Wine Focus for June 2018: Rosé!

[Robin Garr]

It finally got hot, and pink wine is looking better and better to me. I'm partial to Provence, but good rosé is made all over the world. Let's explore it this month and share what we find!

[Robin Garr]

To kick off the month, here are my reports on a couple of exceptional pink wines from Provence.

Hecht & Bannier 2017 "H&B" Côtes de Provence Rosé ($19.99)

Clear, light peach color with a light, pleasant scent of fresh strawberries at first, carrying over intact to a tart, zippy and bone-dry flavor. Give it time and let it warm a little and it becomes surprisingly complex for a rosé, adding notes of watermelon and kiwi, with a touch of subtle white flowers that becomes more evident in the finish. It's a typical southern French blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Vermentino in proportions that vary with the vintage; 13.5 percent alcohol. U.S. importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons Ltd., NYC. (May 30, 2018)

FOOD MATCH: The winery suggests sipping it in their garden, or pairing it with a fougasse (a distant French cousin to focaccia), anchovies and Provence olives. We enjoyed it with hot Italian Beyond Sausage, tomato sauce, and burrata over bucatini.

WHEN TO DRINK: Good balance and an airtight glass apothecary-style stopper will help preserve it, but rosé generally shows best when it's young and fresh.

VALUE:
I paid a couple of dollars more for this fine Provence rosé than Wine-Searcher.com's $17 average retail, but it's an excellent pink wine worth a $20 toll.

WEB LINK
You'll find H&B fact sheets on the winery's info sheet as well as this page from importer Frederick Wildman.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and look up prices for Hecht & Bannier "H&B" Côtes de Provence Rosé on Wine-Searcher.com.


M. Chapoutier 2017 Bellruche Côtes-du-Rhône Rosé ($11.99)

Pretty color, transparent light salmon. Clean and fresh, subtle red-berry scent with a whiff of tarragon. Crisp and dry, herbal red-fruit flavors follow the nose, lingering in a long, dry finish. A beautiful wine for a hot summer day, cooling and fresh, 13.5% alcohol, balanced with good flavor interest. U.S. importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, Ill.; an Anthony Terlato Selection. (May 27, 2018)

FOOD MATCH: Good for sipping by itself and with picnic snack fare; it was fine with spicy Italian sausages.

WHEN TO DRINK: Good balance and a sturdy screw cap will spare it from a quick demise, but rôsé is usually best when it's young and fresh. I was happy to get this 2017 within less than a year after the vintage, and always look for the freshest available.

VALUE:
My local price conforms with Wine-Searcher.com's $11 average retail; it's a fine value at this price.

WEB LINK
Here are similar fact sheets on Belleruche Rosé on the importer's page and on the winery's English-language pages.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and locate vendors for Chapoutier Bellruche Côtes-du-Rhône Rôsé on Wine-Searcher.com.

For quite a while i avoided rose wines. Maybe because the only wine my parents drank was Lancer's Rose and I did not care for it at all. About twenty five years ago in the heat of the summer II was at an open house at Curtis Winery in Santa Ynez. Chuck Carlson, their winemaker, asked me if I had tried the rose yet. Hanging out my ignorance for all to see and hear I replied "I don't really care much for rose wines". Chuck told me to go outside to the barbecue and get a grilled sausage and come back in and have that with some of his Rose. WOW! What an eye opener. "Now you know what Rose is all about" Chuck said with a smile. Oh yes indeed.
And to think of all that enjoyment I had missing over the years just because I had turned my back on an entire style of wine.

Since that day I have sampled and enjoyed many rose wines from many regions and varietals ranging form the traditional Provencal to the a Howell Mountain Napa Cabernet rose. I have found rose wines to be very compatible with many kinds of food and particularly pleasant in hot weather. Recently I found a new favorite. A sparkling rose. A rose prosecco. Flor. That's the name. Flor. They make both a rose and a white version. The rose is my favorite. It is served in some of the best restaurants here in California and I will often order it as a pre- meal drink and then just stay with it throughout the meal. It' s so good. There's an added bonus, too. Although not very widely distributed, at least not here on the west coast but when I find it, the price is around $16 a bottle which IMO is an incredible bargain for such a fine quality sparkler.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, Mike! A great story to go with a great TN.

If by "It finally got hot" you mean "we several consecutive 90-degree days while it was still only May," I'm right there with you. Since we're not currently buying wine, and have a handful of rosés from the last two seasons to finish off, here are two that testify to the ability of well-made rosés to last for a couple of years:

Château de Pibarnon 2016 Bandol Rosé. Not the wine to reach for if you want a lightweight porch slurper, this has gravitas. Very pale salmon color, with darker fruit than you'd expect from the tint, dried herbs, and a relatively big mouthfeel for a rosé, though it's muscle, not fat. $24.00.

Bernard Baudry 2015 Chinon Rosé. Sockeye to the Pibarnon's King, this is crisper, with more red-toned fruit and mouthwatering acidity, as well as minerality; nothing about it would make me think it's three vintages old. $18.00.

[Robin Garr]

Nice, Patchen. And yes, I gather that you guys had the same weather pattern we did - maybe worse. Latest spring ever, cold as hell until mid-April, and then about two weeks of spring and straight into summer.

Our neighborhood wine-shop guy is a real rosé geek and gets a lot of interesting, offbeat stuff in season. Fortunately, I am buying wine, or for immediate consumption anyway.

Yes, that was about what our “spring” was like, too!

For better and for worse, after we move, our wine will stay in storage in Chicago for a while until we get a home cellar up and running, so it’ll be a good chance to learn the selection at our new local shops — and while it’s still rosé season, too!

Assisting at a Rosé tasting next Saturday so will have plenty to report on. I do have my eye on a Poulsard from Rolet however.

[Jenise]

Opened a '17 Matua Rose of Pinot Noir from NZ last night. The attraction: pinot, NZ, $9.99. I can say this about it: it won't hold a candle to the case of 2017 Navarro Rose of Pinot Noir (Mendocino) that ships to me on Monday, and at $9.99 it doesn't compete with the surprisingly delectable 2017 Chateau Ste Michelle Rose (from syrah) at the same price on local shelves even though the MSRP if $15, but if you gotta have pinot noir it will do. This is just an uncomplicated crowd pleaser that anyone can drink--and I won't buy again.

Speaking of that Navarro, I bought a case of the 16 and have just one bottle left. Every bottle I've drunk has been better than the last. It occurs to me I'm setting a pattern here: I buy Tranche and hold it a year, I buy Tempier and hold it a year, I buy Mordoree Tavel and cellar them for many years--in fact a whole lot of roses have been later than sooner and I'm starting to buy only the ones that make that cut.

I've become a rose snob.

thanks Robin: found both of your picks locally and bought them yesterday,,Our annual local Rose tasting will be held next Saturday, will look for the Ste Michelle Rose and Flor as well,

[Robin Garr]

I hope you enjoy them, Jon! I look forward to your TNs.

[David M. Bueker]

2015 Kutch Pinot Noir Rosé - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/3/2018)
Crisp cranberry and strawberry fruit with a herbal/mineral finish. Very refreshing.

Here in France, rosé is getting taken more seriously by amateurs avisés(roughly = knowledgable wine-lovers) and is also becoming fashionable amongst Parisians in particular even in winter. Even without venturing into the extravagant range of Sacha Lichine's Chateau d'Esclans, some pinks are becoming quite expensive at >€25/bottle. I'll see what I can find at local cavistes in this category.

The wine correspondent in the latest number of Cuisine et Vins de France is encouraging its readers to age certain rosés and highlights in particular a Château Simone 2007. This is a north facing estate near Aix-en-Provence, which produces fine examples of all three colours at prices usually north of €30. As it happens, I got some of their pink some 3 years ago and very fine they were at about 4 years old.

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. This 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

Some of my best pink memories are of those made from Pinot Noir, particularly a Sancerre 1996 rosé from Cotat (François, I think) about 8 or 9 years old which had similar finesse to a fine champagne.

My go-to rose wine has always been Bonny Doon's Vin Gris de Cigare.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

My go-to rose wine has always been Bonny Doon's Vin Gris de Cigare.

-Paul W.

I have a bottle standing by--looking forward to it!

Weather not great here with a lot of thunder storms driving us inside (and also devastating some vineyards with hail ), so this is the first rosé opened this month. Definitely not one to impress serious wine lovers but quite a pleasant quaff at c.€7.

2016 Monte Pietroso Rosé dell'Estate Terre Siciliane IGT - Italy, Sicily, Terre Siciliane IGT (6/7/2018)
This pink from Nero d'Avola and Syrah has colour half way between the pallor from Provence and light ruby from Tavel. First impressions were very agreeable with a slight sweetness and strawberry notes but as the bottle progressed the absence of minerality, feeble backbone and low acidity led to increasing boredom. Quite good.

Posted from CellarTracker

[Jenise]

Four from recent days:

2017 Underground Wine Project's "And Why am I Mr Pink?" Washington Sangiovese
A dryer style from sangiovese grapes with Washington winemaker Trey Busch at the helm. Tasty but when compared to the '17 Bonny Doon Cigare Volant that followed, lacks body.

2017 Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris de Cigare California Rosé
My favorite American rose of the season so far. Pale and Provence-y with loads of body and a long finish.

2017 Saviah Cellars The Jack Rosé Columbia Valley Rosé Blend
Strikes that perfect note between bone dry and fruity for wide appeal--the geeks will like it, your mother-in-law would like it.... Very nice.

2017 Navarro Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosé of Pinot Noir Anderson Valley
Disagreeing with XWINE below, this wine tastes on par to me with the 2016 at this stage--early summer, just delivered. Has the lightness and elegance that moves me to order a case each year--what it lacks is the depth that the 2016 gained over the past year. But it will get there too.

2016 Rolet Jura Rosé.

Tasting downtown this evening and was I eagerly waiting for this one! $26, needs some food for sure. Some light tannins, hint of bitterness but a real pleaser, 100% Poulsard.. Dry mineral finish.

2016 Rolet Jura Rosé.

Tasting downtown this evening and was I eagerly waiting for this one! $26, needs some food for sure. Some light tannins, hint of bitterness but a real pleaser, 100% Poulsard.. Dry mineral finish.

I would like that one, Bob. Was that Cuvée des Beaux Jours? It's available for €8,50 from the estate + transport I guess.

Was indeed Tim. Here`s another.

2016 Chateau Gassier Le Pas du Moine.

Very light colour, Cotes de Provence Sainte-Victoire, tad pricey at $26 Cdn. Blend as usual, some spice on the finish, think Ugni Blanc here too? Strawberry tones, showed up better after the tasting was over. Not a big fan however.

[Jenise]

I love Beaujolais roses and never pass one up.

2015 Domaine de Thulon (Famille Jambon) Beaujolais Rosé Gamay
Bin-ended because of the vintage, but the wine's not tired. Balanced and friendly, a perfect high QPR summer sipper for $8.

[Jenise]

Oh, and next up? A pink German sparkling spatburgunder, $6 at Trader Joe's. Expectations are low, but it was too pretty to pass up.

Recently a 2017 Rabl Zweigelt. Very lite salmon color, lingering finish. Strawberry, raspberry, plenty of mineral tones. Thought tad unripe on the nose initially but opened nicely. $23 Cdn

I rarely get around to drinking rosé , but had a taste of the 2017 Domaine Leccia Patrimonio rosé and it was perfectly respectable.

That said, I was much more interested in the 2017 Patrimonio blanc, which is 100% Vermentinu. Lots of crisp focused sun here. The virtues of Corsica. I could drink lots of this.

There were some red wines too, but it was harder to get a handle on them in the tasting format.