2010 Mazzei Tenuta Belguardo Maremma Toscana Rose

So summer is starting to wind down a bit, at least it's been a little cooler over the last few days, and I was planning to have some seafood for dinner, so what better way to enjoy a nice Rose?  After all, roses have been such hot commodities this summer, 2012 has practically turned into the summer of rose!  So tonight I opened a nicely chilled bottle of 2010 Mazzei Tenuta Belguardo Maremma Toscana Rose, say that three times fast!

This wine is a lovely rose made from half Sangiovese and half Syrah that displays a lovely pinkish orange hue in the glass.  The nose is a variety of fresh strawberry, citrus and fresh grass.  The taste is remarkably dry, with barely a hint of sweet fruit, such that you might think you were drinking the red version had it not been for the color and temperature!  The taste is wonderfully bright and crisp, with flavors of orange and pear, with a short, but firm finish.

Tonight I paired this wine with perhaps the perfect dinner, starting with a fresh arugula salad with Tuscan spiced olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then some pan seared sea scallops and rigatoni with fresh pesto made with basil I picked this afternoon.  The dryness of the wine really offset the sharpness of the balsamic in the salad, but it also complemented the richness of the scallops and really set off the freshness of the pesto.  Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7, particularly at the price point - I bought this one for $9 from Wines Till Sold Out!  So enjoy the late summer with a wonderful rose like this one, you'll be glad you did once the cool Fall weather sets in!