WINE OF THE WEEK: Famille Lafont Tavel 2024, Tavel, Rhône, France
- Apr 2
- 2 min read
£13, Tesco
It doesn’t sound as if the Easter weekend is going to give us the weather for flip-flops, sun shades and barely-there pale rosés, but Tavel rosé is something else. Definitely an all-seasons rosé.
It’s the only French wine AOP (aka appellation contrôlée) exclusively for rosé and it has never been afraid to be out on a limb. In a market that equates pale pink with sophistication and subtle flavour, Tavel is showy pink – sometimes copper-pink – well upholstered and full of flavour.
It’s been a favourite of mine for as long as I can remember, not least because it goes so comfortably with food (more of which below). And this one, which in earlier vintages was called Arbousset, the name of the domaine the Lafont family owns, is great value (the Tesco website still calls it Arbousset, but shows the correct label).
The first vintage I recommended, the 2021 in summer 2022, was only £1 cheaper than this 2024 (and the 2025 which is on its way). When you think how duty, other costs and inflation have soared since then, it's a miracle. And with a Clubcard there's 25% off six or more bottles of wine (any mix) for delivery by 6 April.
Apart from colour, weight and food-friendliness, it’s packed with fruit – strawberry, raspberry and a smidge of blackcurrant – offset by more savoury, earthy pepper and spice. It feels generous, dry and refreshing on the palate.
Coming from the southern Rhône, it’s Grenache-based, but the rest of the blend varies slightly from year to year. The 2024 is 48 per cent Grenache with Cinsault, Carignan, Syrah and 7 per cent other local grape varieties (which could be the likes of Mourvèdre and Piquepoul). The 2025 has a fraction more Grenache but no Syrah.
The grapes are crushed and then left at cool temperatures for 24 hours for colour to be drawn out of the skins into the juice before being pressed and the juice fermented.
It’s a vegan wine that’s good with meat as well as veg, pairing with lamb and pork (including the cold leftovers and lamb meatballs) and with chorizo and charcuterie. It goes with roast and barbecued Mediterranean vegetables and butternut squash, with herbs and spices such as cumin and smoked paprika and it can be matched with the sweet and sour Sicilian vegetable dish caponata, which can be a bit of a hard taskmaster. 13.5%. Empty bottle weight: 552g.
Famille Lafont Tavel 2024, Tavel, Rhône, France
£13, Tesco
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