Sacha Lichine, Vin de Pays de Var (Provence, France) 2022

 I’m a great fan of Lichine’s pricier rosés from Château d’Esclans in Provence, but there is a risk in calling a pink wine “The Pale” because of associating it with the phrase “beyond the pale,” or something not quite “all there.”  Elegant, true, as well as bone dry, the wine is very light in body, leading to the expectation that there will be delicate but distinct fruit flavors in the finish.  Unfortunately, the flavors are too light to give much pleasure.  At its best, The Pale has flashes of stony minerality and light tannins, perhaps in keeping with an almost-dry January.