Beverage
Clairet
Clairet is Bordeaux’s historic deep-pink to light-red style—darker and more structured than pale Provence rosé, with red fruit, light tannin, and a profile between modern rosé and light red. Traditional clairet saw longer maceration than today’s pale pinks; it was once what English drinkers meant by “claret” before dark Bordeaux reds dominated. Contemporary clairet remains a food-oriented, chillable deep pink. Use Clairet for duck, grilled meats, and mushroom pans that need more grip than pale rosé but less tannin than full red. Deglaze and reduce with moderate heat; the deeper colour and light structure survive cooking better than delicate salmon pinks. Serve cool rather than ice-cold to keep aroma in sauces.
Also known as: Clairet
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History
Bordeaux clairet—light red to deep pink—was a major export style to England and northern Europe.
Darker, longer-macerated reds gradually displaced clairet as Bordeaux’s prestige export, but the style persisted regionally.
Modern Bordeaux producers revived clairet as a distinct deep-rosé category for local and export markets.