It’s Was a Rosé Sunday, and the Party Continues

Last Sunday I attended a party devoted to rosé, an annual gathering organized and hosted by several individuals in the wine industry. It takes place in the backyard of a home in Santa Monica graced by a beautiful coast redwood tree, and serves as a reunion for may of the attendees, as well as an occasion for many to meet people new to them. Not everyone at the party is in the wine business, but many are, and the wines assembled by attendees are myriad and diverse, though all are rosés.

Coincidentally, I sampled a wine this week from a legendary land of rosés that I liked immensely. But it’s not a rosé. It’s the 2025 Château Gassier Côtes de Provence Blanc, 100 percent vermentino, made by Léa Rouyet, a Basque Country-born winemaker who’s been at Gassier since 2015.

This wine hails from Sainte-Victoire, a storied area replete with vineyards that produce elegant rosés and stellar, if underappreciated by many, whites. Gassier harvests the wine’s fruit at night, which helps reduce oxidation. Direct and slow pressing, with minimal contact between skins and juice, gives a freshness and seductive color to the finished project. Poor soils of clay and limestone have created a wine with a rich body and energetic, stellar acidity.

In the glass this wine is very light in color, and appears almost irridescent in certain light. Aromas of white stone fruit and lemon blossom dominate, followed by soft melon and minerality on the palate. This is a thoroughly refreshing wine, one that I paired with a honeydew melon and prosciutto. It would also pair well with oysters or a tuna ceviche.

This wine sells for around $20, and is a good one to have around for when that impromptu guest stops by. I have a bottle in my refrigerator now, and look forward to opening it soon. Find it here.