Stephen Cronk had been nurturing a plan to make wine for 15 years. In 2009 he finally moved his family to the south of France to make the dream a reality. Now, almost a decade later his wines are being noted as some of the best from the Provence region.
Swapping city life for a new beginning as wine producers in the South of France is a dream I’m sure many of us harbour. The reality can be something rather different from the expectation. Growing and harvesting vines is difficult and often unpredictable work. Building a talented team to turn those grapes into refreshing, crafted rosé is no mean feat either. Especially when you don’t speak French!
There are worse problems to have. Stephen along with wife Jenny, the children and ‘an impossible to train Jack Russell Mongrel’ Oscar, left behind stress and long hours in London’s corporate world. The offer of a promotion had forced Stephen into accessing the life he wanted.
The change seems to have paid off. The principle goal of making a Provence rosé that would be one of the very best from the region has been realised. Robert Parker described it as ‘about as good as Provençal rosés can get’ awarding 91 points for Mirabeau Rosé wine.
Stephen knew his wines would have to be outstanding to get noticed, so he enlisted his friend Angela Muir MW to help. Angela has made wine in over a dozen countries and is a highly regarded lecturer and Decanter World Wine Awards judge. With their second vintage, Mirabeau wine was rated by Jancis Robinson as one of the top three Côtes de Provence Rosés.
In August 2012 Matthew Jukes wrote in the Daily Mail: ‘Mirabeau is a heart-achingly beautiful rosé from the finest region in the world for this style of wine. Effortlessly classy and eminently affordable, this is a must-have wine for refined entertaining.’
Open wine with shoe
Mirabeau Wine has used social media to keep everyone back home up to date. An intuitive website with 200 films documents their adventures in winemaking and life in Provence. This combines with Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to engage with consumers. Their work to drive name recognition and demand has paid off. They hit the headlines back in 2014 when they sought to solve an issue we’ve all had at one time or another. Opening a bottle of wine without a corkscrew. Their video, ‘How to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew’ went viral clocking up over 11 million views on YouTube.
Mirabeau rosé wine
Today we stock two wines from Mirabeau Rosé. The marquee Mirabeau Rosé is crafted in the vineyards around the village of Pourcieux. It’s mostly Grenache with Syrah and Cinsault and made by the ‘vin de pressurage’ method. The red grapes are gently pressed so that just enough colour and flavour is extracted before the juice is separated from the skins for fermentation.
Rose-pink with wild strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant aromas, the palate offers a combination of ripe red fruits and zesty apple. A decent amount of acidity adds grip and texture. At this year’s International Wine Challenge, Mirabeau Rosé took home a silver medal. Adding to an ever-growing collection of awards for this wine.
Mirabeau pure rosé
You’ll also find Mirabeau Pure Rosé in our range. Fashioned from grapes grown in some of the highest vineyards in the Côtes de Provence. Grenache is blended with the punchier Syrah with its ripe cherry and raspberry flavours. A smattering of Vermentino provides delicacy and a hint of white pepper. Provençal, herbaceous ‘garrigue’ flavours meld well with hints of grapefruit, cherry and orange blossom on a palate which finishes on a refreshing minerally note.
Rosé wines are as popular as ever. They appeal to a wide range of consumers; with both the on and off-trade reporting big sales increases. It should come as no surprise, Rosé wine sales in France overtook white in 1994 and have never looked back. It may be in large part due to the flexibility of Rosé wine with food.
Both of our wines from Mirabeau also come in magnum sized 1.5-litre bottles. This makes them suited for groups to share, all you need to provide is the ice bucket. Serving magnums not only add to the theatre of a serve but also cut down service times. This can make the difference on a busy summer’s day!
You can find more information about the wines we stock from Mirabeau here.
About the author
Luke Siddall (alumni)
I'm Matthew Clark's resident content creator, looking after our social media, website and customer communications. I was a cocktail bartender for while before joining but I now spend most of my time on the other side of the bar.
