Recently in Rosé Category
Anyhow: the wine is rich and full in the mouth, starting on a generic red berry note and then quickly resolving to an almost oily, honyed sort of feel combined with black pepper and cherry. There's good freshness here, a bit of residual sugar, and a lovely aftertaste of strawberries and cream that persists well.
All in all, this is an odd one: I don't know of anything like this from the States, Europe, or Australia. It's not cheap, but it's distinctive enough to be good value.
Solms-Delta
Price: US $17.99
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: April 2007
In the mouth, there's a very slight spritziness that's a bit distracting from the actual wine, which is fairly simple, but with an interesting dark downturn on the finish. There seems to be just a bit of residual sugar, which is more than adequately balanced by the wine's acidity. It finishes broadly, satisfyingly, with notes of rhubarb and mace. It's all less complicated than the best pink wines from Australia (or California), and far from a Provençal rosé, but it's a lot of fun and a welcome change from sickly sweet white zinfandel.
Yalumba
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Julian and I visited Yalumba last February, and had a fascinating discussion about wine trends with the tasting room staff. Apparently this wine is selling like crazy down there; up here in California, pink wines are still desperately naff and no amount of marketing is going to change that, at least not for the foreseeable future. White zinfandel was the #4 best selling wine in the USA for a long, long time - and that started to change in 2006, when imported pinot grigio began to outsell it (something to do with the ongoing middlebrow fascination with Tuscany, I suppose?). My guess is that it's going to take time for pink wine to become popular or trendy - we have to shake off that white zin hangover first.
FWIW, some excellent California pink wines to try would include Pax (wonderful, but expensive; the winery seems to quickly becoming a Parkerized mail-list-only outfit to boot), Bonny Doon (their Vin Gris de Cigare has gone from strength to strength in the oughts), and JK Carriere Glass (a rosé of Pinot noir; I've never actually tasted it but I love their other wines so darn much that I can't imagine it's anything other than wonderful).
Another wine from Unison that we tasted (and purchased) at cellar door. It seems everyone is producing a rosé nowadays, and it's curious to watch the influence of fashion on wine production, especially regarding a wine style that has gone from terminally daggy to hip in the space of a very few years. Unison is quick to point out that its rosé is made from grapes of the same quality as the used in rest of its range, not inferior grapes as may be the case with other producers. The proof is in the pudding, of course.
A bright, almost lurid rose petal colour, good clarity, fun to look at. The nose is surprisingly complex and contains elements of bright red fruit, some peppery spice, and fresh flowers. It's not a superficial flavour profile, and the wine hints at a depth of flavour that doesn't always present in rosé styles.
Entry is bright and ushers in a palate of quite generous body. The flavour profile is fun and friendly but also possesses a savoury aspect that adds sophistication to this wine. It's totally dry but full of fruit flavour, such that there's the impression of sweetness and weight without residual sugar. Good acidity, not overdone, keeps things fresh in the mouth. Tannins are pretty subliminal on the finish, and it's not the longest wine around.
This is a good wine to haul out if you want a rosé with some sophistication to serve with, say, paella.
Unison Vineyard
Price: $NZ24
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2007
Dinner last night was enjoyed outdoors, accompanied by balmy weather and appropriate wines, of course! We had this wine as an aperitif, without food. It was served straight from the fridge and had a chance to warm during consumption. It is made from 100% Grenache.
Bright, happy, lolly shop aromas leap from the glass with the sort of eagerness that one looks for in a wine of this style. Having said that, it's not overly sweet or cloying, and the bright fruit aromas are balanced, a little anyway, by hints of savouriness, and complemented by more floral, rose petal type overtones. In the mouth, this wine immediately presents fruit flavours along the same lines as the nose, perhaps lacking the intensity promised, but attractive nonetheless. The floral element is slightly stronger on the palate.
Served cold, though, the wine starts to go a bit awry at this stage, structurally. There are surprisingly firm tannins from about mid-way through the palate that rob the wine of its fruity fun just a smidge too soon, and carry the wine off to a premature finish. Mind you, the tannins are fine and ripe, just a bit too eager. As the wine warmed up, the tannins receded a little, and enabled the wine to present a more rounded palate profile, which I enjoyed. But I also found the wine started to lack crispness at this warmer temperature, owing to a fairly relaxed acid structure, and edged towards flabbiness.
I'm probably being super critical of this wine, and really it's a juicy, tasty rose that will make most people happy at Friday afternoon drinks.
Wirra Wirra
Price: $A18
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2007
In the mouth, the wine shows a lovely medium weight, not overwhelmed by sweetness, finishing on a dry, tart note. The taste is surprisingly different than the smell, tending towards sweet violet coffee and freshly milled flour, again with that lovely undercurrent of roses. The finish isn't especially long, but it offers a nice counterpoint to the rest of the wine, ending on a flat note of candied lemon peel. On the whole, though, it's probably the best rosé you'll find for under ten bucks.
La Ferme Julien [but really Trader Joe's]
Price: US $7.99
Closure: Stelvin
Tasted: November 2007
Serve with chiles en nogada, I reckon.
Bodegas Realeza [but really Acciona, owners of Hijos de Antonio Barceló, S.A., presumably under contract to fresh&easy]
Price: US $4.99
Closure: Stelvin
Tasted: November 2007
Saludas [but really fresh&easy]
Price: US $2.99
Closure: Stelvin
Tasted: November 2007
