Recently Michael Perlis and I were presented with a few new Rosé wines for review. We didn’t taste together so below you will see notes by either K&MP (Yes, Michael enlisted his wife Karen to help with the hard work) or EB. I will first share the tantalizing invitation, and below that are descriptions of the wines from the wineries followed by our own tasting notes:
Rosé season is finally upon us! We are excited to present our selection of newly released 2020 Rosés, which come in a beautiful spectrum of pink shades. While these are wonderful wines for year-round enjoyment, there’s just something special about sipping a glass of pink during the springtime, when the weather begins to feel warmer, flowers bloom and days start to lengthen.
Jean-Luc Colombo Cape Bleue Rosé 2020 (750ml/$14.99): Jean-Luc Colombo is an estate built upon innovation, passion, and dedication to winemaking. From the stony, limestone vineyards nestled in the hills above the bay of Marseille near Provence comes Cape Bleue Rosé – a wine of pure elegance and freshness with pronounced raspberry aromas over a core of red fruit, classic watermelon and peach notes. An elegant mouthfeel, fluid and round with ample length and crisp finish. K&MP: Very intense with flavors of Gala apple and Anjou pear from the Mourvedre that wrap around the smokiness of the Syrah. We paired the wine with a roasted Pork Loin marinated in a ginger scallion sesame sauce with a few red pepper flakes thrown in. The wine was a great accompaniment. This was MP’s favorite – guess he’s a cheap date.
Côté Mas Aurore Rosé Pays d’Oc IGP 2020 (750ml/$13.99): Côté Mas Aurore Rosé captures the essence of its Mediterranean region’s charm, offering a rich and smooth palate full of cherry, strawberry and floral aromas evolving toward soft candied fruit notes. The palate is rich and smooth with ripe red fruits and well-balanced acidity. Enjoy as an aperitif or pair with grilled chicken, shrimp, and goat cheese salads. EB: I’ll admit I chose this wine to review as the label design attracted me: a couple from the past – he wore an old fashioned straw hat – sitting for some wine with the vineyard in the background, all painted with pastel pinks, blue, yellow and green. The color of the wine itself, a pastel pink, coordinated perfectly. Now, to smell, I got aromas of cherry blossoms, fresh cut watermelon, lemon and lime zest, dried berries and wet stones; for the flavor there was welcoming crisp apple, juicy red fruit, and a mild to medium acidity which gave away to a nice length. We enjoyed this as recommended, as an aperitif. 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 10% Syrah and 10% Vermentino. I would buy this wine.
Valdo Prosecco DOC Rosé 2020 (750ml/$15.99): One of the must-try wines from the newly approved category designation, Prosecco DOC Rosé, Marca Oro has a lovely pink hue and persistent perlage. On the nose, inviting floral notes lead to apple, pear, and small red berries. The palate is delicate, fruity, pleasantly harmonious with a long finish. This is perfect as an aperitif, and it pairs perfectly with pasta, fish, and tartare. EB: The color, of a perfectly ripe peach, and oodles of dancing bubbles definitely drew me in, including the three Prosecco lovers that shared this bottle with me. On the nose there was a wealth of raspberry, strawberry, toasted French baguette, wet river rock and white flower – all very enticing. One guest commented on the taste that the bubbly was fruit forward, as I got with more than a hint of ripe raspberry, bright strawberry, a feeling of general freshness, a nice low acidity, and that same raspberry from the nose to the taste lingered through to the finish. Pinot Noir and Glera grapes. My guests took photos of the wine in the hopes of finding it. I would also like to find this wine again.
Bertani Bertarose 2020 (750ml/$19.99): Bertarose is one of the oldest wines of the Bertani winery, and a blend of 75% Molinara and 25% Merlot grapes. Fresh aromas of pomegranate and red currants with notes of white flowers. Decisive on the palate, medium bodied with deft balance between acidity and tanginess. Excellent length. Perfect as an aperitif, it also goes well with salads, delicate-flavored pasta dishes and white meat. K&MP: Very clean nose and finish. Nice smooth mouthfeel as well. We got some citrus/lemon notes as well as pear. This wine was very refreshing yet full bodied enough to stand up to the mini-Reubens that we paired it with. They’ve been making this wine since the 1930s and they definitely know what they are doing. Very interesting blend as well as the approach of fermenting the Molinara on the skins and the Merlot off the skins. Makes for a pretty complex wine, which is not unexpected for a winery credited with creating the first commercial dry Amarone.
Planeta Sicilia DOC Rosé 2020 (750ml/$19.99): A blend of 50% Nero d’Avola and 50% Syrah, this fresh, fruit-forward rosé represents all the feelings of a Sicilian summer. The fresh aromas of strawberry make it a marvelously friendly wine, and easy to drink. Enjoy Planeta Rosé in good company, as an aperitif with tapas, raw fish, fresh salads or alone with seasonal fruit. K&MP: Light in color and nose, which makes sense as the wine is vinified like a white wine. Fragrance of Jasmine tea leaves. Seemed to bounce off the palate with its brightness. We paired this with a margarita pizza that we had added smoked salmon to and it matched perfectly. This would be great on a late summer California afternoon/evening with passed appetizers.
Find where to purchase any of these wines via Taub Family Selections:
https://www.taubfamilyselections.com/
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
We’ve actually known Guillaume Fabre of Clos Solene 
Since he had moved to Texas a few years ago he had been working in real estate, spent some time working in a large wine store, met more ex-pats (people that had come from California too) and ran a large wine tasting group. I didn’t offer any advice on how to open his bar as he had it covered. But I took to Facebook to ask my local pals what they would want stocked in the shelves if they owned a wine bar. They had some really great ideas! These are some of their comments:
The two cans I tried below did turn me around. There was no problem with the flavor in these lighter-styled wines sparkling wines:
Phinney’s Locations TX 7 is a phenomenal Red Blend made in collaboration with local grower and producer Kim McPherson. A “Rhone” blend of Shiraz/Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, Grenache…
Château de Berne Inspiration 2017, $20
Lake County, a small wine growing region directly north of Napa, used to be part of Napa County and was said to have grown as many grapes as Napa in the 1900s. However, the 1920 Prohibition brought an end to Lake County wine production as vines were removed and planted with other crops.
Starting with Ampelos we met with Matt, a “cellar rat” at the winery and tasting room staffer. We went through their current lineup of wines to taste, but only after first noting the unique tasting notes done by their marketing director. Instead of the usual aromas and flavors, these tasting notes also called up more memories, or visions, of where each wine could take you. For example, the 2019 Santa Barbara County Viognier was described as, “The click clack of rails, puffs of jasmine glinted steam, the sneaky smile of a Mandarin orange sun. Teak wood bar, juicy pineapple rings, shaved coconut flesh, the sway of palm trees passing quickly by. A new day swaggers through the lounge car with unlimited possibilities while I ride alongside ‘phi’ the ‘golden girl’ of my dreams.” These kind of tasting notes, albeit not for everyone, makes the writer in me want to strive much harder. It’s boring to read, “jasmine, orange, teak, pineapple” alone. Now, moving on and back to the tasting, and my tasting notes, I found the fruit in the Viognier to be fresh with a lovely mouthfeel. A great start to our tasting.
We began with the 2018 “Zoto” Chardonnay that Jason said had “marginally less oak” than their Estate Chardonnay. I found it slightly acidic, akin to a Sauvignon Blanc, with both tart and buttery notes. Then we tried three more Chards, all very good. We preferred the 2017 Estate Chardonnay for its notes of Meyer lemon, white peach, pear and a hint of strawberry in a delicate balance, for only $28 a bottle. We liked the 2017 Reserve Chardonnay, from the 809 clone, and 50% new French oak, with tropical fruit including pineapple, papaya and a floral nose. The last white we tried was the 2018 Estate Viognier. The wine called up memories of lemon-lime soda, stone fruit, wet stones with a nice low acidity.