Wine Focus for May: Rosé for spring!

[David M. Bueker]

Probably just some trapped CO2.

It may have been secondary fermentation in the Charles & Charles rose'.

[Jenise]

I'm starting to zero in on the understanding that I may like Mourvedre roses best of all, so when I had to pick a wine from K&L's lineup to fill the one empty spot left in a box, I chose a 2014 Waterkloof 'Circumstance' Rose of Mourvedre from South Africa. It had been highly rated by Jancis Robinson. As I'm finding typical of these, the wine was fuller in the mouth than you'd have estimated from the color, which was a medium pink. Complex with good minerality, and unusually crisp (at least compared to my benchmark, the '14 Stolpman). I'd definitely buy again if a local store carried it.

Wow! Three pages of pinks! Who'd thought!

[Robin Garr]

Le Cirque 2014 Côtes Catalanes Rosé ($13.99)

This blend of 40% Grenache Noir, 40% Syrah and 20% Mourvèdre from the French Pyrenees is a clear, light rosy pink color. Subtle red-berry aromas and a whiff of something pleasantly bitter, almost like a distant touch of Campari, on the nose and palate. Fresh and tart, perhaps a hint of fresh-fruit sweetness, but good acidity imparts a dry, refreshing finish. Interesting rosé, with a light 12.5% alcohol, it works well with a variety of food pairings or, as spring moves into summer, a pleasant aperitif for sipping alfresco. U.S. importer: Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, Va. (May 6, 2015)

FOOD MATCH: Crisp and fresh, it's a perfect pink wine for aperitif sipping indoors or out on warm late-spring and summer evenings. It's suited to a range of fare including richer seafood or poultry - it would be excellent with smoked salmon - and cheese-based dishes. Try it also with spicy options; we enjoyed it with a piquant Nigerian-style red bean and peanut stew.

WHEN TO DRINK: There's no reason to cellar rosé. This one would last for a year or three, but why not drink up while it's young and fresh?

VALUE: No qualms whatsoever at this price point, which falls within the typical range of U.S. prices shown by Wine-Searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/les+v ... g_site=WLP

WEB LINKS
Click here for importer Hand Picked Selections' fact sheet on the 2014 Le Cirque Rosé:
http://www.handpickedselections.com/bra ... Cirque.htm

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Compare prices and find vendors for Le Cirque 2014 Côtes Catalanes Rosé on Wine-Searcher.com.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/les+v ... g_site=WLP

[Jenise]

No doubt about it....... this Montes is QPR!!

2014 Montes Cherub Syrah Rosé, Colchagua Chile. $18 Cdn, . 100% Syrah, florescent pink color, more gooseberry than watermelon on the nose Really juicy, pepper finish with watermelon distinct. Good looking Ralph Steadman label.

2013 Gray Monk Rotberger Okanagan BC. Only known winery in N America to produce Rotberger. Rhubarb, cranberry nose with cherry blossom. Very nice lengthy finish with herbal hints and strawberry.
Reckon this could be a real crowd-pleaser if hand sold. $24 Cdn.

I had that Rotberger in another vintage--it was delicious. I had hoped to find it last month when our neighborhood group did Canadian wine (we used Ehrenfelser, Pinot Blanc and anything that was slightly unusual) but no luck. Now I'm hoping to find it to include in our neighborhood group's June rose tasting. Haven't got lucky yet, but hopefully I will. Probably should just call the winery and they can tell me who within less than a day's drive might actually have it. Do I remember right that Rotberger is actually a red grape with red pulp?

On Friday I took a bottle of the 2014 Stolpman Mourvedre Rose to Bill Spohn's monthly blind lunch.

If by any chance you run across this, don't pass it up. Runs about $18.

I just checked Stolpman's website and inquired about their rose: Here's what they said:
2014 ROSE

BACKGROUND
After falling in love with the 2013 Carbonic Sangiovese, we almost doubled our production in 2014. The trade-off - not a drop of early-picked Sangiovese was spared for Rose. The 2014 Rose is 100% Grenache, a departure from the Sangiovese-Grenache blends of 2012 and 2013.

No mention whatsoever of mourvedre. Can you take a picture of the label and post it so we can see what the bottle looks like?
Thanks!

[Jenise]

Sure!

Innovac!on Malbec + Syrah Rose’, Mendoza, Argentina. We found this wine buttressing two ends of a huge rose’ display upon entering Whole Foods on May 4. It is a lovely wine with tropical fruit flavor. We matched it with broiled Italian sausages in pasta with a light fresh tomato sauce, and salad. Highly recommended wine.

I just got back from Whole Foods where this wine is currently on sale for $9.99, with an additional 20% off if you buy 6 or more bottles of any kind. Carl also forgot to mention that the Innovacion is in a 1.0 liter bottle! At $8 per liter this is an amazing deal. While I'm at it I might as well mention that they also have Pommery NV Brut Champagne on sale for $24 net (if you buy 6 of any kind of wine).
I'll go back to lurking now.

[Jenise]

Ines, I just got off the phone with the winery. And guess what --they do not make a mourvedre rose. In fact they don't even have mourvedre in the vineyard before. It's 100% Grenache; it's already sold out in wholesale, and there just 20 cases left at the winery.

But the Tercero Vogelzang vineyard rose is 100% mourvedre. It, and the Stolpman, are two of my favorites this summer.

Wonder what's going on at Pommery? It's getting dumped in the marketplace and I have no idea why--I've got a case coming up from Seattle that I paid $20/per for, and John and Annabelle and Bob and I emptied a few in March-April. Good medicine.

We had only a couple of days in both April and May warm enough to think about pink. Today the temperature climbed to 25°C but there was still a cooling breeze. By this evening the breeze had died down and it was possible to eat a Spring salad outside in a sleeveless polo shirt for the first time this year. Here's the rosé which went with it.

2013 Domaine La Suffrene Bandol Rosé - France, Provence, Bandol (6/4/2015)
This is a serious pink. Gold tinged salmon typical for Provence. Nose black cherry and Bourbon rose. Palate medium bodied with more depth and backbone than usual for rosé showing mature fruit flavours, more rose and a hint of tar with enough acidity for balance. Good+.


Posted from CellarTracker

[Jenise]

Speaking of roses, what about malbec roses? I've tried three (all Argentinian) recently, and they're all very orange-y in color and monochromatic in flavor. Not bad, just ho hum. Based on those alone I'd skip malbec as a base grape in the future.

I was able to attend DeVine`s annual staff BBQ and really enjoyed the food, wines and company! Two Rosés were memorable!

2014 Tenuta di Corce Giacobbe Piniot Grigio Ramata was a lively pink salmon color with strawberry and mineral tones. Silky and fresh, nice saline quality and terrific with shrimp toast.

On arrival and admiring recent house renos, had two pours of the 2011 Agusti Torello Matas Rosat Trepat. Delicious cava, 100% Trepat, PN type nose, quite sublime and elegant.

2014 Tenuta di Corce Giacobbe Piniot Grigio Ramata was a lively pink salmon color with strawberry and mineral tones. Silky and fresh, nice saline quality and terrific with shrimp toast.

Interesting, Bob. They make a pink from Pinot Gris in the Loire basin Reuilly appellation. Two ladies at the next table in a Trouville restaurant, which offers it, were drinking with relish a fascinating looking wine, gold with a pink tinge, which I took to be the Reuilly PG. Your TN pushes me over the edge towards trying it the next time.

BTW, am I right in thinking that Tenuta di Corce Giacobbe comes from the Verona area?

[Jenise]

No doubt about it....... this Montes is QPR!!

2014 Montes Cherub Syrah Rosé, Colchagua Chile. $18 Cdn, . 100% Syrah, florescent pink color, more gooseberry than watermelon on the nose Really juicy, pepper finish with watermelon distinct. Good looking Ralph Steadman label.

2013 Gray Monk Rotberger Okanagan BC. Only known winery in N America to produce Rotberger. Rhubarb, cranberry nose with cherry blossom. Very nice lengthy finish with herbal hints and strawberry.
Reckon this could be a real crowd-pleaser if hand sold. $24 Cdn.

Picked up the Rotberger yesterday! $14.95 Canadian.

Yes Tim, you are correct! Hope you have some luck finding it .

I regularly sing the praises of Château Simone from Palette in a north facing site near Aix-en-Provence for its white. I also have 10+ year old memories of a rosé from there of a calibre unusual for that colour rivalling a Sancerre rosé from F.Cotat as one of the best in my experience. However, bottles of more recent vintages until this one had not lived up to that standard. So I am glad to report that my memory was not defective.

2011 Château Simone Palette Rosé - France, Provence, Palette (6/29/2015)
IMO, this is arguably the finest estate in Provence outside Bandol; the white is particularly outstanding. Its pink from Grenache 45%, Mourvèdre 35% and others has medium+ body and much more elegance and intensity of colour and flavour than most. I have never met a wine with so much strawberry in its aromas but there was also rose scent, a liqueur note and unusual backbone and length for a rosé. In an ideal world I would have liked more acidity but that might have been incompatible with Provençal character. Very good.

Posted from CellarTracker

From the archive.

2014 Ch Mourgues du Gres Galets Rosés, Costieres de Nimes.

$22 Cdn, good natural cork, 13.5% alc.

Raspberry aroma with hint of melon. Lively acidity, good weight here. Hint of minerality boosts a good finish.."strawberry" from across the table. Good patio wine but its only plus 14 right now and snow forecast.

From the archive.

2014 Ch Mourgues du Gres Galets Rosés, Costieres de Nimes.

$22 Cdn, good natural cork, 13.5% alc.

Raspberry aroma with hint of melon. Lively acidity, good weight here. Hint of minerality boosts a good finish.."strawberry" from across the table. Good patio wine but its only plus 14 right now and snow forecast.

That sounds a nice one, Bob. Morgues du Grès has a very good reputation. Just right for 14°. Isn't that -10°C? Brrrrr! After a partly wet and windy September, we are now getting an Indian summer (up to c +18C).