Wine Focus for June: Bouquet of Rosés

[Robin Garr]

Doesn't matter where it comes from, what variety it is or how it gets its color, if it's pink, rosé. saignée, blanc de noirs or whatever - even blush if you really must - let's celebrate the nearness of summer during a year in which many of us thought that spring would never arrive by focusing on pink wines for the month of June.

I'm posting a day early so we can get started over the weekend - I've got a pink '12 Mas de Gourgonnier lined up.

[Robin Garr]

By the way, gang, is my Mac-generated accented-e in "rosé" showing up properly or appearing as garbage characters in PCs out there?

Your é looks fine to me. I type <Alt>0-2-3-3 to make mine.

[Robin Garr]

Your é looks fine to me. I type <Alt>0-2-3-3 to make mine.

I just click the "Show Character Viewer" app and then click from there.

Your é looks fine to me. I type <Alt>0-2-3-3 to make mine.

Does not work for me Howie.

Your é looks fine to me. I type <Alt>0-2-3-3 to make mine.

Does not work for me Howie.

You have to hold down the ALT key while typing the numbers on the numeric keypad. Make sure your CapsLock key is "On".

Here is a Rosé that always delivers in my opinion. I see that the `11 is now on the shelf downtown. Another one to bear in mind is the Mulderbosch!


TN : 2010 Cabernet de Saumur, Reserve des Vignerons.
Wines from this co-op show up in AB from time to time so I am always interested to sample. 100% Cab Franc, $18 Cdn, 13% alc, synthetic cork.

Medium reddish strawberry color, light nose with floral tones and berries. Nice structure here, zippy acidity, cherry, strawberry. "Quite berryish" from across the table, seems quite dry and has good length. Think I might try to find that Mulderbosch Cab Sauv.

2012 Navarro Rosé of Pinot Noir
Color is on the light side of pink, I figure it's a pretty narrow color band we're working in here innit? Requisite nose of strawberry and ...something I can't put my finger on. The barest tinge of earthiness? Gentle fruit. I'm not sure what that means but that's what I think of as opposed to those rough fruits like..erm...Punch Apples and Kick Berries. More strawberry in the in taste and the slight hint of "pinotsity" (thank to our resident Finn for that). This goes down an absolutely treat. It was very moreish, but not just quaff style. Does give one a bit of something to ponder. Like some of those quasi philosophical books that were popular in the 60-70s that I read as a youth. Very Kurt Vonnegut (that's a compliment by the by).

Somebody switched on the light. It is a sunny Sunday and we opened a focus wine for sipping on the balcony.
The 2012 Chateau Les Valentines, Cotes de Provence, Rosé is a blend of 50 % Cinsault, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah
and 10% Mourvèdre with 13% of Alcohol. We opened the 2011 which is even stronger at 13.5%. It has a pale salmon color. The nose is restrained with hints of tangerine and herbs. The palate is delicate and balanced, has a not unpleasant slightly bitter note, hints of red fruit and woodruff, anise, lavender and herbs. My wife likes it a lot, it was the fourth bottle of a case of 6 and we may rebuy the 2012 at 12,50€, which is a decent price for this quality.

Rose' seems to be the best I can do for the accent mark. I have a dry German Riesling open now. After I finish it I will open an Austrian Zweigelt rose'. Then I have a few from last year's purchases that may be over-the-hill but I am hopeful.

[Jenise]

Hey guess what--I just bought my very first box wine! But I didn't buy it because of the box. I bought it because it's a perennial favorite AND it came in a box! It's a 3.0 L version of Commanderie la Bergamone. Cost $42 in Seattle, couldn't resist. Will open it later today.

Seven zero for a bottle of Rosé? Read but scroll down.

http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/

Seven zero for a bottle of Rosé? Read but scroll down.

http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/

Pretty pretentious, isn't it?

Here's my impressions from a tasting at the RVF Salon in autumn 2010.

I liked the cheapest, Whispering Angel, best and found the wood and the price of the top two equally off-putting. I wonder if Sacha Lichine does not have his tongue in his cheek. Here are the TNS -

Château d’Esclans & Domaines Sacha Lichine, La Motte, Provence

I have read such a lot about these super-charged rosés that I couldn’t resist a stop at this table. All the wines below are appellation Côtes de Provence rosé.
Whispering Angel 2009 (€14), from five grape varieties vinified and raised in inox tanks, was pretty and moreish with lively acidity, soft feel on entry and mid-palate with grip at the finish; 15.5/20.
Esclans 2008 (€20), from Grenache and Rolle and raised partly in barriques, showed more generosity and structure; 15.5/20.
Les Clans 2008 (€50!!), also from Grenache and Rolle and raised 100% in barriques, showed exotic fruit (some pineapple) and a caressing feel with also vanilla notes from the wood; hardly 15/20 for me now but it may develop into something.
Garus 2008 (€80!!!), from old Grenache vines and raised 100% in barriques, showed more density and a lot of structure with again exotic fruit and wood aromas and tactile sensation; hardly 15/20 now with more confidence in + development.

I might just consider buying a bottle or two of Whispering Angel or Esclans for further experiment at home.

Now I'll listen to what Jamie has to say.

Michel Bettane likes them .

Ode to Lulu..Rose..from Bedrock in Sonoma..very consistent year in, year out..the 2012 is available

[Jenise]

2012 Commanderie de la Bargemone (from 3.0 L box): year in, year out, a favorite from Provence and this year's spot-on. Possibly the palest rose on the market (which is fine with me, I tend to prefer less color than more), this sports an especially floral nose with a good, dry mineral finish.

I sometimes think I drink the roses I drink because I get a kick out of their respective labels: Bonny Doon's "Vin Gris de Cigare", Goats Do Roam, and Bully Hill's "Le Goat Blush" ("They have my heritage and my name, but not my goat!" Gotta love the real Taylors.)

Rose' seems to be the best I can do for the accent mark. I have a dry German Riesling open now. After I finish it I will open an Austrian Zweigelt rose'. Then I have a few from last year's purchases that may be over-the-hill but I am hopeful.

Jane, you can access the Windows Character map in Windows accessories. What version of windows are you running. I know for sure that works in XP and in Windows 7. don't know about earlier versions or Windows 8.

Hey guess what--I just bought my very first box wine! But I didn't buy it because of the box. I bought it because it's a perennial favorite AND it came in a box! It's a 3.0 L version of Commanderie la Bergamone. Cost $42 in Seattle, couldn't resist. Will open it later today.

Jenise, if memory serves me that is a Hand Picked Selections (Dan Kravitz) wine, and it's a good one. I now have to see if it is available here in the box.

BobH...any sign of the Lancyre in the your area?

2012 Château L'Argentier Rosé d'Aramon Vin de France
Here, the much-maligned Aramon grape shows that it can actually make a pretty interesting wine with this Languedoc rosé. This is light to medium-bodied, well balanced, smooth, and a touch sweet, with good acidity. Shows refreshing watermelon flavors, with red berry, floral, spicy, and lightly mineral notes. Very good - recommended QPR for $16.

BobH...any sign of the Lancyre in the your area?

It's funny that you should ask Bob, I sent an email to the Hand PIcked Selections (importer) agent for Kentucky and am awaiting a reply. Honestly I see nothing from HPS at all in my area. I would like to try the box wine that Jenise spoke of. I have had that one in the past lots of times and it is always excellent. I know I could drive 75 miles north and get the Lancyre, but with gasoline (petrol to you) prices being what they are I can't do that as much as I used to.

Bargemone has been my benchmark rose for 16 years and I remember where and when I first tasted it. Still working for IBM, I attended a wine dinner in Dexter, Mi featuring the wines of Hand Picked Selections and Dan Kravitz presenting. Bargemone rose was there in the painted bottle “Vendage Soleil” (later to become “Vignes de Soleil”). My chatting with Dan that evening led to my becoming a wine broker representing HPS for the next 14 years. During my years with HPS I had the opportunity to visit the Commanderie many times and always found it the highlight of the trips. Madame Rozan was a special person! Anyway… I still go thru a couple cases of their Rose each year and was excited to hear it was available in the 3L Bag-in-box. I’ve gone thru 3 boxes already!
In addition to Bargemone I buy several other roses and get to taste lots more. My favorites tend to be from Provence (or at least that style) with Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah.
Cheers, Gary

BobH...any sign of the Lancyre in the your area?

Honestly I see nothing from HPS at all in my area.

Hey Bob, sounds like you miss me. It's been over 2 years now since I stopped representing HPS and I know they have a new rep but I don't know what up in KY. If the wines aren't there it's too bad because they were doing very well (especially Rose's).

Cheers, Gary

BobH...any sign of the Lancyre in the your area?

Honestly I see nothing from HPS at all in my area.

Hey Bob, sounds like you miss me. It's been over 2 years now since I stopped representing HPS and I know they have a new rep but I don't know what up in KY. If the wines aren't there it's too bad because they were doing very well (especially Rose's).

Cheers, Gary

Gary, as soon as I heard of the 3L box of Bargemone, I looked HPS up online and got a contact for your Successor and emailed him. HPS is now represented by a Louisville Ky distributor and the Agent has written that he will get back to me today. So, It seems that I will likely have a local retailer get a case of boxes, and a case of the Lancyre rosé too. I wonder about the Rousanne/Viognier blend is. That used to be 100 percent Rousanne, and I've never been a big fan of viognier.

It's good to see that you peek in here now and then, I've come to a point that I don't spend a lot of time here either, but do try to look in a few times per week. HEY! I'll be in Ann arbor for Mo'Cool this coming August, it would sure be nice to have you (and you much better half) stop out at the lake and sip something with us, there is usually something going on on Friday. I am considering a half case of New Mexico's Gruet Champagne style sparkler. Of course there will be 15-20 other wines of all hues too. Either way though it is good to hear from you.