Domaine Toulal Guerrouane rosé 2014

Last weekend we visited France  and tried some Domaine Toulal Guerrouane rosé 2014 for an aperitif before we ate. I was quite impressed; some good wine is made in Morocco and Domaine Toulal is no exception it tasted just as good as a rosé from the Rhône valley that we tried the next day.

This wine is perfect for drinking in the garden on a hot summer's day which despite global warming is a rarity in Britain. This is probably why rosé sales are low in Britain and a nice warming Barolo is more suited to a British summer - it is better to stick to the South of France or Tuscany for garden parties.

Moroccan wine is very good value for money and even though it cannot compete with French, Italian or Spanish wine for absolute quality it gives the lower end wines a run for their money. I have never had a bad bottle and all the wines go with Moroccan food.

You can't find these wines easily in the the UK but an outlet can be found on short a short trip across the channel to a French supermarket. Domaine Toulal costs about 3.99 Euro a bottle and for that price why not buy a case? Moroccan red is generally good as well. So the next time you drive to France search some out all the major supermarkets who all stock wines from the Maghreb.

The wines of the Maghreb are produced on the slopes of the Atlas mountains in the north of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia where the Mediterranean influences the climate and produces conditions perfect for viticulture: there is also plenty of hot sun. The quality of wines from the Maghreb is improving all the time now that bulk wine production is being phased out. Export earnings from wine are on the up and France is the main export market.

A substantial proportion of the people who live in the Maghreb consume wine despite the restrictions of religion. Some of my Muslim friends assure me that it is OK for an adherent of Islam to consume wine provided that your character is unaffected by that consumption, so a glass of wine with a meal is not forbidden - this is a moot point and others would claim that a true adherent of the faith should not consume wine or any other form of alcohol for that matter.


http://www.cdiscount.com/vin-champagne/vin-rose/domaine-toulal-rose-x1/f-1293605-toulalrose.html

http://www.wine-navigator.com/wild-and-rare-in-North-Africa