A Provence house with a great history, Chateau Minuty began with innovator Gabriel Farnet, who already owned Domaine de Châteauneuf in Vidauban, and acquired Château Minuty in 1936. The estate was originally built under Napoleon III, as was the small chapel that gave its name to the cuvée de l'Oratoire, which remained the emblematic bottle for a long time. Gabriel Farnet began by replanting the entire estate, which quickly increased quality in the wines. By 1955, Château Minuty was one of the 23 properties to be distinguished as a classified growth of the Côtes de Provence.
Today, Jean-Etienne and François Matton have taken over and continue to develop Minuty. They have put their signature on the wine by continuing to renovate the vineyard, replacing the Carignan and Ugni blanc with Grenache and Rolle, and they are now in their fourth generation with Anne-Victoire Matton joining her father Jean-Etienne and Uncle François. The wines by Chateau Minuty were very consistent across the board. Do not miss out on the outstanding value, the 2021 Chateau Minuty ‘M’ Rose (OB, 90) which is fresh and lively, showing good stuffing — a terrific value for the price. Truly fabulous, the 2021 Chateau Minuty ‘281’ Rose (OB, 93) is fresh and vibrant with serious texture and aging potential. This is Provence Rose refined. Learn more about this historic Provence house at https://en.minuty.com/pages/m-rose and here is my feature on Chateau Minuty.
2021 Chateau Minuty ‘M’ Rose- Fresh, lively and full of verve, the delicious 2021 Chateau Minuty ‘M’ Rose offers fresh raspberry and teaberry notes alongside red cherry candy on the palate. Copious minerals make this very hard to put down. Drink 2022-2026- 90
2021 Chateau Minuty ‘Prestige’ Rose- A really good cuvee, the 2021 Chateau Minuty ‘Prestige’ Rose blends Syrah, Carignan and Rolle. It is polished in texture and shows good weight with very delicate red fruits that collide with citrus zest and gooseberry undertones. Bone-dry, enjoy on a hot summer day. Drink 2022-2028- 91
2021 Chateau Minuty ‘281’ Rose- The ‘281’ is the top wine produced by Chateau Minuty and is a masterclass by their winemaking team. A blend of mostly Syrah and Grenache from the three soil types on their property (schist, clay and sand), this is best served this at a warmer temperature to take in the outstanding aromatic and flavor range. After some air, the ‘281’ offers a brilliant range of red fruits with kumquat rind and stony minerals, with hints of peat moss on the palate. Finishing long with serious length and underlying tension, this is a brilliant wine that will age well for another eight to ten years, picking up earthy tones as it lays in the cellar. Drink 2022-2030- 93