Clos Venturi, "1769", Rosé

There are summer rosés I enjoy..and then there are summer rosés I catch myself obsessing over. These are the bottles that somehow disappear before the appetizers arrive. The bottles I buy a second case of because I suddenly can't bear the thought of surviving August without it. Clos Venturi's 2025 "1769" is exactly that bottle. Bright, wildly refreshing, effortlessly complex, and almost impossible to stop drinking, it may very well become your official rosé of summer 2026. This is not another anonymous pale pink patio wine. It is a rosé with genuine island character, remarkable energy, and the addictive deliciousness that keeps pulling you back for another sip.

The story begins in the mountainous heart of Corsica, where Jean-Marc and Manu Venturi have quietly transformed Domaine Vico and Clos Venturi into one of the island's most celebrated estates. Their vineyards sit between 400 and 500 meters above sea level near Ponte-Leccia, surrounded by forests and mountains rather than beaches and luxury resorts. Here, cool nights preserve extraordinary freshness while ancient sandstone and granite-derived soils give the wines a striking mineral backbone. Certified organic and biodynamic (Demeter), the vineyards are worked with horses to avoid soil compaction, while sheep, chickens, and beehives form part of an ecosystem that feels more like a living farm than a modern winery.

The "1769" Rosé is built around Sciaccarellu, Corsica's great rosé grape and one of the Mediterranean's most distinctive varieties. Naturally pale in color yet intensely aromatic, Sciaccarellu combines crunchy red berries, citrus peel, white flowers, wild herbs, and its signature whisper of white pepper into something that could come from nowhere else in the world. Hand-harvested fruit is fermented with indigenous yeasts before being raised entirely in stainless steel to preserve every ounce of freshness, purity, and aromatic lift. At just 12.5% alcohol, the wine somehow feels simultaneously weightless and intensely flavorful—a balance that has become Clos Venturi's signature.

The finished wine is everything you hope great Corsican rosé can be: crystalline, vibrant, and mouthwatering without ever becoming simple. Aromas of wild strawberry, pink grapefruit, mandarin zest, white peach, alpine herbs, and fresh flowers leap from the glass, while the palate dances between juicy citrus, tart red berries, saline minerality, and a refreshingly dry, subtly peppery finish that leaves you reaching instinctively for another sip. There is remarkable precision here, but even more importantly, there is joy.

Serve well chilled, about 48°F, in a white Burgundy stem or generous white wine glass. Pair it with grilled prawns, crudo, Niçoise salad, sushi, or simply a warm evening on the porch with good friends and absolutely no agenda. Drink it over the next year while its electric freshness is at its peak, though don't be surprised if every bottle disappears long before summer comes to an end.