — the force behind Château Beaucastel and some of the Rhône’s greatest wines — and the legendary Miraval estate in Provence. Named as a tribute to the recording studio where Pink Floyd recorded The Wall, this wine embodies the spirit of Art de Vivre around the Mediterranean. Strongly influenced by sea spray and the proximity of the Mediterranean Sea, the salty, almost iodized soils of the estate give the wine a unique coastal character that sets it apart from the crowd. The 2025 vintage — marked by intense summer heat, early maturity, and beautifully concentrated, aromatic berries — earned 90 points from Decanter and is punching well above its price.

The color is a seductive, clear, bright pale-pink with pastel reflections. The nose is all finesse and elegance: small red fruit, cherry blossom, and a superb aromatic bouquet. On the palate, it is lively and ample — blood orange, redcurrant, and cranberry are perfectly balanced by a fresh mineral structure and a hint of bitterness, with a long, tasty finish that lingers with iodized freshness.

Decanter 90 — “Concentrated, a really nice balance between cranberry and citrus. Open and lifted and aromatic, floral, dry and full of flavour. This is punching above its weight for the price.”

• Producer: Studio by Miraval, Perrin Family, Provence, France
• Vintage: 2025
• Appellation: Côtes de Provence AOC
• Style: Dry Rosé
• Terroir: Mediterranean coastal soils with sea spray influence
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Cherry blossom, small red fruit, blood orange, redcurrant, cranberry, fresh mineral structure, iodized finish
• Serve: Well-chilled at 44–48°F
• Best Paired With: Grilled fish, seafood, light salads, goat cheese, Provençal cuisine; perfect as an apéritif

Pink Floyd’s studio, the Perrin Family’s expertise, and the Mediterranean’s soul — Studio by Miraval is the Provence rosé that always earns its place at the table.

Winemaker Description 

GRAPES: Cinsault (100%). 

Cinsault has been farmed in the Bekaa Valley since the mid-19th century before ceding the way to new imported varieties. In 2014, Domaine des Tourelles decided to revive this grape by searching out very old Cinsault vines, over 50 years of age, and fermenting the wines in concrete tanks using wild yeasts and nothing else to offer the purest expression of that grape. The result is a supple wine that beautifully reflects the terroir of the Bekaa Valley, with an aging potential of several years.

Published by Jancis Robinson

There is not much I can say about Bekaa-born Faouzi Issa co-owner and winemaker of Domaine des Tourelles in the Bekaa Valley, that has not already been said by Jancis and Tam but in a week in which Lebanon has again been in the news because of death and destruction, I wanted to celebrate the life that continues to be created every year at Domaine des Tourelles in the most challenging circumstances imaginable. (See Michael Karam’s Lessons in wine-region survival.)

Issa told me on Wednesday that the nearest pager explosion to them was 1 km away from the winery.

In 2018, the year Domaine des Tourelles celebrated its 150th anniversary, Jancis’s articles Lebanon and the new Serge Hochar? and Lebanon’s oldest winery told of Issa’s journey into wine, via Bordeaux’s Château Margaux and René Rostaing in the Rhône, as well as giving a brief history of Domaine des Tourelles, Lebanese wine more generally and the arrival of Cinsault in the country in the 19th century along with Carignan and Grenache.

Tam continued the story in 2022 in more personal terms in Old-vine wines – part 1 Lebanon, describing Issa as ‘that mesmeric combination of scientist, engineer and romantic’, at the same time highlighting Issa’s commitment to old vines.

The first vintage of this wine was 2014, which was when Issa realised that the old vines offered something special and deserved to be bottled separately (they now have four wines in their Old Vine Collection). He explains, ‘Cinsault has been farmed in the Bekaa Valley since the mid 19th century before ceding the way to new imported varieties.’ For many a year, it was the most widely planted variety in the country but it is now much less popular than it once was.

Memo Serving Suggestions

Food Pairings: The perfect match for Levantine and Mediterranean cuisine. It pairs excellently with lamb chops, beef tagine, grilled vegetables (ratatouille), or a classic Mezze platter.