 |
|
|
Be Cool, Be
Hip, Drink Rosé
Rosés are made from red grapes,
and gain flavors and color from
the grape's red skins. As with
most grapes, red and white, the
fruit of the grape is colorless.
To correct a popular
misconception, White Zinfandel is
not a rosé, but a blush. Rosés
are dry, blushes are sweet.
Anything that starts with
"White.." as in White
Zinfandel is going to be sweet.
There is a fairly reliable way to
tell if a rosé (or any other
white wine) is sweet. Check the
alcohol content on the label. If
under 11% the wine will often
have noticeable residual sugar;
above 11.5% and the sugar will
usually be quite low and often
hidden behind the acidity.
Cava
Rosé, Mont Marcal $15.99
(Trepat; Spain)
"Estate founded in 1975 by
Manuel Sancho, noted Spanish
recording impresario, upon
purchase of a 17th-century
convent property in the heart of
the Penedès region. 100% Trepat,
a high-altitude Catalan red
variety especially appropriate
for rosé production. Attractive
ruby color with pronounced red
berry fruit and an excellent
mousse." --winery
Dürnsteiner
Rosé-Zweigelt Kabinett 2004,
Tegernseerhof $11.99
(Zweigelt; Austria)
Zweigelt is an indigenous
Austrian red grape that makes
terrifically smooth juicy red
wines. It also makes deliciously
subtle DRY rosés. The
unfortunately Germanic name of
the grape comes from its creator,
Dr. Zweigelt, whom wine writer
Janis Robinson laments "if
only he had been born 'Dr. Pinot
Noir' perhaps then the wine could
have received greater acceptance.
Dürnstein is the town on the
Danube-famous for imprisoning
Richard the Lionhearted in its
castle in 1192-where Martin
Mittelbach's family serves this
deliciously dry rosé in their
family "heurige" or
restaurant. At only 11.5%
alcohol, this dry rosé actually
is refreshing, and will not put
you under the table.
Rosé
Costieres des Nimes 2004,
Ch. Grande Cassagne $9.99
(Grenache & Syrah;
Rhone, France)
My favorite dry rosé of last
year is still on the water as of
press time, but I expect it to
thrill me as much as last year's
smashingly successful vintage.
Made of Grenache and Syrah from
the western edge of the Rhone
Valley.
Costieres
de Nimes Rosé 2004, Ch. Guiot
$9.99
(Grenache & Syrah;
Rhone, France)
"It has "refreshingly
persistent flavours",
according to Majestic; we think
it has a delicious acidic bite
that will enervate drier white
birds like turkey, but is still a
fair match for gamer fowl such as
pheasant, duck, or even capon.
It's a carefully orchestrated
blend of grenache, syrah and
cinsault; these are grown on the
unique rolling pebbles, or
'gress', of Château Guiot."
www.drink-pink.com
Navarra
Rosé 2004, Artazuri $9.99
(Grenache; Navarra,
Spain)
"Artazu, a project from the
same producer of Artadi, Juan
Carlos Lopez de la Calle, strives
for great quality Grenache. In
Navarra, Juan discovered
mind-blowing old vineyards and
allowed them to fully express
their potential for depth and
personality at Artazu. Artazuri
is made from the young vines at
Artazu." importer Eric
Soloman
Grown on high altitude
(400m-600m) south facing slopes
in Navarra, Spain's pre-eminent
region for rosés. We loved the
dry, strawberry-tinged flavors.
What really hooked us was the
crisp, borderline
"crackling" texture,
and how beautifully this played
off the red fruits. A practically
perfect summer wine.
Cotes-du-Rhone
Rosé 2004,
Domaine de la Mordoreé, $11.99
(Grenache & Syrah;
Rhone, France)
Mordoreé makes the best Cotes du
Rhone rosé year after year. This
succulent DRY rosé is bursting
with a melange of red fruit
aromas. Nicely complex with loads
of DRY fruit on the palate, this
is easily one of the best rosés
I've ever tasted. Grenache and
Syrah from southern France. Try
it with my new favorite wine and
food match: curry and rosé.
Fabulous!
Mulderbosch
Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon
2004/2005, $12.99
(Stellenbosch, South Africa)
The new vintage of this DRY rosé
has just arrived. Its strikingly
packaged clear glass bottle
sports a unique vertical strip
label that showcases the wine's
gorgeous and vibrant watermelon
color. Aromas of fresh
strawberries, raspberries,
strawberry jam and a whisper of
pink grapefruit lead into the
crisp DRY fruit flavors. This
cerebral, finely etched, and
focused wine is the thinking
man's rosé. Oh, did I mention
that it is DRY?
Chiaretto
Bardolino Classico Rosé 2004,
Tommasi $12.99
(Corvina Veronese 60% -
Rondinella 30% - Dindarella 10%;
Veneto, Italy)
Victor Hazan's Italian Wine is my
favorite book on that topic.
Hazan writes brief, poetic pieces
that distill the essence of a
particular wine and the land from
which it comes. On this wine he
writes:
"Hills and vines always make
pretty scenery. But there is no
prettier landscape anywhere than
the sweet hills of Bardolino
facing Lake Garda and the sunset,
a serene pattern of vineyards,
olive trees, cypresses, castles,
and Veronese villas in pale pink
stone, arranged on gently
inclined slopes, lit by the
cheerful shimmer of the
lake-reflected light. It deserves
to be called charming as well as
any place on earth, probably more
so than most, and produces a wine
to match."
This juicy, dark, rich rosé is
loaded with ripe cherry and
redcurrant flavors and aromas. It
is rich and full on the palate,
finishing with lingering flavors
of all kinds of cherries: Bing,
Morello, wild, dried. It almost
has the color and body of a red
wine. Joyously delicious!
Infinitely gluggable!
Portugieser
Weissherbst 2004, Darting $14.99
Liter
(Portugieser;
Rhinepfalz, Germany)
"Inside Germany they
sometimes sniff huffily that
Darting makes little sweet-ums
for the export markets but cannot
be taken deeply seriously as a
fine producer, blah-de-blah. Me,
I mutter to myself several times
a day, thank God for Darting,
thank God for Darting . . .
In ripe vintages with good
substance this can be addictive
stuff, and this is sure a purty
lil' thang. It's darling.
Winning. Charming. Fruity. Fresh.
Tail-wagging, eyelid-batting
loveable. You do know that it's
pink wine, right?" importer,
Terry Theise
Les
Baux de Provence "Rosé du
Mas" 2004, Mas de la Dame
$14.99
(Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah;
Provence, France)
"The success and popularity
of this rosé can be easily
confirmed by the fact that they
make more of it than any other
cuvée. The colour immediately
hints at the warmth and sunshine
trapped in the bottle, although
this is a little more reserved
than the exuberant fruit-bomb of
2003. A rustic rosé bursting
with wild strawberry and
ripe-cherry fruit. The palate is
dry but with a lovely volume of
fruit and plenty of crisp, nervy
acidity to keep it fresh and
gluggable. Delicious! A hearty,
rustic rosé that needs hearty,
rustic food, so get out the
barbecue and get those sausages,
burgers and kebabs
grilling."
www.laywheeler.com
Rosé
2004, Turkey Flat Vineyards
$15.99
(Grenache, Cabernet, Shiraz,
Dolcetto; Australia)
"Their medium-bodied 2004
Rose, a Grenache/Shiraz/Cabernet
Sauvignon/Dolcetto blend,
exhibits big, exuberant,
strawberry and cherry aromas,
good color, plenty of structure,
and surprising flavor."
Robert Parker, 89 Points
(Note: Grape varieties are in
Italics.)
|
|
|
|
