What is Chateau Minuty, Cotes de Provence?
Everyone knows the delicate, salmon-pink profile of Minuty’s M Rose, their bestselling wine, perfected over nearly a century of expertise and with an iconic bottle. But what else does this famous Provence winery have to offer?
Château Minuty’s story really took off after the Second World War after a big replanting programme. By 1955 it was recognized as one of 23 top properties in Provence. In the 60s, Minuty saw a number of local varieties planted such as Tibouren and a focus on quality rather than quantity. This meant restricting yields and careful grape selection. To this day there is still replanting going on as Minuty champion their local varieties even further, ripping up older vines of generally less prestigious grapes and keeping the focus on improving quality.
Part of the secret is of course in the land too and how it is used. Minuty is located on the Saint-Tropez peninsula, benefitting from ample sunshine and cooling sea breezes. The soils are generally deep too, meaning the vines are able to sustain themselves throughout periods of hot weather. It is also one of the last estates in the area to harvest by hand, helping them ensure that the best grapes are used and any unwanted ones/other matter is prevented from adding unwanted flavours.
Whilst they are known for Rose, with over 85% of production being Rose focused, reds and whites are also produced by Minuty. Overall, the demand for Minuty has become so great that the family had to branch into a distribution company who manage the estate wines and other wines created under the Minuty label, proving just how key their expertise and passion for good wine is.
M de Minuty Rosé
This is their best-known wine and with good reason. As they put it, it is ‘pure Pleasure, pure Provence and pure Minuty’. The grapes are chosen from plots all over Provence reflecting the entire produce of the land in their blend and the bottle remains faithful to the original style created in the 60s, which is now emblematic of the whole region. The wine is about balancing intensity with delicate finesse. It is a blend of four varieties key to the South of France. Grenache and Cinsault are used for their light and elegant flavours, Syrah shores up the depth and intensity whilst Tibouren keeps the wine firmly Provence through its delicate fruits. The result is a vibrant, bright wine designed for Mediterranean sun. It is tangy, juicy and bursting with berry flavours, tropical fruits and stone fruit whilst maintaining a light and delicate character at the same time.
Minuty Prestige
This is the next level up from the M Rosé, providing a more full-bodied, complex experience. Made with the wineries own grapes, it has the Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah, but uses the white grape Rolle this time instead of Tibouren. Rolle is another Provence grape which can provide some earthy notes. The palate is more punchy as a result. The sense of delicacy remains but is lifted further with more exotic and moreish fruits: orange and grapefruit. It has a slightly saline finish and zippy acidity and the earthiness from the Rolle comes through.
Rose et Or
Probably their most affordable Estate wine, it is again another step up. The grapes (Grenache, Cinsault, Rolle) come from 3 plots, one of which is the Chateau grounds itself. To make this their most delicate of all, only the free-run juice is used, which results in purer, lighter flavours of intense clarity but does also mean that the expense goes up as there is less of it that can be made. The plots certainly come across as more sun soaked. Fruit flavours are considerably riper and more tropical as melon, grapefruit, pear and peach come into play. The purity of the wine is well considered as the freshness and acidity acts as a fantastic palate cleanser to allow you to taste nothing but the wine in all its glory.
Chateau Minuty 281
The masterpiece of the collection is Chateau Minuty 281, made from choice Grenache all of one clone and a sprinkling of Syrah designed to give a peppery, spiced aftertaste. It is again handpicked and made with all the chateau’s expertise from vineyard to bottle. Once again, it is a zippy, fresh wine with additional tropical fruits and berry flavours that are so well defined. Stone fruits and citrus fruits form a lovely core of the wine whilst the finish culminates in a peppery, saline crescendo. The body is fairly heavy for a rose, but, in Minuty fashion, perfectly integrated making it still feel intensely delicate and fresh.
Minuty Blanc
The whites of Minuty are also very good wines designed for hot climates. A blend of Ugni Blanc, adding richness, Rolle and Semillon which carries the acidity, it is made in a very similar manner to the Rose wines. The wine is predominantly a citrus bomb with lemon, lime and grapefruit as the mainstays. Some melon and apple notes mollify the citrus tang to its benefit. All in all, a lively, bright wine that is easy to drink anytime. The white wines go up in quality in similar fashion to the Roses.
Minuty Rouge
Comprised of Syrah for spice, Mourvèdre for darker fruits, Grenache for red fruits and herbal aromas and a little Cabernet as a balancing component. This is a red ultimately aiming to be fresh in style. The grapes are macerated only briefly on their skins to minimize extraction of darker flavours and tannin, instead resulting in a light fruity, aromatic wine. Mainly berry focused, it has cranberry, blackberry, redcurrant and raspberry with a touch of liquorice on the end. Again, much like the Roses, the reds improve as you go up their brand laddering.
Explore the Minuty Collection >
This blog was written by our wine expert, David Andrews. Read his Instagram blog @oinosattheoikos
Updated 21st August 2023