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Summer Season of Rosé 2020

Summer Season of Rosé 2020

and I love it!

This summer has been a real bummer. Travel is restricted. Face masks hide smiles. Eating at restaurants is just not the same without the hustle and bustle. But there is one thing still happening – Summer Rosé Season. The ‘Rona has put a kibosh on much of summer life that seems like it will not end. But no matter what, there is always summer rosé. And this season, we once again have a full refrigerator of just these wines.

As a refresher: Rosé wine is primarily* made from red wine grapes that are also used to make red wine. To make a rosé, you limit the amount of time the juice has with the skins of the grapes (from where the color comes).  It can be minutes or hours, depending on the color you wish to achieve. *I say primarily because one can blend a red wine and a white wine to produce a rosé, but that technique is not a widely accepted practice except for the making of Champagne.


Locally Purchased at Edmund’s Oast Exchange

 

summer rosé

Summer Season Classic-

Minuty M Rosé 2019 Côtes de Provence · France

This wine takes me back to 2016 at a cafe in Paris, France. Bryan and Gary had us all wandering the streets looking for used vinyl record stores, and Craig and I badly needed a drink. We got it with Minuty M Rosé.

I am so excited that this wine is now a stock item at Edmund’s Oast Exchange. Now we can imagine we are in Paris at any time we want.  This wine is classic Provençal rosé, and its this style that started the summer rosé boom throughout the world. It is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, and 20% Syrah.

It is crisp, clean, delicious. It is one of the higher-priced rosés we buy at $24.00, but with the 12 bottles discount, it puts it at $20, which is where we like our higher-end to land.

 

 

summer rosé

An Oddball Blend from Loire That Kills It-

J. Mourat, Collection, Val de Loire Rosé 2019, Loire, France

This wine has been part of our repertoire on and off since 2017, as it has not always been easy to find. This year the good folks at Edmund’s Oast Exchange brought this baby in, and it has been on steady rotation ever since.

From the area south of Muscadet known as Fiefs Vendéens, this wine is a blend of Pinot Noir,
Cabernet Franc, Négrette, and Gamay Noir. I am not sure of percentages because they do not release that information. No matter, we love it!

J. Mourat, Collection is bright and lively with just a tad of zip on the tongue that diminishes as you work through your glass.  The aromas are lush and bountiful. We found ripe red strawberry, some orange zest, melon on the nose. The body is perfectly weighted for a summer rosé.

The acidity is mouthwatering and carries through to a very long finish.

The palate is fruitful yet more restrained than the nose with ripe strawberry and melon as well.  And that is a good thing.

A perfect hot summer rosé for just $17.00 a bottle

Gary’s Latest Summer Favorite –

Ostatu Rosado 2019, Rioja Alavesa, Spain

This wine was recommended to us by Sarah at Edmund’s Oast Exchange. We were looking for a specific wine, and when she did not have it, she recommended this one. And you know us, we will give anything a try, especially a rosé.

This is probably the lightest colored rosé I have seen. The background makes it look darker in the picture, but it is very much a pale, light pink – cotton candy pink. It also has one of the lightest bodies of all our favorites this summer as well.  Coming from Rioja, I knew this was going to include, if not be, 100% Tempranillo. It turns out to be 70% Tempranillo, 27% Garnacha, 3% Viura.  

We got lingering mouthwatering acidity right out of the gate with a zesty start.  Aromas are light and lean on mineral with restrained red fruit.  The flavors are mineral and savory, with only a touch of cherry and spring flower notes.  Gary is a big fan.  I, on the other hand, did not mind this wine, but I like a bit more heft in the body and the flavor.   It is nicely priced at $16.00 a bottle.

 

An Island Gem

Domaine Vetriccie Rosé 2019, IGP Ile De Beauté, Corsica, France

We discovered this wine through our friends Jenn and Lance. Well, actually, not this one specifically as we shared the Domain Vetriccie Rosé 2019, AOP Corse, which is the next level higher for this Domaine. Unfortunately, because of the stupid tariffs on French wine, the distributor chose not to bring in the higher-priced bottling because the tariffs raised the price beyond the QPR (quality/price ratio) for a rosé.  So we tried the lesser cost bottling and found that while not the same, it is a delicious wine.

This wine shows a pale salmon pink. It is primarily a blend of two Corsican varietals as well as two more widely known varietals.  The blend is 40% Niellucciu, 30% Sciaccarellu, 15% Grenache, 15% Merlot.

The nose is bold and pronounced with hints of red apple peel, strawberry, and melon.  As it sat with my glass, the nose transformed into a mild “juicy fruit gum” aroma from my youth ( in a wonderfully reminiscent way). The palate is more austere with mild but noticeable tannins. It is mineral over fruit as the strawberry and melon took the back seat. Gary and I both enjoy this wine for entirely different reasons.  Me the nose. Gary the palate. And at $12.00, we are all in.

summer rosé

Our “Go-To” Rosé Every Summer

Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Rosé 2019, Languedoc, France

Gassac is our perennial go-to favorite. It stays in our lineup because of its affordability and its relative consistency year over year.

There is a beautiful balance in body, flavor, and acid. It is juicy. The acidity is middle of the road. Predominant fruit is strawberry that is light but perfectly ripe.  The next flavor that comes through for me is pineapple flesh. What I mean by that is, I can taste the flesh sans the tropical acidity.  I think this flavor also gives an assist to the wine’s body.

At $12.00 a bottle, I can not imagine a summer without this wine. 

Edmund’s Oast Exchange is located at 1081-B, Morrison Dr, Charleston, SC 29403 PH (843) 990-9449


Direct from the Winery

The following three rosés are only available direct from the winery. But they are so affordable for DTC wines and delicious that you seriously need to consider a buy. Two are from the same winery, so that is a win-win (or wine-wine – teehee) and save on shipping cost.

Methven Family Vineyards you might recall was introduced to me at the WWET 2018 Willamette Valley Conference.  I hit it off with Laura, the GM, and she came to town (pre-covid), and we did a tasting of 6 of her wines.  I had saved a bottle of the 2018 Gamay Rosé to share with my peeps, and that caused a flurry of orders for the 2019 vintage. The Rosé of Pinot Noir is a new wine for them this year.  The wines could not be more different and delicious.

2019 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon

summer rosé

The grapes for this Rosé of Pinot Noir were picked early to provide the level of acidity that the winemaker wanted. This also resulted in a lighter color as the grapes were not as ripe.

Since receiving my order, I have drunk several bottles already. I have to admit that the flavor profile of this wine has varied for me. I remember a week or so ago being thrilled by the rich cherry notes on the nose and palate. Gary was, at that point, not a fan even though he did not experience the same cherry profile as me.  He could not put his finger on why it just was.

Yesterday, we sat down to taste – not drink but taste. Yesterday, this was Gary’s favorite.

The color has a pale coral center that goes clear out to the edge of your glass. This wine shows medium acidity. The nose is confounding to me because I smell both graphite and citrus peel. The palate is tart with notes of blood orange.

Mild tannins dry your gums once the acidity fades.  It sells for $19.00 a bottle.  I wonder what we will taste the next time we open this wine.

 

summer rosé

2019 Rosé of Gamay Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon

We have also consumed quite a few of this wine as well and had totally a different tasting experience than we did on this most recent bottle. Previous tastings showed much more fruit and more prevalent cherry and raspberry notes.  Not today, but that is ok. It is still a delicious bottle, and I loved every last drop.

This rosé has a bluish-pink center that goes clear to the edge of the glass.

The aromatics of the wine are rich and lush that include hibiscus, cool wintergreen, and a mild light cherry. As the wine warmed in the glass, the cherry came forward more. The palate is bright and tart. Reminiscent of early wild strawberry, cranberry, and for Gary – Sweet Tarts.

Again this tasting is confounding in that it is so different than other bottles.  Oh well, I also look forward to the next time we open a bottle.  This bottle sells for $24.00 a bottle and is the rosé that Methven has been making for several years.

 

2019 Rosé of Grenache, Mokelumne River, Lodi, California

 

Acquiesce Vineyards and Winery, you have heard me speak of a great deal recently since I just did the virtual tasting with 70 wine lovers. If you missed this tasting, you really missed a great time with four lovely, approachable wines. The rosé is a real crowd pleaser and was a big hit that night.

The color is a medium coral with a medium body. The nose is luscious and full of ripe red fruit, including ripe strawberry and raspberry notes. I love this huggable mouthfeel and weight of this wine. The palate offers more strawberry and watermelon. The acidity id mouthwatering and stays with you through to the finish.

This wine was a big hit at the virtual tasting we did a couple of weeks back. Perfect for the hot summer that has finally arrived here in the Lowcountry.

This wine sells for $25.00 a bottle. If you buy a case, you get free shipping.

 


Take a look at the 2018 List, the 2017 List, and I guess I did not make a comprehensive list in 2019 – sorry.

Well, that is all for now!

 

Cheers,

 

Rick & Gary


 

2 Comments

  1. A great list and a few we haven’t had so we’ll be on the lookout now that Rose season is in full swing! Cheers!

  2. Sarah Goldman

    Great list! Thanks!

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