Category Archives: Rose Wines

Rose Wine Review: Tall Horse Pinotage

Tall Horse Pinotage Rose 2007

Tall Horse Pinotage Rose wine bottleYou’d think this site became a pink wine blog …

Yes, it’s yet another rose wine review. Sorry, but there are so many gosh-darn good pink wines this year.

The latest I’ve tasted is by Tall Horse, made from 100% Pinotage — an unlikely candidate for rose wine. Pinotage is from South Africa, and traditionally a big, bold red wine with black berry and earth character, and a touch of an unusual aroma that can only be described as “band-aid”. When I heard that a) there was a rose from South Africa and b) it was made from Pinotage, I had to get my hands on a bottle for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity and bewilderment. After all, it’s difficult to find ANY South African wines in a typical US wine shop, and damn near impossible to find a rose from SA — and even then it most likely would be made from Cabernet.

Suspicious of any pink wine made from Pinotage, especially one adorned with a label of a cartoon-like giraffe, I’ll admit my initial prognosis was, “there’s no way this is going to be good.”

As is often the case with low expectations, however, I was pleasantly surprised — this rose is a fruit-filled quaffer with plenty of complexity and enough structure to stand up to food.

The tasting notes:
Mild aromas of red berry, red licorice, cranberry (none of the typical “band-aid” aroma associated with Pinotage, by the way). Fruit is more pronounced on the palate, offering juicy watermelon candy, raspberry candy, pomegranate, pear, peach, and a touch of mineral. Acidity is mild to medium – not too high for drinking alone, but tart enough to match with fairly simple foods. It finishes quickly, but with a nice red licorice and red cherry flavor, as well as a bit of citrus. Easy drinking, with enough perceived sweetness to sway white zinners toward finer wine. Don’t drink this too cold, or you’ll miss a lot of the fun and complexity. Enjoy it as an aperitif, with simple appetizers, or with barbecued chicken. May also be good with sweet and spicy dishes, such as you might find on a Chinese take-out menu. At around 8 bucks, this is a great value.

a-7 t-8 b-8 fc-7 v- 9 ~ 89 Points


Tall Horse Wines website

Rose Wine Review: Pink Criquet

Pink Criquet Bordeaux Rose 2006

Pink Criquet rose wine bottleWhat does a cricket have to do with wine? Not much really … this wine is so-called because the winemaker Pierre Seillan’s rugby mates nicknamed him “Criquet” for his small size and lightning reflexes. Seillan — the same genius behind Verite, Chateau Lassegue, and Tenuta di Arceno (among others) — makes this rose wine with 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Bordeaux, using a process called “saignee” — whereby free-run juice gently kissed with the color of red grapes during maceration is added to enhance the wine’s color and flavor complexity.

Don’t let the shiny hot pink screwtop fool you – this is a serious wine. It can be summed up in two words: fresh and bright. Very bright, deep pink, magenta color. The nose is equally bright and open, displaying fun and pleasing aromas of strawberry, raspberry, and a hint of citrus. Flavors are bright, ripe, and mild, with strawberry, cranberry, red raspberry, white cherry, a touch of pink grapefruit and a steely mineral note. Acidity is mild to medium, and there are sufficiently perceptible tannins. Finishes clean as a whistle, with all elements perfectly balanced. This is pleasing enough on its own to be an aperitif, but really comes alive when paired with foods. You can enjoy it with flavorful fish, non-red-sauce pasta dishes and salads, bean salads, poultry, Asian and Indian cuisine, and hot and spicy dishes. A very versatile wine, and enjoyable at all degrees between room temperature and over-chilled. When toward the warmer side, it looks, smells, and tastes more like a Beaujolais Cru than a run-of-the-mill rose. At around fifteen bucks, this is appropriately priced.

a-7 t-7 b-10 fc-10 v-7 ~ 91 Points

Importer: Sovereign Wine Imports

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Rose Wine Review: Chateau Laulerie

Chateau Laulerie Bergerac Rose 2006

Chateau Laulerie Bergerac Rose WineWhere did the summer go? It seems like it just arrived, and now it’s on the way out. Maybe I wouldn’t have realized it had I not seen banners and ads all over the place for Halloween … sheesh! However, the weather is still warm in most parts of the USA, and you can continue to enjoy the pink / rose wines that were released over the last few months. Thank goodness, too, because I have at least a half-dozen reviews of good roses that you can still find and will be fresh enough to enjoy for about another month or so.

One excellent value — you can find it under ten bucks — is Chateau Laulerie Rose from Bergerac in southwestern France. It’s made from grapes grown just to the east of Bordeaux, along the Dordonne river — 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot and 15% Malbec. This wine offers a typical rose nose: mild ripe aromas of red raspberry, strawberry, and a touch of red licorice. In the mouth, you get ethereal flavors upfront carried on an almost creamy texture that become more intense as the wine sits on your palate and moves toward the finish. Good ripe strawberry, red raspberry, a touch of red cherry and a hint of mineral. Acidity is mild to medium, tannins are mild — both are at appropriate levels for the fruit. The finish is longer than expected and pleasant, first offering raspberry and cherry, eventually ending with watermelon and some tart acidity. A great wine for food — ideal for a barbecue. It goes with grilled sausage and peppers, shish kebab, salads (bean, pasta, leaf), chicken dishes, all kinds of appetizers, anything with sautéed onions, quiche, vegetarian dishes. There’s the slightest bit of perceived sweetness that will offer a refreshing foil to hot and spicy cuisine as well. Don’t drink this too cold or you will miss all the juicy ripe fruit — drink it slightly colder than a red, slightly warmer than a white. Easy drinking … almost too easy, even on its own.

Importer: Michael Skurnik Wines

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a-7 t-7 b-9 fc-10 v-10 ~ 93 Points

Rose Wine Review: Chateau Calissanne

Chateau Calissanne Rose Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence 2006

Chateau Calissanne Rose wine bottleIt’s the season of pink wines, and here is an ideal introduction to the world of fine rose.

This example comes from the southern region of France, in the storybook area of Provence. Surely you’d recognize the bright, rich colors associated with the area, or know by smell the herbs d’Provence (such as lavender), or heard stories of the rich and famous on their jaunts in Provence and to nearby Nice and Monaco. Well now you can add pink wine to your “book” on the region, as it is one of the most prolific producers of rose.

Chateau Calissanne consistently produces a clean, flavorful rose, and their 2006 bottling is in line with what many have come to expect from the winery. The wine shows a bright, dark pink color, with magenta highlights, and the nose offers ripe strawberry, watermelon candy, and raspberry. It’s very smooth on the palate — smooth as glass — with flavors of ripe red raspberry, white cherry, fresh pomegranate, some juicy jolly rancher watermelon candy. The acidity is medium, in good balance with the fruit and appropriately high for food matching. Tannins are mild. It’s just a touch hot on the finish, but not overbearing, and also has strawberry flavor before disappearing from the palate. A good match for leaner meats, such as chicken, fish, pork, or with vegetarian dishes (I enjoyed it with chicken, avocado, bacon, and tomato on 12-grain bread), and a good barbecue wine, as it will match nicely with grilled veggies, shish kebabs, bbq spare ribs, grilled chicken . Heck, it’s even a fine match for many Asian-inspired preparations (i.e., teriyaki, mild curries).

Get it while it’s fresh and expressing peak fruitiness — at about twelve bucks it is a good value and a no-brainer for food matching.

a-7 t-7 b-8 fc-10 v-8 ~ 90 Points

Importer: Petit Pois Corp. T/A Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ

Chateau Calissanne website

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Rose Wine Review: Mas de Gourgonnier

Mas de Gourgonnier Les Baux de Provence Rose wine bottleCould there be a better time of year?

The weather is perfect, school is nearly out, baseball season’s in full swing, and the rose wines have arrived.

If you’ve never been “tickled pink” by the youthful selections available in your local wine shop during the late spring, this year is as good a time as any to start trying rose-colored wines through crystal-clear glasses. An ideal bottle to begin with is this Provencal example: Mas de Gourgonnier Rose Les Baux de Provence 2006 — a consistently tasty pink wine and one of my annual favorites.

Made from about 60% Grenache and completed with a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the color is a bright, dark pink, almost cherry. Though the nose will eventually open up, right now, it is somewhat subdued, offering just a hint of strawberry and pear, belying the vibrant, bright fruit you get in the mouth. Flavors of fresh strawberry, pear, sweet pink grapefruit, cranberry, watermelon, pomegranate, a touch of citrus, and red currant dance on the palate, carried by a good edge of racy acidity and juicy, mild tannins. The finish is very pleasant and fairly well balanced, eventually leaving lingering tastes of sour red cherry, red currants, pomegranate, and a hint of strawberry. A perfect match for food, enjoy it with spicy foods, Indian cuisine, salads, fish, chicken, pork, bbq ribs or bbq chicken — just about anything. As with most quality rose wines, don’t drink this too cold, or you’ll miss all the fun. At about twelve bucks, this is a good value.

a-7 t-7 b-10 fc-10 v-8 ~ 92 points

Importer: Michael Skurnik Wines

Mas de Gourgonnier shelf talker available through DownloadPOS

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