The Dorks did the annual summer blind rose tasting.
2025 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Rosé Russian River Valley
This one's a gorgeous shade of carnation pink that did not show up in the 18 wines that preceded it. Fruit is pink grapefruit and cherry but there's also a concerning touch of celery and onion skin. Did not care for it.
2025 Devison Vintners East of the Sun Rosé Boushey Vineyard Yakima Valley Mourvèdre Blend
Pete Devison, one of Washington's best winemakers, hits it out of the park again. Though more fruit-forward than past vintages, this one delivers red pear tart with a note of tangerine on the finish. Lovely; outstanding. Three wines later, a dupe of this showed up from another participant. Served ice cold, it came off sweet, like a banana. Interesting to note, once again, how much difference there can be in the same wine depending on owner and handling.
2025 Domaine Collotte Marsannay Rosé Pinot Noir
Aromas--no, let's call them odors--of onion skin and boiled cabbage. Nasty. Some said it blew off a little bit and maybe it did but any wine that starts out like that isn't playing with a full deck and I did not revisit. Poor.
2025 Kiona Lemberger White Lemberger Red Mountain
Tangy, vibrant and very similar to the Syncline; excellent.
2024 von Winning Pinot Noir Rosé Pfalz
Soft and fruity. A bit boring.
2024 Domaine Vigneret Bandol Rosé Mourvèdre Blend
New Bandol producer to me. Strong flavor that punches you in the face on the first sip and adds too much RS on the last. Disappointing.
2023 Clos Cibonne Tibouren Côtes de Provence Cuvée Tradition Rosé Cru Classé
Cantaloupe color. Silky mouthfeel with peaches, cream, cranberries and spice. Outstanding.
2024 Tiberio Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Montepulciano
My wine. Three months after trying a bottle I liked but didn't love, I opened this one. AND I LOVED IT. Watermelon red color with stone fruit, raspberry and cranberry fruit, fresh herbs and some lightly bitter tannins, the first guess from other tasters was Tavel, and I get why. Big hit with the group. I immediately went on line the next morning hoping to get more, but only found the '25, which I'll buy. Outstanding.
2024 Passofonduto (Giuseppe Cipolla) Terre Siciliane Rosato Occhio di Sale Nero d'Avola
Orange color but not an orange wine. It's a blend of two reds (nero d'avola and nero mascalese) and two whites (inzolia and trebbiano). Super complex, savory and dry. Utterly fascinating. Outstanding.
2025 Luc Poullain Touraine Mary Taylor Gamay
Another solid hit from Mary. 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Côt (Malbec), 20% Gamay, 20% Grolleau, 20% Pineau d’Aunis. Pale, bright, pretty flavors of fresh green fig with apple skin on the finish. Very good.
2025 Constant Crush Wine Limited Addition Pink Crush Willamette Valley Rosé Blend
A 40/30/30 blend of Gamay/Cab Franc and Pinot Noir, this had magical flavors of tomato water, peach and cinnamon. Very good.
2025 Syncline Rosé Boushey Vineyard Yakima Valley Sangiovese
Pale, nicely delineated fruit, bright acidity. Excellent.
2025 Wines of Sagemoor Rosé Gamache Columbia Valley Syrah Blend
Another WA bargain at $10/ea, a dry blend of syrah, grenache and viognier. Very good.
2025 Trader Joe's Bandol Grand Reserve Rosé Lot #150 Rosé Blend
A Bandol rose at any price under $35ish is rare-to-nonexistent, so couldn't resist this when I found it at Trader Joe's ($13.99). A tender light pink, I was shocked at how good it was--the mourvedre character comes across loud and clear. The best palate in our group pegged it as Bandol on his second gues. Very good.
NV Feudo di Santa Tresa Il Frappato Spumante Rosè Biologico Brut Sicilia
Very pale; restrained fruit, minerally and very dry. Excellent.
2023 Tavola dei Briganti Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Fortitudo Montepulciano
Barely med pink with tart fruit and nice balance. Was surprised by the color, thought Cerasuolo's were typically darker (like the Tiberio). Very good.
NV Piper Sonoma Brut Rosé Sonoma County Rosé Blend
Apparently this showed up at our local Costco for $10/bottle and one of the guys scooped up the last six. It would have been good value for an everyday bubble at it's original price of $23, but for $10? A steal.
And from the curiosities people bring department: I didn't get the name of this, but it was also Italian and had a white label with a scant couple of rose petals on it. This was served blind so I didn't know about the label, but my first, almost visceral, impression was of my grandmother's (much hated by me) Oil of Olay moisturizer, which is in fact rose-scented. Which of course is creepy and I would never want to drink it. Turns out the wine was a 50/50 blend of wine and rose petal tea. The result? 8% alcohol and Oil of Olay. Fun, but no thank you.