2014 L'Ecole No. 41 Grenache Rose

Happy Easter!  I've spent much of the afternoon relaxing and enjoying this wonderful holiday.  Now most people do traditional things like ham or lamb for Easter dinner, but I decided to go a bit off the beaten path, but more on that in a minute.  For those traditionalists that go for a nice glazed ham, this wine might be an ideal solution to please both those who prefer a red and those who prefer a white, the 2014 L'Ecole No. 41 Grenache Rose.  I recall the 2009 vintage of this wine was the one that got me fully onto the rose bandwagon for the summers, so let's see what five years have done to improve this already great rose.

The wine is a lovely orange peach color in the glass.  The nose presents aromas of strawberry, pink grapefruit and papaya, with just a hint of green grass over the top.  The taste makes me long for summer on the patio, with a nice rush of fresh fruit, strawberry, citrus and some tropical notes that transition to some lovely notes of honey and lavender midpalate.  The finish is quite nice, very dry, yet still presenting a reprise of the sweet fruit notes from the beginning.  A summer afternoon in a glass!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it continues to be one of my favorite roses of all time (something about Grenache makes it ideal for rose).  Tonight I am pairing this wine with my non-traditional Easter dinner, as I bought an extra piece of corned beef at St. Patrick's Day and decided to do another round of corned beef and cabbage for dinner today!  The lovely fruit and acidity of this wine makes it perfect to cut through the richness of such a fatty dinner.  Cheers!