From a whisper to a yell: How Whispering Angel changed the Rosé game

As of late, rosé has become synonymous with summer – not only as the drink of choice but as a lifestyle, just search #roséallday and you’ll see what I mean… What was once only associated with upper class holiday-goers and mostly confined to France, has skyrocketed in popularity. In 2018, blush coloured wines sales at Everything Wine grew in the double digits vs 2017 and is even more popular with millennials than avocado toast. Winemaker Sacha Lichine’s Whispering Angel is widely credited with launching this international rosé trend, but how did the wine from Château D’Esclans rise to this level of stardom?

Long before rosé themed apparel, pool floats, and gummy bears became the norm, Château D’Esclans began promoting Whispering Angel (the wine that Mr. Lichine touted as “probably the greatest wine brand to come out of France in the last 20 years”) in the United States. In the early 2000’s, there was hardly a market at all for rosé and it was reserved for those who ventured to Provence and returned home with it, but Whispering Angel slowly began infiltrating Nantucket summer homes and quickly made its way to Los Angeles hotspots. Whispering Angel did not have an aggressive advertising plan but rather, planted its pink-lacquered toes in places where millennials flocked. Eventually, the rosy-hued wine that started as a whisper became a worldwide phenomenon.

We get it, trend-seekers have fallen in love with the $40 wine, but is Whispering Angel actually that good? Wine critics seem to be eating (or drinking) it up just as much as the average wine fan with James Suckling declaring it “always delicious.” And The Times assuring that “It’s hard to find a fault with this sensational rosé.” The mighty Whispering Angel is extra dry, medium-bodied and tangy with refined notes of grapefruit, peach, and minerality. It’s best enjoyed with light shellfish dishes or salmon, and preferably while overlooking the Mediterranean.

Before it’s devoured, the Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah grapes – among the others that make up Whispering Angel spend their days basking under Provence’s sunlight prior to being harvested and sorted by hand. Both the free run juice and pressed juice are vinified in stainless steel tanks where they evolve into the rosé that has the wine industry, and the rest of the world, seeing pink.

The Whispering Angel rosé is anything but quiet, try it for yourself to see what all the fuss is about. But make sure it’s chilled, or you aren’t doing rosé right.