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Thinking
Pink - A Rosé for Every Taste
©
Michael Vaughan 2006
National Post
Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday,
June 3, 2006
LIVE
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The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. Call
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With the onslaught of heat earlier this week, I found myself sitting
outside dining al fresco. We were having our salad appetizers: one a
garlicky Caesar, the other a tuna-laden salad Nicoise. I couldn't find a
red on the wine list that was going to work, or even for that matter a
really appropriate white. I then remembered rosé, that almost totally
forgotten colour which can offer great versatility and refreshment value.
Happily, the rosé worked perfectly throughout the meal.
Ironically, one would think that wine importers and local producers would be beating down the doors trying to get a smidgen of exposure for their seasonal wares. And yet to date, only three Ontario and two imported rosés have landed on my tasting desk for assessment! It all seems quite incredible, because when I check out the LCBO general list and find that there are apparently some 63 items on tap. Well almost, quite a number of listings, such as the somewhat sweetish Bad Dog Rosé have now been discontinued. It is hard to make stringent LCBO quotas when rosé seems to be such a seasonal item. This combined by lethargic efforts to get things tasted does not help the "think pink" cause.
I am always surprised that some ardent wine lovers adamantly refuse to try rosé. Perhaps it was a bad adolescent experience with an excessive amount of Pink Flamingo, which for me meant more than one sip. Or perhaps, simply being tapped out by sweetish, fruit cocktail flavours of overflowing jugs of White Zinfandel. In fact, there is a rosé for every taste. It is only a matter of finding the right one for your own palate, as well as one that matches the food.
Recently
released seasonal buys on the general list include Casillero
del Diablo 2005 Shiraz Rosé (614016) at $10.95
from Chile's Central Valley by the house of Concha y Toro. It has a light
reddish rose colour and spicy, baked apple nose. On the palate it is
fairly dry with gently spicy, slightly honeyed, plummy, ripe red apple
flavours.
Most rosé is made by fermenting the grapes at a low temperature in the same method as white wine so as to retain freshness. In some instances, the rose is made from blending white and red grape varieties. In the case of Casillero del Diabalo only red Shiraz (aka Syrah) grapes are used. When making a deeply coloured red, the pale juice is left to on the dark skins (a pre-fermentation process referred to as maceration) whereby they absorb colour and flavour compounds. When producing rosé, the grape juice is "bled" from the tank when the appropriate level of "pink" colour has been achieved. This process is called saignée meaning bleeding.
Obviously
the grape will have a lot to do with the colour and flavour of the rosé.
Take last week's Vintages in-store discovery: Heitlinger
2004 Etage du Chef Open Air Rosé (695114) at
$14.95, which comes from the warm southern German Baden region. This 100%
Pinot Noir has a pale pink colour and delicate, slightly honeyed,
plum-melon flavours along with 13% alcohol. Perfect for summer salads.
From
the French Côtes du Rhone region comes the just-released (General List),
very tasty, day-glo pink coloured Ted
The Mule 2005 Rosé (622126) at only $11.95 from
the house of Caves des Papes. This blend of Syrah and Grenache has even
more alcohol (14%), although you can't taste it. What you do have are very
pleasant, gently honeyed, ripe melon aromas and dry, harmonious,
medium-light bodied, attractive, ripe plum and strawberry flavours.
Moving on to Vintages, there are many others to choose from, previous releases as well as a stream of up and coming items. Take Ontario's VQA Malivoire 2004 Ladybug Rosé (559088) at $15.00, which was released in Vintages on April 15th and comes with a screwtop closure. It is quite dry rosé and medium bodied with fairly crisp, slightly spicy, attractive, ready-to-enjoy, plummy, strawberry-tinged flavours. There is still good availability.
Also
currently available is the delicious Vintages Essential Henry
of Pelham 2005 Dry Rosé (613471) - a bargain at
$11.95. One the best efforts yet, this unusual blend of 67% Zweigelt,
27.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Syrah and 1.5% Riesling has only 11% alcohol
and is perfect for enjoying today! Look for a dry, light, crisp rosé with
lots of mouth watering, plummy, raspberry fruit.
Another
fine buy from Ontario is Chateau
des Charmes 2005 Cuvée d'Andrée VQA Rosé
(333260) at $13.95, which is being released next Saturday in Vintages June
10th meaning you can order it prior to the release by 11 am this Tuesday
(June 6) for delivery to your local LCBO store nearest your cottage. This
blend of 45% Gamay, 27.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27.5% Cabernet Franc has
a bright reddish violet rosé colour and 13% alcohol. It has a spicy,
honeyed, ripe plum and dried strawberry nose and crisp, dry, refreshing,
ripe red apple flavours.
Also,
better Vintages rosés seem to come and go. Just when you need it, certain
Vintages items, like Spain's Gran
Fuedo 2004 Rosé (256149) at $10.95, which was
released February 4 is now out of stock. Thankfully, the new 2005
shipment will hit the shelves on June 10th. t has a deep reddish pink
colour with a bright, plummy, dried strawberry nose. On the palate, it is
dry, tangy and fairly well structured with harmonious, ripe plum and
strawberry flavours. There are 1,400 cases on hand.
Of
the 13 rosés being released next Saturday in Vintages, one of my
favourites is the very slightly sweetish Bonny
Doon 2005 Vin Gris de Cigare Rosé (707018) at
$17.95. It has a light reddish rosé colour with gently honeyed, plumy,
melon and ripe plums flavours with a crisp, dryish finish and screwcap
closure. My only beef is the price, which is up $2 from a year ago despite
the huge rise in the Canadian dollar!
2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006
Tasting Note Database
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Vintages release product for the past 64 months. There are more than
12,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product,
supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country
of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. Also you can get information on the agent by clicking on the
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
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