Tag Archives: Provence

Mini-reviews 97: More rose wine reviews

rose wine reviewsReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month. This time, more rose wine reviews for the blog’s 10th rose anniversary

Our 10th annual rose post: Memorial Day and rose 2017

• Alta Vista Rose 2016 ($13, sample, 12%): This Argentine dark pink is one of the best malbec roses I’ve ever had, with less cloying fruit and more freshness. Strawberries, raspberry, perhaps? Highly recommended.

• Saleya Rose 2016 ($15, sample, 13%): Not quite $15 worth of wine (it’s a little thin, which is common with the 2016 Provence roses) and not as enjoyable as the legendary Bieler Pere et Fils, but a decent example of the Provencal style with some tart red fruit.

• Francois de Thienpont Pin des Dunes Rose 2015 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): This French rose, from Bordeaux, is fresh, tart, and delicious, with raspberry fruit and even some earth. It’s highly recommended, but listed here instead of this year’s rose post because of our old pal availability – there might not be much of it in the U.S. this year.

• Villa Wolf Rose 2015 ($10, purchased, 12%): German rose made with pinot noir that has a little fizz, just a touch of sugar, nice German-style acidity, and berry fruit. This is sort of what the Toad Hollow rose used to be before Big Wine got hold of it (without the spritz).

My lunch with Provence

Provence roseRegular visitors here know how much the Wine Curmudgeon loves rose, and how much I want to share that enthusiasm with the rest of the wine world. Hence my excitement to attend a Provence rose lunch this week, given that that Provence (located in southern France on the Mediterranean) is to rose what Napa Valley is to cabernet sauvignon and Burgundy is to chardonnay.

And I was not disappointed. Rose accounts for 80 percent of Provence’s production, and its producers have learned a thing or two in the 1,500 years they’ve been making it. The region’s grapes are cultivated specifically to make rose, and not to make something else where the rose is an afterthought. And there’s even a rose research center — call it the UC-Davis for pink wine.

Best yet, Provencal rose is still cheap, something that the lunch’s host, Wines of Provence, emphasized at every opportunity. Talk about being in pink wine heaven.

The best wines we had, and one of them wasn’t even rose (prices are suggested retail, which will probably be a couple of dollars less in the store):

? Domaine Houchart Rose 2013 ($15, sample, 12.5%): One of the best roses I’ve ever had, with depth and a roundness that most pink wines at this price, no matter how well made, rarely have. Not too much fresh red berry fruit, crisp, and bone dry. Chill this, and you’ll never want another wine all summer.

? La Vidaubanaise Le Provencal 2013 ($15, sample, 12%): A notch below the Houchart, but that’s hardly a criticism. More fresh red berries, nice acid balance, and even a little melon on the back. Another terrific value.

? Chateau de Berne Terres de Berne 2013 ($20, sample, 13%): It speaks to the wine’s quality that I’m including it here, since it’s not $10. A flowery aroma, almost white fruit flavors, some spice (believe it or not), and so fresh it was hard to believe. Availability may be limited.

? Rimaresque Cru Classe Rose 2013 ($24, sample, 13%): Rose for people who think they need to spend more than $10 for wine, with a rich mouth feel, minerality on the back, and a little more heft, given that cabernet sauvignon is one of the eight grapes in the blend.

? Domaine Houchart Rouge 2011 ($15, sample, 14.5%): How a red wine with this much alcohol can be this light and enjoyable is apparently one of those things you pick up in 15 centuries of winemaking. A blend that shows off its grenache and carignan, with cherry fruit and some spiciness. Highly recommended, and don’t be afraid to chill it a bit.