This warm weather has me thinking about rosé wines. The rule of thumb about rosé is that you should always drink the “freshest” vintage, so that means we should now be sipping the 2017 vintage.
However, not so fast…..there is plenty of 2016 to be found, and I recommend not passing it up. The higher quality rosé ages nicely and can be consumed at least one or maybe two years later. Special pricing is available for some of these 2016 vintages. Please give me a call to find out what is available. Or check out the website.
My thoughts about rosé in general are that as the popularity of these wines has skyrocketed, the quality as plummeted. So much of it is simply without much taste and character. With this is mind, I believe you will find our rosé selection to be thoughtfully curated and well priced.
Wine of the Week
Speaking of quality rosé, this week I want to highlight a most unusual and delightful rosé.
Clos Cibonne Cuvée Tradition Rosé, 2016. The heart of this wine is the rarely used Provençal grape, Tibouren. The Roux family has been the proprietor of the Cibonne estate since 1797. In the 1930’s, André Roux made a bold decision to rip out the estate’s more commonly grown Mourvèdre vines and replace them with the rarely grown provençal grape, Tibouren. Since then Clos Cibonne has become synonymous with this varietal and even received special permission from the A.O.C. to list the grape on their label.
The grape alone separates this wine from its peers but in addition, the wine is not simply fermented in stainless steel and then bottled, as are most rosé wines. After fermentation, this wine is aged on the lees for one year in 100 year-old chestnut foudres. This aging process makes the current vintage 2016, not 2017, as in most other rosé wines.
The use of this rare grape and the unique aging process makes this a wine that is completely its own. I am proud to offer it, and I urge you to try it!
Put on your Calendar
Don’t miss the two tastings we have coming up:
Thursday, March 1st: we will have a tasting of wines from the Loire Valley. We will taste six wines…whites, reds, rosé and sparkling. All great examples of the special character of wines from this region of France. Sign up here to attend!
Thursday, March 22nd: Kaitlin Ohlinger, with Advintage Distributing, will be here to taste Pinot Noir from the west coast. I have found her to be very wine savvy. Come hear what she has to say and taste six different pinot's.
Both tastings will be limited in size so please register in advance. The cost is $10.00 per person, which can be used as a credit towards your purchase.
Also, don’t forget to mark your calendar for our Rosé Soirée which will be held here on April 22nd. This open house event will give you the opportunity to taste and to purchase from a selection of 15 different rosé wines from the old and new worlds. There is no better way to start your summer wine season!
Rocky Menge – The Wine Guy
803.714.3320