Memorial Day and rose 2021

The blog’s 14th annual Memorial Day and rose celebration reminds us how wonderful pink wine is — and how little it needs to cost

Yes, there’s lots of bad pink wine news as the blog celebrates its 14th annual Memorial Day rose extravaganza — too many so called dry roses that are actually sweet, too many $20 roses that aren’t appreciably better than $10 roses, and the lingering effects of the Trump wine tariff, which means higher prices and limited availability.

But who cares? Many of us can drink rose with our friends and family this weekend for the first time in more than a year, as the pandemic begins to loosen its grip. And the tariff, thanks to enlightened leadership in the U.S. and EU, looks like it will end sooner rather than later.

So nuts to the bad stuff, and let’s drink great, cheap, delicious — and honest — rose. And that means not sweet, not high in alcohol and not tannic. And don’t forget the blog’s rose primer and the rose category (from the dropdown menu on the lower right), which lists 14 years of rose reviews.

One note: I have not been to find the 2020 vintages of the Spanish Zestos and the French La Viellie Ferme and Mont Gravet roses, all of which are always worth buying. However, there is still lots of the 2019s, and they’re still top-notch.

Today, six standout roses – each highly recommended. Tomorrow, five more roses worth writing about:

• Bielet Pere et Fils Sabine Rose 2020 ($13, sample, 12.5%): Prices are all over the place for this French pink, which is one of the world’s best every year — as little as $10 or $11 to as much as $16 or $17. The 2020 is terrific again — pleasantly tart strawberry fruit and wonderfully fresh, if not  quite what the 2019 was (maybe missing some garrigue?). Talk about setting a high bar. Imported by Bieler et Fils

• Pedroncelli Dry Rose of Zinfandel 2020 ($13, sample, 13.7%): Each year, Pedroncelli turns out a rose that shows off a more traditional California style. That means heavier, but not heavy, and darker, deeper fruit (red berries and cherry), but still long and clean. So different and interesting and well worth buying.

• Faisao Vinho Verde Rose NV ($10/1 liter, purchased, 10.5%): How can vinho verde — and pink vinho at that — be made so well and taste like wine? A little spritzy, something akin to lemon strawberry fruit, and not so sweet you’d notice it if you weren’t looking for it. Imported by Winesellers Ltd.

• LaValentina Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Rose 2019 ($12, purchased, 13,5%): The Italian Wine Guy and I tasted a quite delicious $20 rose from the same region in Italy, which made me appreciate this one that much more. Fruity (cherries?) and almost savory. A fine example of a not too common style. Imported by Dallas Terra

• Apaltagua Carmenere Rose 2020 ($13, sample, 13.5%): This is a Chilean rose, made with a uniquely Chilean grape, but that resembles classic Spanish rose. That means almost orange-ish in color, barely ripe berry fruit, sort of savory, and very clean and crisp. Once again, an exampole that all roses aren’t alike. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Charles & Charles Rose 2020 ($12, sample, 11.8%): Winemakers Charles Bieler and Charles Smith combine on this Washington state rose, which shows up on this list every year. This vintage displays its usual brilliance — very Provencal in the back, almost tart, and with terrific strawberry fruit from the syrah. This, too, is priced from $12 to $17.

More about Memorial Day and rose:
• Memorial Day and rose 2020
• Memorial Day and rose 2019
• Memorial Day and rose 2018
• Wine of the week: Chateau de Campuget Rose 2019

Photo: Justin Aikin, via Unsplash