Claret is the perfect wine for the characters in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” because there’s plenty of their favorite thing—confusion—surrounding it.
Starting with the name itself: Clairet or Claret? And, by the way, there’s also Clarete… And again—are we talking red or rose?
If we turn to English literature for guidance, Claret means red wine.
There’s even an officially recognized color called claret—spelled C-L-A-R-E-T—with a hex code of #811331 and an RGB value of 129, 19, 49. A deep shade of red with a slight purple hue. The word “claret” was first used as a color name in England back in 1547. It’s associated with the typical color of this specific type of wine. Another name for this color is “bordeaux.” And yes, it looks like Bordeaux wine—red.
But if we take a closer look at modern Bordeaux wine classifications, Clairet refers to a pink wine—though darker than your average rosé. And this time, it’s spelled C-L-A-I-R-E-T.
So, is it Clairet or Claret? Red or rose? Well, it depends on which side of the English Channel you’re standing on.
It all started in 1152, with the marriage of Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy, to Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine and Gascony. In 1154, Henry became King of England, and Aquitaine, including Bordeaux, became English territory.
Three hundred years—and one Hundred Years’ War—later, Aquitaine returned to the French crown. But by then, three centuries of duty-free trade had firmly hooked the English on Bordeaux wine.
Back then, Bordeaux reds were, on average, lighter and paler than today’s versions. And the English preferred to buy the lighter styles. That’s how Bordeaux wine earned the old English name “clairet,” borrowed from the French word for “light” or “pale in color.” By the 16th century, as the English language evolved, “clairet” became “claret.”
Claret became the beloved wine of the English. They bought it in vast quantities, and even after Aquitaine returned to France, the steady stream of ships carrying barrels and jugs of claret across the Channel never stopped.
Claret has always been popular on the English market and was long considered the “main wine” of England.
Even at the beginning of the 18th century, during the Wars of the Spanish Succession—when trade between France and England was extremely difficult—the English still tried to get their hands on claret by any means necessary, whether by smuggling or piracy.
Until around the 19th century, England remained the primary external consumer of Bordeaux wines.
In the 19th century, things began to shift. On one hand, Bordeaux wines themselves evolved—full-bodied, more intensely colored wines began to be produced in larger quantities than before. On the other hand, by this time, the term “claret” was being used to refer to any red Bordeaux wine, not just the lighter, paler versions.
Clarets, by then, had achieved wide international recognition. And, unsurprisingly, winemakers from both the New World and the Old World began labeling their red wines—made in the Bordeaux style—as clarets.
Californian clarets appeared, followed by German, Australian, South African clarets, and more.
No one owned the rights to the word “Claret.” The English had coined the term for wines they did not produce themselves, so there was no one to dispute this growing use of the name.
Interestingly, Bordeaux winemakers themselves did not traditionally use the word “Claret” for their wines. Sometimes it appeared on labels for wines exported to England, but it was never an official term—just a name that English consumers would easily recognize.
However, in 2011, Bordeaux producers decided that, after so many years of everyone calling their wine “Claret,” it might be time to make use of it themselves.
Since 2012, they have started using the term “Claret de Bordeaux” for red wines made in the original medieval style—light, bright, and fruity. It’s still not an official classification, just a stylistic designation.
But if we’re talking about official classifications, there is one worth noting. Since the mid-20th century, the Bordeaux Clairet Appellation Contrôlée has existed in Bordeaux. And, as you might guess, it produces Clairet—with an “i.”
Clairet can be produced anywhere within Bordeaux. It’s a deep pink wine, much darker and more intense than the regular rosés that Bordeaux also produces.
Standard red Bordeaux grape varieties are used to make Clairet—Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carménère, and Petit Verdot.
The production process falls somewhere between red and rosé winemaking. For Bordeaux rosé—similar to most rosés around the world—red grapes are crushed, and the skins and juice are left to macerate together for up to 12 hours. In that short time, some pigment passes into the juice, but tannins do not. Then, the pale pink juice is drained from the skins.
For Bordeaux Clairet, however, the juice stays with the skins for 24 to 48 hours, and sometimes even longer. For example, Château Turcaud keeps its Clairet on the skins for 72 hours. The result is a much deeper color and a small amount of tannin present in the juice.
Fermentation also differs slightly. Rosé wines are typically fermented at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius, while Clairet is fermented at a slightly warmer 18 to 20 degrees Celsius.
Malolactic fermentation—the process that converts malic acid into softer lactic acid—is not done for rosé wines to preserve their refreshing crispness. But it is usually carried out for Clairet, giving it a rounder, softer texture.
The final wine, Bordeaux Clairet, has a deep, rich color and intense aromas of strawberries and raspberries, with subtle notes of violet. It is always dry and stands apart from regular rosé thanks to its longer finish.
Clairet is not meant for extended aging but drinks beautifully within three years.
Serve it chilled to 10-12 degrees Celsius. It’s great on its own but also pairs well with a wide range of dishes, from meats to fish.
So, to sum it up: Claret and Clairet are both Bordeaux wines. The first is the English term for red Bordeaux wines, while the second refers to a distinctive, more intense version of Bordeaux rosé.
However, there is also Clarete.
And now, we’re no longer in Bordeaux—or even France—but in Spain, although this wine is believed to have borrowed its name from the French Clairet. Like Bordeaux Clairet, Clarete is a rosé wine, but the production process is quite different.
Clarete is made from a mix of red and white grapes. But unlike Champagne rosé, where red and white wines are blended after fermentation, Clarete is made by fermenting red and white grapes together from the very start.
What’s more, the initial stage of fermentation takes place with the skins present—not just a short maceration of juice on skins, as is typical for rosé or Bordeaux Clairet. This means that Clarete picks up significantly more tannins.
The wine’s color can vary widely, from a deep pink approaching red to a much paler hue.
Clarete is typically made from Tempranillo (a red grape) and Viura (a white grape), but Garnacha, Bobal, Albillo, Malvasia, and other varieties are also sometimes used.
The result is a more complex and structured wine than a typical rosé. Clarete can also age well and is sometimes matured for up to six months in young oak barrels.
The birthplace of Spanish Clarete is Ribera del Duero, in northern Spain. Traditionally, red and white grape varieties were grown side by side there and fermented together to make lightly colored wines.
However, in the mid-20th century, the market shifted toward powerful red wines, and Ribera del Duero followed suit. The region even prohibited the production of white wines under the PDO classification. Many old white vines, some 90 years old, were ripped out to make room for Tempranillo.
Yet today, Clarete is gradually making a comeback. It’s now produced not only in Ribera del Duero but also in other northern Spanish regions like Rioja, Navarre, and especially Cigales.
The Rioja town of San Asensio has even declared itself the capital of Spanish Clarete—la capital del clarete. Every June, it hosts the Batalla del Clarete, or Clarete Battle, where thousands of liters of Clarete are poured over participants in a lively celebration. As with many Spanish festivals, it ends with a big feast.
So, the entire claret story began with the English love for light, bright red Bordeaux wines, which they called claret. From this, we now have three distinct clarets—one red and two pink:
Claret is the unofficial English name for red Bordeaux wine, and by extension, for Bordeaux-style red wines made around the world.
Clairet is a specific style of dark rosé produced in Bordeaux, protected under the Bordeaux Clairet Appellation Contrôlée.
Clarete is a unique Spanish pink wine, made from a blend of red and white grapes using its own traditional winemaking method.
And even though these names differ by just one letter, they represent completely different wines—though they do share a bit of historical and stylistic kinship.
As a bonus, to help clear up any further confusion, let me also mention Clairette. While the name sounds similar to Claret, Clairette has nothing to do with it.
Clairette is a white grape variety from southern France. It’s best known as the base for sparkling wines produced in the small Die region of the Rhône Valley—namely Crémant de Die and Clairette de Die.
You can find more about them in my article on Crémants.
