Category Archives: Rosé

Plage du Sud Pays d´Oc IGP 2013

Next up a Rosé wine from the Languedoc region in France.

Plage du SudNot so long ago, Rosé Wines had colours almost like light red wines and were made with grape varieties like Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. But the fashion has changed, today the fashion is more about more elegant and more refined rosé wines from the Provence region in France and northern Italy. Very pale Rosé’s with very light old pink colours or even salmon-like colours. Plage du Sud is one of those Rosé wines from the south of France that has that pale pink colour rreferring to the Mediterranean feel from the Cote d’Azur. The wine is made with ​​Grenache (60%), Cinsault (35%) and 5% Syrah to give it a slightly heavier body.

Color: Pale old pink. Very elegant looking

Nose: Lots of aroma. Fruity with peach and banana. Sweet and sour in one gulp. The acidity is very nice and refreshing. Peach yoghurt, but also slightly floral, yes it smells of (pink) roses.

Taste: Less complex than the nose and not as aromatic as expected. Nice balance though. Light and simple. Not acidic nor sweet, keeps in the middle. All is in control and very drinkable. After a while the fruity aroma’s return. Quite nice stuff and nobody should be having troubles finishing a bottle like this. Just relax, sit back and enjoy the nice weather looking at people passing by. Do not sip this, drink this with big gulps, it tastes even better that way. Luckily they also sell nice 1,5 litre bottles 🙂

Excellent example of the modern style, pale looking Rosé wines from the south of France. The colours of these wines are really stunning.

Points: 80

Santa Cristina Cipresseto 2007 Rosato Toscana

Summer has arrived here finally and lasts for almost two weeks now.  That is a first! Probably a record has been broken for the last 5 years, since summers lately were less interesting than spring. That gives me lots of chances to try some summery wines in their natural habitat, meaning outside in the garden to be drunk in nice weather. Well I won’t let the sun cloud my palate, so I’ll stay critical. This is already the second wine of Santa Cristina to grace these pages. Earlier I reviewed the Santa Cristina Toscana IGT 2009.

Santa Cristina Cipresseto 2007 Rosato ToscanaColor: Beautiful red salmon.

Nose: Grounded coffee, dust and wet earth. It has a nice depth to it. Next up is the fruit. Some sweet apple juice. Classy stuff. Some floral hints. Meaty, not sweet and not acidic. Well balanced nose, that has a lot to offer.

Taste: Licorice, and a very thin acidity. Some bitterness and some wood. Taken in big gulps, a little bit of meaty body and a hint sweetness come through. The body is even less interesting than the finish, but still as nice as the nose was, the palate is rather disappointing. Totally unbalanced and a bit weak. Tastes a bit as a watered down red wine…

The landscape of Tuscany is utterly stunning, and the nose of this Rosato promises a lot. I’m almost in tears that the palate is…rather weak. It’s almost a dream gone bad! Having said that, the wine is not thát bad. It just could have been better. I have another bottle of this (from the same year). If that one turns out to be different from this one, I’ll rewrite this review. For the moment this one stands. In defence of this Rosato I have to say I probably let this lie around the cellar for to long, but I can’t image that’s it.

Points: 73

Domaine Dupont-Fahn Auxey-Duresses 2011 Cuvée Rosée Bourgogne

Michel Dupont-Fahn is a wine producer from Burgundy. He makes modern wines like ​​Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and some other wines. Michel makes modern wines that are meant to drink young.

As rumour has it, some ten years ago, Michel used part of the Pinot Noir harvest to make this Rosé Wine. Dad was not happy! Obviously red Burgundy Wine fetches more money than a Rosé would.

The grapes are harvested manually and quite late, pressed lightly and fermented in oak barrels that previously held, for ten months, Michel’s Meursault.

Color: Pink salmon, grapefruit.

Nose: Fresh, half acidic, citrus fruits, but also a brooding darker meaty element, that funnily enough, makes the whole very elegant. This smells the business! Perfect fruit-perfume nose (strawberries and blood oranges) and some most. There is actually a lot happening here. Fantastic balance.

Taste: Slightly more acidic at first sip, but that quickly is counteracted by some sweetness (not a lot) and a hint of wood. Taste wise it’s more in the vicinity of a red wine (Pinot Noir) than other Rosé wines. It still keeps its refreshing traits (without the tannins). No off notes whatsoever. The sweetness of the Wine that emerges near the finish is of a deep maple syrup nature, very classy! Great as an aperitif, with fish and salads. This goes down nicely, bring on the sun, I say!

I have to admit, I never was a big fan of Rosé wines, probably that so much of these wines are tampered with, or just not good enough. It’s treated as a sort of B-product after red’s and whites. This one however ticks all of my boxes. Maybe from the tasting notes it is not quite clear why I like this one so much, but I find this a real find! At this time by far my favorite Rosé. I know it’s a bit more expensive than the usual suspects, but in my opinion well worth the money. Recommended! By the way, the ABV on this one is 13%.

Points: 86

Thanks to Richard for the Wine!

Langa Calatayud Rosado (Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon) 2009

Bodega Hermanos Langa was founded in 1867 by Mariano Langa Gallego, and is located near the city of Calatayud in Aragón, Spain. Best known city in Aragón is Zaragoza. Today the fifth generation is at the helm of the company. Combining knowledge with respect for nature is the recipe for making good wines. The Bodega works 100% ecological. The region where the grapes grow is known as “Los Yermos”. The grapes grow on extremely dry soil that lies 600 metres above sea-level.

Langa Rosado 2009This is the Rosé wine Langa makes. This 2009 is made of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The newer versions are made with Merlot rather than Syrah.

Color: Ruby red rosé.

Nose: Slightly acidic and fruity, very fresh ánd warming. Lots of red fruits. Sweet raspberry, but also meaty. Not your regular extra-easy Rosé. It seems as a Rosé with character. A little hint of vanilla and wood. Nicely balanced and it smells like something you’ll drink in a few minutes (and want another bottle).

Taste: Nice. Just the right combination of sweet and sour. Again some vanilla. It’s creamy and it tastes like vanilla to me, not much, just a hint. A lot of red fruits again and very easy drinkable.

I know people think of Rosé’s to be the perfect summer wine. This is precisely that, bu in the middle of winter with typical italian food, this Rosé is perfect too. Not to complex, as the food, but a very good companion. It’s also very nice and easy when you drink this by itself, not to mention it’s quite cheap too. That’s a bg plus today with spanish wines. Now the Syrah got replaced by Merlot, I’m keen to try that one to. I hope they did that to improve the wine. Well I already like this one, so the Merlot version should be great. Recommended!

Points: 81