What wine lover hasn't ever mused about owning your own vineyard? The enthusiastic Dutchman, wine connoisseur and enthusiast Eric Kurver succeeded. He has been living in the South of France with his wife and three children for years and is the lucky owner of the AIX wine estate.
His wine estate covers no less than 85 hectares, of which 75 hectares are planted with vines with the grape varieties Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, Counoise, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah for red and rosé. Rolle, Ugni Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc for the white wines.
About 20 kilometers east of the capital of Provence, Aix en Provence, at an altitude of 350 meters, we find the 136-year-old domain here in a beautiful rolling landscape. The original name is Domaine La Grande Séouve, but since Eric took over, the name has been renamed Domaine Saint Aix.
The vineyard is located on a beautiful gently sloping terrain with a small ridge on one side and bordering a forest on the other. The Mistral from the cooler north occasionally passes here and functions as a natural protection against any diseases in the vineyard. More than 2200 hours of sunshine per year give the grapes a lot of heat during the day, the cooler nights ensure a balanced ripening process.
Eric mainly produces rosé, which is of course not surprising in Provence. This has been the birthplace of rosé for 2600 years. That rosé is sold under the name AIX. A beautiful slim bottle with an assembly of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Counoise. This results in a fresh, dry and almost pale and salmon-like rosé with a very pleasant long finish. Here you can taste Provence; berry fruit, plums, caramel and a little spicy but very balanced taste, sun and ripeness in a delicious glass. This rosé can compete with the very best…..
Chilled at about 10 degrees, this rosé is excellent as an aperitif or with a light lunch with fish, salad or with tapas, white meat and tasty pastas. Gone are the days when rosé was only drunk on the terrace in the summer. Rosé can easily be drunk all year round and also tastes great with Asian cuisine.
AIX rosé won the Gold Medal in 2010 and 2011 at the prestigious “Concours Générale Agricole de Paris”, the largest wine tasting in France by experts. The inspectors of the French Ministry of Agriculture confirm the unique quality of AIX Rosé. A unique achievement by Eric and his winemaker - oenologist Olivier Nasles, this has never happened before.
