Roses (With some surprises - Good and Bad)

Last night one of my groups met to try some Rose's from around the world. This is one category I try every year to like and each year there are a few more that I find I really like. We sampled the wines blind, over the course of a couple hours. Breads and cheeses were served. Blind tasting is interesting. I believe it eliminates some prejudices but, especially in a mass tasting setting, creates others. Still, at the end of the day, I was surprised with some of the results.

• 2009 Mohua Sauvignon Blanc 86 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Silvery, green, yellow in color. The nose and the palate reminded me of those small metal (Dole?) cans of grapefruit juice with the foil tabs. Blind, it seemed likely to be NZ Sauvignon Blanc. A nice refreshing wine that would be good as an aperitif on the front porch. Not much complexity but easy to drink and tasty. A nice tang of acidity.

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• 2009 Edmunds St. John Gamay Noir Bone-Jolly Rosé Witters Vineyard 82 Points

  USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County

  I was disappointed by this one. To be fair, some wine get hurt in a tasting environment. Blind or not, they just don't show as well next to other wines, and if consumed on their own, seem much better. That may be the case here and I will be curious how this shows on the next bottle. Certainly my last bottle left me with better impressions on both the nose and the palate.
  Strawberry in color. The nose is tight showing a bit of strawberries. On the palate, this is watery and thin. With air, some watermelon qualities came out. This was so much lighter and thinner than the rest of the wines. Screw capped. Not sure what happened here, but the group was pretty consistent about this one.

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• 2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Rosé d'folie 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais

  Very nice showing for this wine. It was my WOTN. Strawberry in color with slight orange hues. Great nose of watermelon and minerals. On the palate, big cherry notes with some strawberries. Smooth. Some watermelon on the finish. Just a delicious wine.

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• 1998 R. López de Heredia Rioja Rosado Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia 87 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

  A very interesting wine. Copper in color. The nose is "sherried" with slight camphor notes and some cherries. On the palate, this is more lively with minerals and cherries. The finish has some oranges turning to a cherry/oxidized finish. This begs for some salty food. Quite interesting but definitely not for everyone. Not as good as some prior vintages I can remember tasting though.

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• 2007 Les Vignerons de Tavel Tavel Prestige des Lauzeraies 83 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Tavel

  The group liked this a bit more than I. Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose is vacant. With some coaxing, raspberries come out. Slightly sweet with a raspberry juice quality. Clipped, slightly bitter finish. Seemed tired and I was not surprised to see it an 07. Actually for an 07, it is in pretty good shape.

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• 2009 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Rosé 83 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  Another disappointing showing IMO. From Cab Franc. Pale pink in color, perhaps the lightest color on the table. No nose at all. Refreshing watermelon juice on the palate. Nice, a bit watery, but lacking any stuffing or interest.

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• 2009 Domaine de la Mordorée Tavel La Dame Rousse 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Tavel

  Deep strawberry in color. The nose has a nice watermelon quality. Complex on the palate with strawberries and minerals. Long nice finish with a slight bitterness. This was very nice but for $36 Ohio, it is priced way too high to make sense.

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• 2009 Isabel Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  The shocker (for me) of the tasting. Bill, our host, threw it in, just to see if he could find a wine his wife would like. Deep ruby/magenta in color. The nose is sweet watermelon. On the palate, cherries with slight watermelon notes. Long, slightly bitter finish. This has the most depth of fruit. It is slightly sweet but not nearly what I would have expected. Quite tasty. At $17 Ohio, this would be a party wine that everyone would like. It was the groups WOTN.

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• 2009 Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis 87 Points

  Spain, País Vasco, Getariako Txakolina

  I suppose I should have let people know ahead of time what this wine was. But, as we were drinking blind, I let it go. The groups last place wine as I think for many, it was just too odd. Perhaps not, perhaps they just didn't like it. In any event, I enjoyed it more than the group.
  Salmon pink in color. Lots of frothy bubbles, much more so than expected even for this style of wine. The nose was Faygo Red Pop. On the palate, it is all about minerals with little fruit. Some seltzer qualities. Long rhubarb finish. This really could use some food and in fact, I think would work very at the table.

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