I was urged to share bottles of “pink wine” a lot in the early 2010s. At the time, rosé was seen as a compromise between cheap red (sometimes drinkable) and cheap white (always terrible).
What I drank, in actuality, was wine that guaranteed a hangover. Sickly-sweet and bitter cast-offs from winemakers who seemed to approach rosé with indifference—at best.
I suffered the stuff for years before my first glass of Provence rosé.
That glass, dear reader, changed everything. Unlike the pink plonk I’d learned to avoid at all costs, this rosé was complex. Soft in color, strong in minerality, with a beautiful balance of white, flesh-y fruits.
Eight years on, I still consider that glass of Château Minuty 281 my personal rosé renaissance.
Of course, this renaissance has not been mine alone. Provence rosé has exploded in popularity over the last decade. Largely, thanks to the PR machines behind brands like Hamptons beach-favorite Whispering Angel and Brangelina-owned Miraval.
As it turns out, if the world simply got a taste of France’s beloved rosés, they’d never look back.
A bottle of Minuty Prestige
And Minuty, silently, reaped the rewards.
Without the backing of Hollywood megastars, the family business sold more than 9 million bottles worldwide last year.
“I don’t care if people like Whispering Angel,” says François Matton, co-executive of Minuty . “What the company has done is amazing. They’ve helped introduce the world to the quality of Provence rosé.”
Matton manages the company alongside his brother, Jean-Etienne, following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather.
“They were convinced the world would have an appetite for rosé when only the French were, you know?” laughs François.
Nearly 100 years on from the family’s initial purchase of Château Minuty, the brothers say they can’t quite believe how quickly the market has changed.
Still, when Moët Hennessy took a majority stake in the estate this February, neither wanted to take a step back from the business.
“Our partnership with Moët Hennessy is a thing of pride and…security,” says Jean-Etienne. “It secures the legacy of our family business.”
The Minuty vineyards and estate are a stone’s throw from St Tropez in the South of France
And the legacy is growing. Though Minuty has actually been the market leader in France for some time, its wines are now distributed in more than 100 countries.
Undoubtedly, it’s just the start of Minuty 2.0.
Moët Hennessy currently boasts twenty-six Maisons—all internationally recognized for the richness of their terroirs, the quality of their products and the craftsmanship with which they are created.
From Ardbeg to Dom Pérignon and Glenmorangie to Veuve Clicquot, Moët Hennessy has managed to make most of the brands in its portfolio to a category leader.
And for the only rosé in its profile, that’s a real glass-half-full place to be.
“We are so excited for what’s to come,” says François. “We are experimenting all the time, even creating reds and whites to compete with the gastronomic best…
“The future looks good for Minuty. Really good.”