Wine Tasting: Rosé

my favorites of the evening

First, the important advice: you should all go buy the $10 Corsican rosé for the warm nights ahead. What a bargain. OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

A perfect night for rosé, first hot, then with the fog rolling in! Thanks to all who were able to come, it was a bigger crowd than I'd expected for the oft-maligned rosé. All in all, I liked nearly all of the options, spread across many regions and varietals. And many were real values, several of which I will be buying more of (reminder: almost everything I serve comes from K&L Wines, a great SF wine establishment, which has stock left of most of these). The "typical" French Provencal rosé that you find in every supermarket actually performed least well. Let that be a reminder to venture out to the atypical stuff!

Per usual, favorites in bold:

1. Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne ($35): well, it's hardly fair to start with a rosé champagne, since that's not really something that comes to mind when thinking of "inexpensive refresher on a hot evening." But, what can I say, another reminder of why champagne is always the right answer. This one is a particular bargain, since it's hard to find good pink bubbly for less than $50. This one is a blend of half and half Pinot Noir and Meunier, with 12% of the Meunier that is vinified red.
2. 2014 Domaine Lafage "Miraflors" Côtes du Roussillon Rosé ($15): what I think of as "typical" rosé that appears this time of year, nondescript, quaffable, but you can do so much better for the same price (like #5, 6, 9).
3. 2014 Arnot-Roberts "Luchsinger Vineyard" Lake County Touriga Nacional Rosé ($25): I really love this wine, which has a softer, more relaxed style that most of the others. I also liked the 2013. Not exactly a "bargain," but special.
4. 2014 Ameztoi "Rubentis" Rosé Getariako Txakolina ($20): say it with me "chalk-o-leena". The refreshing, slightly fizzy wine of choice in Catalan, this one is predominantly Hondarribi Zuri, with 10% Hondarribi Beltza from 20- to 25-year-old vines, fermented in stainless. More bracing, less fruit and floral than most of the others we tried. I really liked it.
5. 2014 Terra Santa Ile de Beaute Rosé (Corsica) ($10): wow, the killer bargain of the night. This Corsican wine is 100% Sciaccarellu, a grape native to the island. Lovely balance, refreshing but with enough texture to shine as the fifth tasting of the evening. Buying more of this, for sure (here's the link).
6. 2014 Ostatu Rosado Rioja ($14): proving, again, that everything from Rioja is more interesting than the price would suggest. This is a blend of Tempranillo with some Garnacha and Viura, showing more structure and substance than most of the others, but still refreshing.
7. 2014 Bedrock Wine Company "Ode to Lulu" Rosé ($21): this was a bit of a disappointment, especially since I've enjoyed it in the past and seen it on many good restaurant menus around town. Might just have been too late in the line-up to stand up to the palate fatigue. But, whatever the reason, this didn't show well.
8. 2013 Clos Cibonne Tibouren "Cuvée Speciale des Vignettes" Côtes de Provence Rosé ($30): ah, the most polarizing wine of the evening. Intense, serious, nothing like the casual rosé you expect, almost like a red wine. Here's what Galloni had to say, which I think nails it: "Shows a distinctly mineral, oily, almost saline quality that's reminiscent of big-time Chablis (yes, really!) and finishes with superb energy, thrust and length." Hard for me to spend $30 for a rosé, but with the right food pairing, this could be very memorable (but sadly out of stock at K&L). 
9. 2014 Rocca di Montegrossi Rosato ($16): probably the consensus crowd favorite, helped along by fortuitous placement toward the end of the line-up, where the very slight sweetness at the end provided a nice lift above the others. A blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Canaiolo Nero from Tuscany, this would be welcome on any summer table. Buying more.
10. 2014 Gunderloch "Fritz's Rosé" Rheinhessen ($14): "This refreshing German pink is made from 95% Pinot Meunier and 5% Portugieser, has just a minute touch of residual sugar, which makes is a stellar pairing for something spicy." Exactly. Someone suggested Thai pumpkin curry, which I agree with, wholeheartedly. While this wasn't my favorite of the evening, it was the wine that could go places that none of the others would survive.