The Rosé Issue
Dearest subscribers, it’s that time of year again and every Rosé Season I like to share this PSA, not all rosé is created equal. Along with this issue’s review of six wines I’d like to share the following tips to help you pick and serve a quality rosé:
Look for a young vintage.
Rosé, at it’s best, is fresh and youthful. This year drink 2019s and 2018s
You get what you pay for.
In this category more than others it pays to trade up.
Location, location, location.
Like Belgian chocolates or Guatemalan coffee, origin often confers a standard of quality. In wine, you want to dig a little deeper, look for named sub-regions, appellations and vineyards on the label.
Ice, Ice, baby!
Serve well-chilled and keep on ice.
Make it a meal.
Many rosés are fuller in body and higher in alcohol than you might think. For best results, make these wines part of a meal.
Drink now.
Rosé wines are not suitable for long-term aging.
Caves d'Esclans Whispering Angel
Origin: Côtes de Provence AOC, Provence, France
Vintage: 2019
Grape(s): Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Carignan, Vermentino
Style: Dry, medium-bodied, refreshing
Price: $29.95
Perhaps the world’s most popular and recognizable rosé, Whispering Angel isn’t just the prettiest in pink, it’s also, arguably, the most lauded.
Delicate notes of strawberry, fresh raspberry, and sea salt are met on the palate with refreshing acidity and a faint suggestion of ripe peach. This is a crisp and refreshing wine that manages simultaneously, and with spectacular fashion, to offer great body, weight, and a notably, unexpectedly, long finish.
Serve well-chilled with Maker Pizza’s Frank’s Best pie. Or, make your own flatbread of caramelized onions, goat cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, rosemary and sea salt with a drizzle of honey,
Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Franc Rosé
Origin: VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada
Vintage: 2019
Grape(s): Cabernet Franc
Style: Dry, light-bodied, refreshing
Price: $19.95
Southbrook is Canada’s largest and most prestigious organic and biodynamic winery. This 2019 Cab Franc Rosé is a perfect summer-sipper, light and refreshing, easy-drinking and elegant. You’ll get soft notes of strawberry and white florals matched on the palate with the addition of fresh raspberry and a clean finish.
Serve well-chilled with grilled halloumi and juicy watermelon topped with fresh basil and mint.
Miraval Rosé
Origin: Côtes de Provence AOC, Provence, France
Vintage: 2019
Grape(s): Cinsault, Grenache, Rolle, Syrah
Style: Dry, medium-bodied, fruity
Price: $24.95
Clean, fresh, fruity, herbaceous and floral, this 2019 Miraval is a classic Provençal rosé,
Its pale colour belies the intensity found on the nose. Aromas of strawberry, redcurrant and sage are matched and followed on the palate with mineral notes, rose-petal, and a touch of summer savory.
With its complex blend of grapes, its structure, and depth of aroma and flavour, this wine stands as a gainsay for the old stereotype that rosé wines are largely cheap, inferior wines made for ‘less-serious’ drinkers.
Note, Rolle is the French name for the Italian grape variety Vermentino.
Serve well-chilled with shallot and chive Boursin cheese on Ace Bakery olive oil and sea salt crisps.
Domaine Maby La Forcadière Tavel Rosé
Origin: Tavel AOC, Southern Rhône, France
Vintage: 2019
Grape(s): Grenache, Cinsault dominant
Style: Dry, medium-bodied, jammy
Price: $19.95
Tavel is second in reputation only to Provence as France’s premiere region for classic, top-quality rosé.
When compared to Provençal rosé, Tavel will often be higher in alcohol with riper fruit flavours. It will be more pronounced; less tame in aroma and flavour, and often have a greater depth of colour.
This La Forcadière rosé from Domaine Maby is clean, dry, with a lovely garnet colour. Macerated strawberry, juicy watermelon and freshly pressed pomegranate contribute to it’s jammy, fruity character. Its aromas are slightly confected but not cloying and the wine is most certainly dry.
Serve well-chilled with Balsamic-glazed chicken skewers atop spinach and goat-cheese salad.
Stoneleigh Wild Valley Rosé
Origin: Marlborough, New Zealand
Vintage: 2019
Grape(s): Pinot Noir
Style: Dry, medium-bodied, fruity
Price: $19.95
The newest rosé from Stoneleigh, the 2019 Wild Valley rosé is made entirely from Pinot Noir, giving it a distinct and characteristic sour-cherry note. It also features aromas and flavours of rhubarb and over-ripe strawberry. While this wine is entirely dry, like the Tavel, this wine also has some candied flavours, notably pink and red Jolly-Rancher.
Serve well-chilled with grilled turkey burgers topped with avocado and slaw on a brioche bun.
Josh Cellars Rosé
Origin: California, USA
Vintage: 2018
Grape(s): Unspecified blend
Style: Dry, medium-bodied, fruity
Price: $18.95
This Josh Cellars rosé would make a great base for sangria. It’s dry, with typical fruit flavours of strawberry and melon. It has a slightly sour citrus character that I think would lend well to a topping-off with Grand Marnier or Triple Sec and slices of fresh fruit - ripe peach, Bosc pear.
Serve as a sangria with a tuna sandwich on toasted rye.
