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Rosés capture summer in a glass
Here’s a piece I’ve written for today’s Dayton Daily News … if you have a favorite rosé, please let us know by posting a comment.
Nothing brightens a day quite like a dozen roses. Except, perhaps, a dozen rosés.
Suddenly, it seems, rosés are on the rise. These beautiful pink-to-strawberry-hued wines capture summer in a bottle, and wine drinkers have taken notice. So have wine shops, which are devoting more precious shelf space to the increasingly popular pinks.
Sales of rosé wines priced $8 and above grew by about 50 percent in 2007, according to data compiled by the Nielsen Co. Compared to the overall market, rosé sales grew nearly eight times faster in terms of dollar sales and 17 times faster by volume than total table wine sales, according to Wines & Vines magazine.
These wines share a color spectrum — and sometimes, grocery store shelf space — with the still-very-popular white zinfandels, but generally, the wines labeled rosé are drier — sometimes bracingly so. Their refreshingly tart, berry-like fruit flavors make rosés a fine complement to everything from seafood to barbecued chicken, potato salad to grilled burgers, spicy Asian fare to garlicky dishes.
And these pink wines require little fuss. They’re at their best when served chilled — and the fresher, the better. Many 2007 rosés are just now showing up on wine shop shelves, although the delivery of some French rosés was delayed in recent weeks by a French dockworkers’ strike. I’d be wary of buying pinks from any country that are 2005 vintage or older unless you know the producers’ rosés hold up well with extended bottle age (only a handful do).
Winemakers employ a variety of different techniques to make their rosés pretty in pink. Some harvest red grapes and separate the skins — where all of the dark-red pigment resides — from the juice after just a few hours, leaving behind juice that is a delicate pink hue. Others who intend to make red wine from their grapes simply “bleed off” the first-run juice after the grapes are crushed, which allows them to produce a rosé-style wine while also concentrating the flavors, tannins and color of their red wines. And some simply mix white wine with a bit of red wine — the preferred method of many makers of rosé Champagnes and other pink sparkling wines.
We gathered a dozen rosés (all still wines, no sparklers) to see if we could find some winners. Our search for the best rosés took us to two grocery stores and one wine shop, but the wines themselves hail from all over the globe: France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, California, Washington, Chile and Argentina. And they come from a wide range of red grapes, including syrah, grenache, malbec and cabernet sauvignon.
Some of the wines we sampled are made in mega-quantities and enjoy wide distribution. Others — particularly the more expensive pinks in our delightful dozen — may be harder to find. Check your local wine shops or grocers for availability; they may be able to order the rosés you want, or offer a substitution.
Overall, the quality was very high — a pleasant surprise. Some of the under-$10 wines fared quite well against their more expensive brethren. The wines are listed by order of preference, but the differences in quality were actually quite narrow — I’d buy nine or 10 of these wines again. And the 12th-rated wine, which cost a scant $4 on sale, was perfectly drinkable.
It’s hard to find an ugly rose — or a poorly made ros.
For tasting notes and rankings of our delightful dozen rosés, click on “continue reading”
Domaine Lafond Tavel 2007 (France), $18
The Tavel region of France, by law, produces only rosés — and the experience shows. This wine is the most deeply colored of the dozen, the most expensive, and the all-around best. This is the benchmark for rosé, with initial flavors of sweet fruit, followed by refreshing acidity that begs the next sip.
Triennes 2007 Rosé (France), $17
Very pale pink. Great intensity of flavor, and a fine balance between fruit and acidity. This comes across as a serious wine, with a long, appealing, dry finish. Made predominantly from Cinsault grown in Provence, where the grapes seem to capture the sun.
Crios 2007 Rosé of Malbec (Argentina), $12
Great intensity of flavors from this Malbec rosé, which was one of the darkest of the tasting. The juice was bled from the vats of red wine. Although relatively high in alcohol (13.8 percent), this wine has the fruit to balance.
Artazuri 2007 Navarra (Spain), $13
Garnacha (Grenache) is the grape, and Grenache can make great rosés, and these Spanish winemakers made a fine one, with enough berry fruit to carry the bracing acidity.
Monkey Bay 2006 Rosé (New Zealand), $10
A restrained, European-styled wine, fragrant with berries, with fruit leading to a zingy finish. New Zealand is clearly an up-and-coming wine region, and this rosé shows why. Wide availability.
Columbia Crest 2007 Two Vines Vineyard 10 Rosé (Washington State), $8
Mostly syrah, with a dash (5 percent) of viognier, this candy-apple-red-colored wine delivers plenty of fruit, but finishes dry. Great value for the price.
Chateau Mourgues du Gres 2007 Fleur d’Eglantine (France), $13
A pale-in-color, delicate, dry style of rosé, this offering from the Costieres de Nimes in the south of France was the driest of the dozen tasted. Serve with garlickly dishes to bring out the fruit, which emerges with a bit of coaxing.
Allison 2006 Rosé (California), $13
This rosé of syrah comes from the folks at Steltzner Vineyards and is named after Dick Steltzner’s daughter. Very dry, and a bit austere and alcoholic in the finish. Serve it very cold on a hot day, though, and it will please.
Yellow Tail 2007 Rosé (Australia), $9
Plenty of fruit balanced by refreshing acidity. A bit lacking in intensity of flavor, but this is one of Yellow Tail’s better offerings. Grape varietals are not listed on the label.
Vinum Cellars 2006 Rosé It’s Okay (California), $8 (regularly $12)*
Delicious fruit in this cabernet sauvignon-based pink wine that packs a wallop with its 14 percent alcohol. That alcohol shows up in the finish, though, and cuts it short.
Red Bicyclette 2006 French Rosé (France), $8 (regularly $11)
This is the softest (least acidic), easiest-to-quaff wine of the bunch, but it could use a bit more flavor. Still, a great picnic wine at this price, and the best choice for white zinfandel fans who want to check out a “friendly” rosé.
Frontera Rosé Wine 2006 (Chile), $4 (regularly $6)
Sweeter and heavier than most rosés, with a distinctly alcoholic kick and a bit of cherry Kool-Aid flavor in the finish.
*Prices reflect amount paid in Ohio in May 2008. Wines that were listed as on sale (or “posted off”) are indicated with both the price paid and the listed “regular” price.
(photos by Jim Witmer)
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Comments
By chiefwino
June 2, 2008 6:41 AM | Link to this
Don’t overlook Bandol, next to Tavel, for beautiful roses. the best find while in Marseilles was from the Nicolas chain wine store. An intense grenace/cinsault blend vin-de-pay for 2.9 euro (~$4.50).By Christophe - Titus Vineyards
May 29, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
Every summer it seems to the same quest for the perfect rose. A couple constant favorites being Vidal Fleury Tavel for a foreign and Pope Valley Winery Rose for domestic. Hill Family used to make a lovely rose from Malbec but have discontinued the program. I hope they reconsider.By mike
May 29, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this
i’m shocked! an actual blog discussing wine.By Peter
May 28, 2008 4:26 PM | Link to this
Great article on Rose though I am disappointed with some of the selections. Look for the Commanderie de Peyrassol, Valle Reale Cerasuolo, or the Bastianich Rosato. The selections above are a bit commercial, mass produced. It’s great to see someone actually paying attention to one of the largest growth categories in wine though. Roses are the hottest thing going here in CT! I love ‘em!By Bob
May 28, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this
Mark, It’s good to see you get to post some tasting notes. I know how you like your rosés. You make them sound tasty enough that even I may try a few of them.By Jim T.
May 28, 2008 8:14 AM | Link to this
…and nice to see that they are corrected.By Jim T.
May 28, 2008 7:41 AM | Link to this
After seeing all the problems with the apostrophe or acute accent mark I need some of the 14% alcohol in the Vinum Cellars entry. For a very inexpensive wine I’ve always had good luck with the Marques de Caceres from Spain at around 6 or 7 dollars. Not the best, but the price is certainly good.