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THE MABY FAMILY HAS BEEN
PRODUCING WINE IN TAVEL FOR
4 GENERATIONS
Following the same rationale of complementarity, Château Correnson, which
already had a foothold in the Lirac and Tavel appellations, was able to acquire
a hectare in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Although production remains low, having a
Châteauneuf-du-Pape label in its portfolio allows it to grow exports. Château
Correnson winegrower Vincent Peyre uses a metaphor to describe his vision:
“Making Châteauneuf is like driving a Ferrari, it’s a kind of achievement for a
winegrower”. Châteauneuf-du-Pape may well be considered the King of reds
in the region, but Tavel is most certainly the Queen of rosés. It comprises three
main types of soil: the historic sandy soils to the South-East of the namesake
village; pebbles to the North; and flagstones to the West – these are white
calcareous stones that instil distinct mineral character in the wines. The Tavel
by Château Correnson, a blend of 5 grape varieties partly grown on flagstone
soils, offers great roundness and intense aromas of fresh red fruits underscored
by a mineral backbone, the signature trait of Tavel wines. It sits at the pinnacle
of the estate’s range of rosés, with the appetising but less complex Lirac rosés a
rung further down, and finally the very light, fresh Côtes-du-Rhône made in a
fashionable Provencal style.
Traditionally made from vines grown on sandy soil, which produces lightly
coloured wines, Tavel has always been fermented in the same way as shortsoaked
red wines, akin to Bordeaux ‘clairet’. It is therefore only natural that
when AOCs were established in 1936, Tavel was entitled to produce rosés, and
Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds and whites. Richard Maby, who descends from a line
of winegrowers based in Tavel for more than two centuries and is the former
chairman of the winegrowers’ organisation, explains what happened next: “At
the start of the 1990s and the emergence of lightly coloured rosés from Provence,
Tavel witnessed a clear drop in sales. This led to some serious soul-searching,
WINTER 2022 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE
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