Rose’ notes from NVWE Blog

More nice words for Lulu!

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I Run for the Rosé

For the last decade or so California Rosé has experienced steady growth in both production and quality, the latter to the point where anticipation for upcoming releases is now one of my personal Spring hallmarks.
Three recent releases are particularly gratifying: one for its purity and infectious drinkability; another for its depth and potential for improvement; the third, a sparkler, for its remarkable overall quality.
The 2008 Elizabeth Rosé of Syrah was a joyful surprise on multiple levels. Its color is a striking pink of great clarity. Its aromas and mid-palate flavors are a gale-force blast of spring freshness, while its lingering finish is a knife-edged contest between vibrant fruit and zesty dryness.
The Elizabeth includes 7% Zinfandel and is produced from two plots carved out of famous Yountville and Oakville Cabernet vineyards at a significant financial loss to the producers. When they told me the source of the fruit, I told them that intentionally producing a blush wine in the heart of Cab country made no sense to me whatsoever. I don’t think I stopped berating them until I tasted the wine.
The 2008 Bedrock Rosé of Mourvedre from old vines in Sonoma Valley is nicknamed “Ode to Lulu”, to honor the legendary proprietor of Bandol’s Domaine Tempier. Tempier’s Mourvedre Rosé is France’s definition of the sophisticated and age-worthy style.
“Ode to Lulu” is paler in color than Elizabeth, and its aromas are just beginning to express the minerally-earthy, slightly bark-like undercurrents that define a Bandol blush. Its fruit components of strawberry and plum and a custard-like richness seem to float in the ether above. On the palate, this is a quietly delicious and dinner-worthy wine, destined to grow deeper and more exotic over the next year or so.
Neither of the preceding beauties however, offered the drama of the 2005 Schramsberg North Coast Rosé, which was such a revelation that it was distracting. My thoughts kept returning to it as I tasted through their other wines. Schramsberg’s delicious Reserve and J Schram bottlings, poured beside it and sold at more than twice the retail price, could not compete with the Rosé’s intensity, lovely fruit character and chiseled focus.
I was determined to build a Spring dinner around the Schramsberg, to see if it was really that good or if I was crazy when I first tried it. Last Saturday was the test. I paired it with grilled prawns, left 4 hours in a smoked paprika, lemon and olive oil marinade; cold asparagus in vinaigrette; potato rolls (hot out of the oven); and a cold salad of baby rose potatoes, golden beets, kumquats, sliced shallots and tarragon all steeped in an orange juice, lemon and olive oil dressing and served over butter lettuce.
The result was something near perfection. Not only did the wines fruity-minerally personality perfectly match the dinner, but the second bottle was better than the first! It was not only the best domestic Rosé I have ever tasted and the best Schramsberg bottling I have had ever had, it was in the running as the best California Sparkling wine I have ever had. If the bottles prove consistent, I may have to give up everything else for a while.
My full notes on these beauties can be found here on our website at www.nvwe.com.