Did a new sort of event here – a Think and Drink Pink wine where everyone brought a bottle or three and a dish for the side table so we could munch and sip the afternoon away while sampling the range of excellent Rosé wines.
Vilmart Cuvée Rubis Brut – disgorged in 2009, this NV bubble was a great way to start. Lovely nose with some yeast and red berries, on palate starting with seemingly slightly high RS but that was quickly balanced by the acidity that cut in. Would be interesting to know what the RS actually is on this! 90% PN, 10% chard
2016 Chalice Estate Iris Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosé – this Oregon wine was fairly dark pink, indicating a longer soak time on the skins, was soft and smooth in the mouth and ended with some sweet peachy notes.
2017 Triennes Rosé – interesting story on this one – a joint venture between Burgundians, Dom. Dujac and Aubert de Villaine (DRC). Made mostly of cinsault with some Grenache, syrah and merlot added. Sweet cherry in the nose with some intriguing spice notes, picking up red apple with time in the glass. Smooth and crisp. Nice. Cinsault 62, Grenache 16, syrah 17, merlot 5
2016 Dom. Tempier Bandol Rosé – pale salmon colour, some heavier melon notes in the nose and lots of stuffing. Slightly ripe impression at the end. This opened up very nicely in the glass, just getting better.
2017 Proprietà Sperino Lessona Rosa del Rosa – this Italian entry was orangey pink with a leaner less sweet nose, with citrus and floral elements and a little peach. In the mouth it showed a higher acidity than the others. Made from nebbiolo and vespolina. Nice minerality.
2017 Gérard Bertrand Cote des Roses – Languedoc/Roussillon made from Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault. Pale pink with a slightly sweet soft nose, on palate inoffensive but undistinguished.
2015 Colin Morey Rosé de Pinot Noir - very delicate strawberry pinot nose, pale colour, good acidity on entry and a long smooth finish. Good.
2016 Domaine de la Mordorée Tavel La Dame Rousse – a bright pink wine with good depth in the nose, showing strawberry and peach, which followed over on palate. It seemed slightly high in alcohol, but had a nice long soft finish. Developed some herbal notes with time in the glass. 60 grenache 20 cinsault 20 syrah
2017 Spearhead Pinot Noir Rosé – this BC wine was mid pink with a slightly candied sweet berry nose, fair balance but too much RS for me.
2016 Dom. St. Andrieu L’Oratoire Rosé – 38% Grenache 27% cinsault 19% syrah 17% rolle. This is owned by the owners of Ch. Talbot. Delicate nose with some grapefruit, pretty good stuffing, very dry finish and some pleasant minerality. Good.
2016 Idlewild The Flower Flora and Fauna Rosé – this Mendocino operation makes this wine from Barbera. The nose is a bit muted and heavier than the preceding wines with some cantaloupe and herbal citrus notes and the fruit is a bit reticent. A different style and suffered in this company because of that.
2017 Domaine de L’Amauve Le Rosé d'Yvonne – run by Rhone winemaker (previously at Mont-Redon and la Nerthe) in the small picturesque village of Seguret (we vacationed a few years ago in the also small town of Sablet, which looks across the valley at Seguret). The wine is made from Grenache noir and syrah and was a pale pink with medium weight and clean finish. Good.
2016 Mathilde Chapoutier Côtes de Provence Grand Ferrage – some good spicy grapefruit and strawberry fruit in this wine and a good level of terminal acidity. Good. Same blend as the L’Oratoire. The Rolle grape is, by the way, more commonly known as Vermentino.
2016 Le Vieux Pin Vaila – a pinot noir rosé from British Columbia made from pinot noir. Good nose and flavour but could have used a slight bit more residual sugar to blunt the somewhat obtrusive acidity at the end.
2016 Kettle Valley Pinot Gris (BC) – some wineries leave the press wine on the dark skins of this grape long enough to take on significant pink colour – this is one such winery. Dark pink, some nice spice in the nose and lots of stuffing, ending smooth and long. Always a favourite with us.
2014 Poplar Grove Winery Blanc de Noirs Okanagan Valley Rosé Blend - nice initial fruit,and good stuffing in this one, with graceful finish. Merlot and Malbec.
2016 Pursued by the Bear Winery Blushing Bear – this rosé made from Grenache, cinsault and mourvedre in the Columbia Valley. It was pale in colour, had some decent berry fruit and was pleasant on palate. They state that they attempted to emulate the Bandol style. If so, they failed in the attempt, IMHO.
2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Evangelho Vineyard – this Contra Costa red wine came out after the pinks were finished. Big sweet vanilla nose, very concentrated fruit and sweet long finish. Will appeal to new world wine fans (not so much to me).