The 2017 crop of rosé
PAID CONTENT
At long last the temperature is due to cross the 70-degree threshold this coming week. As the warm weather and sunshine arrive, so does the new crop of dry rosé, our most favorite of summer wines. When the weather turns warm and we venture outside after enduring snow, rain and cold, nothing goes better than the bone-dry, crisp and zippy pink wines of summer. Gone are the sweet and cloying white Zinfandels of so many years ago, replaced by these lovely light bodied and again dry “quaffers.” Here are our favorites for the coming summer.
The 2017 Garzon Rosé of Pinot Noir ($20, wine club price $18) impressed us so much that we put it in our wine club for May. For our wine club members this is great news; you will get yours within the week. For those not in our club, we did secure a bit more beyond our club requirements, so a small amount will be available. Making this even more unusual, the grapes are grown and the wine is made in Uruguay! The nose shows light floral notes and minerality leading to a palate that is apple-noted, and like all we will highlight here, has perfect acid, keeping the wine clean and crisp on the finish.
Each year our most popular dry rosé is the Skylark Pink Belly; the 2017 vintage just got here ($22, wine club price $19.80). John Lancaster and his team at Skylark have crafted another gem. Like previous years, and like the best rosés from the south of France, it is made from 100 percent Grenache. Mineral notes and fruit aromas of spring berry lead to a palate loaded with flavors of the red fruits of summer: strawberry, raspberry, cherry and watermelon. The wine is as clean, crisp and zippy as it has been every summer. We received just over 50 cases and are now down to just eight, it will be gone before we know it.
The 2017 Père Anselme Côtes de Provence rosé ($16, wine club price $14.40) was a breakthrough wine for us this year. Typically, the Provencal pink wines don’t release until the fall, a bit too late for our summer rush here in North Idaho, but the Anselme is an early arriver. The blend is Grenache and Mourvédre, and the 2017 is our favorite we have ever tasted from them. It shows aromas of ripe summer peaches, with peach notes repeating across the palate leading to a crisp finish with perfectly balanced acid. It is joy in a glass!
Sporting some newly redesigned packaging, the 2017 Sean Minor Rosé of Pinot Noir ($16, wine club price $14.40) really impressed this year. We have found recently that many domestic producers of rosé who are using Pinot Noir are making the wines a bit too weighty and a bit too soft, resulting in a wine that seems, well, “flabby.” Not Sean Minor though! He nailed it! Crisp acid across the palate balances ripe cherry and strawberry notes for just a perfect summer rosé; find a shady spot with some prosciutto wrapped melon and creamy rich cheese and summer is set.
One of our favorites each year, and a wine that typically shows up on the list at Tony’s on the Lake, is the Cipresseto Rosé, ($15, wine club price $13.50) from Tuscany. This rosé is crafted from Sangiovese by the Antinori family and represents the best from Italy. More citrus than berry noted, the wine is a crisp, sleek and zippy pucker-fest that will be perfect on the hottest of summer days. A small amount of 2016 remains, then right into the 2017. I have tasted both and they are both delicious. Given that the 2017 is just arriving it will be available longer into the summer months than some of the others.
This is indeed the trick with rosé each year — that our early arriving pink wines sell out. There will be more though, and we are always on the prowl for more that will fill the demand all the way until our weather turns cold again. No thinking about that right now though. Just thinking of the warm sun drenched days ahead and the perfect wine companion-rosé! Stop by the shop throughout summer to see the ever evolving lineup.
If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.
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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party — a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018. George is also published in several other publications around the country. After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.