The Opening · Bordeaux rosé
Prélude2023
Released only in its drinking phase — ready for the table.
Arriving
Like a late afternoon on the Basque coast.
A rosé with backbone and texture, conceived for the table, not a trivial terrace wine.
A prelude sets out the theme before the suite begins, clearly and with a sense of what is to follow. That is how this rosé opens an evening.
2023: a very good vintage for rosé
- Grape varieties
- 100% Malbec
- Limitation
- 324
- Ageing
- Large barrique, 9 months
- Analysis
- 13.5 % vol
- Drinking window
- 2024 – 2027
- Serving temperature
- 10–12 °C
- Decanting
- Not necessary
The coast in the late afternoon
The first glass
The flavour profile of Prélude 2023
Salmon-coloured in the glass. Wild strawberry and white peach, with a hint of pink peppercorn. On the palate a fine acidity and a saline minerality that give it drive and length — a rosé with structure, not a trivial terrace wine. Vinification in large barrique gives texture without covering the fruit. To enjoy well chilled and young.
- Wild strawberry
- White peach
- Pink peppercorn
- Saline minerality
- Fine acidity
Prélude is a rosé made from Malbec, a dark grape, and you can taste it: wild strawberry, white peach, a hint of pink pepper and a saline minerality that gives it drive. Prélude 2023 was fermented directly in a large barrique and matured for nine months in the same cask. Elegant and structured, a rosé for the table, well chilled at 10–12 °C.
Why Prélude
An opening with a clear voice.
A suite is a sequence of dances. Each has its own character, and only all together do they make the whole. That is how our estate is built: each cuvée is inspired by a movement of this suite and takes on the character of its form.In music, the prelude comes first: it sets out the key and makes you curious about the movements that follow. The pianist Johanna Summer improvises on Ravel's Prélude and hears the old piece with today's ears. With us, Prélude opens the rosés of the Suite. Well chilled, it is an aperitif with substance, and it stays at the table for the meal, with seafood or chicken from the grill.
Prélude shows that a rosé may have backbone, with the spice of Malbec and a saline minerality.
Johanna Summer — Improvisation Prélude Ravel
Since the 2023 harvest · In the large barrique
Nine months in the large barrique in which it was also fermented, before Prélude 2023 went into bottle.
Aged in our own cellar.
Aged in our own cellar: fermented directly in a large barrique and matured in the same cask, then bottle ageing until we consider the wine ready to drink.
Maturity — how it drinks today
In the middle of its drinking window
Optimal drinking window of Prélude 2023
2024 – 2027
Serving temperature 10–12 °C.
Our principles
Why we take the trouble
Ageing in our own cellar
Most of our wines go on sale only once they are ready to drink; until then they mature with us, and we carry the risk.
Composed plot by plot
Each plot is vinified separately; only at the end do we compose the cuvée from them.
Time as an ingredient
Depth takes time. We give the wines the years in barrel and bottle that they need.
Organic & HVE4
The Domaine's vineyards are certified organic and HVE4, set within a 19-hectare ecosystem of woodland, meadows, water and vines.
The terroir and the wine it yields
Where it comes from
The parcel map
Click on a parcel number to find out more about it.Tap a parcel number to find out more about it.
- ClayCool and water-holding: depth, structure, a long life.
- Clay-gravelWhere two worlds meet: strength with finesse.
- GravelWarm and draining: energy, precision, lift.
- SandLight and open: freshness and a free hand.
The blend of Prélude 2023
A single-variety wine, one origin
- 100%Malbec
Precision & method
In the tradition of modern oenology
Aux Conseillans was for decades the Domaine of Jean Ribéreau-Gayon — one of the co-founders of modern oenology, founder of the Institute of Oenology at the University of Bordeaux (1949) and long-time owner of the estate. We work in that tradition: each plot analysed and vinified separately, the ageing guided under control, drinking maturity checked in a blind tasting.
For this place
A long road.
Regenerative farming, and one fine day carbon neutral: there is a long road ahead. Our vines are certified organic and HVE4, the highest level of France’s official environmental certification. Three examples of what we do beyond that.
- Hedgerows Some 2,000 shrubs, newly planted along the vines: nesting sites for birds, guiding lines for bats.
- Glass 405 grams. Glass is one of the largest sources of CO2 in a bottle of wine, which is why ours is light.
- Cork Diam Origine: cork, bound with a plant-based binder and beeswax. Free from cork taint, even after many years.
The hour before dinner
Poured well chilled and given a few minutes in the glass: Prélude needs nothing more, there is no need to decant it.
Your evening
A wine for the table.
Dishes to pair
A selection from our recipe kitchen, matched to the structure and maturity of this wine.
Bouillabaisse marseillaise – saffron fish stew with rouille
Calamars farcis in a tomato-herb broth
Carne cruda all'albese
Carpaccio di manzo – beef fillet with rocket & Parmigiano
Cataplana de marisco
Grilled côtes de porc – sage-lemon butter
Escalivada catalana – aubergine, pepper & onion from the wood oven, olive oil & anchovies
Fideuà de marisco – Valencian noodle paella with seafood & alioli
The mood to match the wine
A playlist for the moment
If you are a friend of classical music, here is a playlist that may suit your evening and the character of this wine. One possibility among many; listen in, if you like.
For your cellar
Available formats
Prélude 2023, Edition 324 bottles. Shipped directly from the estate — climate-controlled storage in our own cellar.
To get acquainted
The Coffret Dégustation
Three movements of the Suite in one case — Sarabande 2015, Gigue 2016 and Louré 2024. €100 incl. shipping.
Frequently Asked Questions · Prélude 2023
Good to know
When should I drink the Prélude?
Young and well chilled — ideally in the first years after the harvest. It is made for early freshness.
Do I need to decant it?
Not necessary — a few minutes open in the glass are enough. Serve at 10–12 °C.
Is this a typical summer rosé?
No — a rosé with structure and texture, vinified in large barrique. Conceived as an elegant opening and a companion at the table, not a trivial terrace wine.
What does it pair with?
On its own, well chilled, or with food: BBQ with chicken and seafood, white meats, Mediterranean cuisine.
Which grape variety is it made from?
100 % Malbec (Côt), from old vines of plot C3 on the Plateau du Limancet.
Why barrique for a rosé?
The large barrel gives texture and length without covering the fruit — structure rather than oak aroma.
How long does it keep?
It is made for early freshness; we recommend it in the first years after the harvest.
Is the wine organic?
Yes. The Domaine's vineyards are certified organic and HVE4.
Technical data sheet · Prélude 2023
| Wine | Prélude 2023 |
|---|---|
| Estate | LaSuite aux Conseillans |
| Origin | Saint-Caprais-de-Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France |
| Type | Rosé wine |
| Appellation | AOC Bordeaux Rosé |
| Grape varieties | 100% Malbec |
| Plots and soils | Parcel C3 on the Plateau du Limancet (Côt/Malbec, planted in 1953); clay |
| Ageing | Large barrique, 9 months; then bottle ageing in our own cellar |
| Released | 2025 |
| Analysis | 13.5 % vol |
| Edition | 324 bottles |
| Drinking window | 2024 – 2027 |
| Serving temperature | 10–12 °C |
| Decanting | Not necessary |
| Aromas | Wild strawberry, White peach, Pink peppercorn, Saline minerality, Fine acidity |
| Viticulture | Organic-certified vineyards, HVE4 |
| Formats | 0.75 L (€25) |
| Place in the Suite | Opens the rosés of the Suite; “The Opening” |
| Musical reference | Johanna Summer — Improvisation Prélude Ravel |
| Item number | LS-PREL-23-075 |
The vintages
Prélude through the years
Every vintage plays the same movement, each in its own key. The bar shows when a vintage opens and how long it carries; the line marks today.
- 2023 Ready to drink
A very good year for rosé, followed by nine months in a large barrique.
Drinking window 2024 – 2027This vintage - 2025 Maturing in the cellarView in the cellar
The repertoire
The other movements of the Suite
Each cuvée has its own voice, from the rosé to the red that needs decades. In weak years we skip one entirely; that is why the repertoire is rarely complete.
We release each wine only when we would most like to drink it ourselves.Marc & Ellen Ruhland
For us, time is an ingredient.