Rosé season may be nearly over, but things are just heating up at Chateau d’Esclans, a sprawling estate in Provence that produces Whispering Angel, one of New York’s most ubiquitous pink-hued wines.
For many true devotees, it’s not enough to just sip chilled glasses of Whispering Angel ($24.99 for a bottle). You’ve got to fly to France and make the pilgrimage to the holy land (which is admittedly more costly at, say, about $1,000-plus for a round-trip).
Sacha Lichine, the man behind the brand, says his vineyard has hosted a who’s who of oenophiles — from Blackstone private equity boss Steve Schwarzman and Walmart’s Walton family, to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and glassware magnate Maximilian Riedel.
“They learn everything from A to Z as to how rosé is made,” Lichine tells The Post. “Obviously, we are a bit of a Heinz 57 ketchup. We don’t tell everything!” (Funnily enough, Lichine adds, the former president of Heinz has even stopped by for a Whispering Angel fix.)
Born in southwestern France to late wine mogul Alexis Lichine, Sacha Lichine purchased the 667-acre property for about $13.5 million in 2006. Since then, it’s become a destination for rosé aficionados — but only those in the know, because there is minimal publicity for the chateau’s tours.
“I don’t like to call them ‘tours,’ ” demurs Lichine, “I prefer ‘visits.’ ”
This season, Chateau d’Esclans has hosted more than 2,500 booked visitors — a whopping 1,000 more than last year.
“Hopefully my liver will hold up,” he says with a laugh.
The visits to the picture-book property are free and include an explanation of the viticulture, a cellar tour and tasting, all lasting approximately one hour. Only special guests — like Sam Nazarian of SBE Entertainment Group — get to visit the chapel where the name “Whispering Angel” was born, thanks to the two cherubs carved onto the walls. But all visitors get an special peek at the wine-making process, including special kosher barrels specially produced and blessed by rabbis for mega-fan Ron Perelman, the billionaire banker.
On site, there are 72 hectares of planted vines that mainly feed into the winemaker’s other premium brands, but Lichine purchased additional hectares nearby that are dedicated to rosé labels, including fan-favorite Whispering Angel.
The stunning buttercup yellow chateau, decorated by blue hydrangeas (atypical for Provence), was inspired by Tuscan villa design and built in the mid 19th century. Before Lichine purchased the land, it was owned by a Swedish pension fund that produced a small amount of wine. In 2006, Lichine took over and, despite wine snobs who thought he was crazy to abandon his father’s Bordeaux-wine legacy for, gasp, rosé, he essentially turned the pink wine into an America summer staple.
But even as visitor numbers grow, the experience remains sacred for those who drink Whispering Angel, a.k.a. “Hamptons water,” like it’s, well, water.
“It felt very exclusive,” says Manhattan fashion editor Kristen Ingersoll, who visited the chateau last June and was struck by the high-tech wine-making process.
During her 2018 visit, Los Angeles-based jazz singer Angie Wells sang for her vino.
“I tasted the Garrus [the world’s most expensive rosé at $100 a bottle] and you’re only supposed to get one taste of certain things,” she recalls. “But it was so amazing. We were like, ‘Boy, can we can get another taste of that one?’ And the gentleman said, ‘If you sing, maybe we will open another bottle.’” Wells belted out a ballad that left the room in tears.
Lichine says some of his VIP guests have bodyguards do a sweep of the property before their helicopters land. (Visitors arrive at least once or twice a week via helicopter, he adds.) Busiest season is summer, but Lichine says fall is the prime time to see the wine harvesting in action. The property is open year-round.
“We take a lot of time and make a lot of effort to take people really around,” Lichine says. “They’ve drunk our wines in different parts of the world, they love it, they make the effort to come here. I think we should make the effort to take good care of them.”
To visit Whispering Angel, which is located in the heart of Provence, book a direct flight to Nice on United or La Compagnie (the latter of which exclusively serves the rosé on its business-only flights). It’s a short one-hour drive (and easy Uber) from a variety of luxe home-bases, including St. Tropez and Antibes.
Email chateaudesclans@sachalichine.com to book your tour.