2024 Belles d'Eguilles Coteaux d'Aix en Provence Rosé

Happy Wine Wednesday!  I have to confess that I've been completely ignoring rosé season, as I think I may have only enjoyed one bottle this entire summer.  Well, now it's time to make up for my oversight, so tonight I've opened a bottle of 2024 Belles d'Eguilles Coteaux d'Aix en Provence Rosé that I bought last month from Wines Till Sold Out.  I have previously reviewed the 2021 vintage and thought it was all right, but still a good value.  This vintage is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan, so let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a very pale peach color in the glass, signaling something crisp and refreshing is on the way for these last few days of summer.  The nose is a refreshing array of summer citrus and tropical fruit, grapefruit, apple and mango with hints of honey and some minerality.  The first sip is delightfully crisp and refreshing, with a cascade of citrus, honeydew, and mango, with hints of red berry and some mineral notes midpalate.  The finish is dry and crisp, a perfect ending for a wine destined for patio sipping.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it impressed me much more than the 2021 vintage.  This wine would be perfect for summer patio sipping (we have 4 more days of summer!) and would also pair well with barbecue, burgers and brats or fajita tacos.  Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with some crispy skin salmon, steamed rice and asparagus.  Cheers!

2021 Les Vignerons d'Aix en Provence L'Exception Méditerranée Rosé

Happy Sunday!  It's been a day of best laid plans, as I had originally planned to trim all my hedges, but as I started my hedge trimmer, the blades would not engage, and since I'm reticent to trouble shoot in situations where I might lose a finger, I decided to merely trim larger branches and dig up some pesty trees.  And now I am ready for wine and dinner on the patio.  Since we are in the the heart of rosé season, I thought it best to open something from Provence, which I recently purchased from Wines Till Sold Out, the 2021 Les Vignerons d'Aix en Provence L'Exception Méditerranée Rosé.  This wine is a blend of Grenache and Caladoc (a cross of Grenache and Malbec), so let's see what this wine has to offer!

The wine is a pale peach color in the glass, in line with the current trend in rosé.  A gentle swirl of the glass reveals a cascade of peach, melon and pineapple that just dares you to sip by the pool, a true summer day in the glass.  Take a sip and all the flavors of summer come to greet you, peach, melon, citrus and fresh cut grass with plenty of bright acidity and bits of honey and sunshine.  The finish is crisp and dry, perfect for sipping on the patio with friend.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's just a wonderfully classis rosé  ideal for the summer season.  Enjoy this wine with summer caprese salad, shrimp cocktail or gazpacho for a wonderful afternoon.  Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with some crispy skin Scottish pearl salmon with some dill cream, along with some risotto and asparagus with hollandaise.  Cheers!

2018 Les Quatre Tours Classique Rosé (Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence)

Well, it finally seems like summer has arrived as it's been in the 80s and quite humid here over the past few days.  With warmer temperatures, I'm sure that rose season is in full swing, so tonight I've opened up a bottle I purchase recently from Wines Till Sold Out (also a future wine club selection for my peeps!), the 2018 Les Quatre Tours Classique Rosé (Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence).  Although the blend is proprietary, it is mainly Grenache and Syrah with a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault added to balance it out.  So, let's see how refreshing this wine is!

It seems like every rose this season has been particularly pale, with this wine no exception, demonstrating pale peach color in the glass.  The nose exhibits notes of fresh summer fruit, strawberries, green apple and grapefruit with a hint of honey at the edge.  The taste is very crisp and refreshing, with a big, rounded mouthfeel and a rush of green apple and citrus right up front.  The crisp fruit transitions nicely to some dusty gravel and a hint of white pepper spice midpalate.  The finish is crisp and delightfully dry, and lingering to beckon you to take another sip.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's a very pleasant summer rose at a great value for just $12.  This wine would pair with a wide variety of summer salads, seafood dishes or cold sandwiches on the patio.  Tonight, since it's Taco Tuesday, I'm enjoying this wine with some fish tacos garnished with some sriracha slaw, as the spice is just perfect with the crispness of this wine.  Cheers!

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!

Snooth Vouvray Virtual Tasting

Tonight is a fun night since it's another Snooth Virtual Tasting!  Tonight we are tasting the Vouvray wines of the Loire Valley of France.  Tonight at my house we are tasting two lovely Vouvray wines, the first is the Brut Champalou Sparkling Vouvray and the second is the 2012 Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau Vouvray Sec, a dry still wine based on chenin blanc.

The first wine we tried was the Brut Champalou Sparkling Vouvray, very interesting nose, a little floral aromas, and a bit of iron and graphite.  The taste is remarkably bright and crisp with some nice fruit and honey notes at the outset.  The finish is really nice, and super dry, without the aftertaste that so often accompanies a sparkling wine.  Overall I would rate this one a solid 8, as it's a wine that's a good value at $24 as it tastes like a much more expensive sparkler.  I'd be very pleased to offer this to my guests as I did tonight!

The second wine was the 2012 Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau Vouvray Sec, a more traditional dry white wine based on the chenin blanc.  This wine has some nice fruit up front some citrus and melon aromas, along with a bit of green grass and herbs.  The taste is so interesting, with a great silky mouthfeel and so much flavor that it keeps evolving in your mouth.  There is a good bit of minerality, it's so smooth and complex rather than crisp like the sparkler, a truly wonderful white wine that would go beautifully with a lovely mushroom risotto or some rich buttery cheeses.  Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5 and a terrific bottle for just $21!

So there you have it, our Snooth.com Virtual Tasting of Vouvray, a big shout out and thank you to Snooth and the wines of the Loire Valley!  Cheers!

2012 Maxwell Creek Napa Valley Rose

Happy Independence Day Eve!  Here we are on the evening before the 4th of July and I decided to stop at the supermarket after work and they were having a big seafood sale, so what wine should I open knowing that I'll be eating seafood for dinner?  Well it just so happens that I stopped by the World Market yesterday and picked up a couple bottles of rose, so why not open a bottle of the 2012 Maxwell Creek Napa Valley Rose?

The wine is a lovely orange-pink color in the glass, sort of the color of ripe grapefruit at the center, leading to a white translucence around the edges of the glass.  The nose is very different from what I was expecting, with lovely notes of strawberry and citrus, but it also had some interesting floral notes as well as a nice bit of vanilla bean.  The taste was crisp and refreshing with flavors of citrus and green grass at the outset which transitioned to some interesting notes of flowers and tea leaves midpalate.  The finish was quite nice, with a distinct dryness, but also a burst of honey flavor at the very end which I found quite endearing.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, as it was a pleasure to sip and very versatile in pairing with a variety of dishes.  It was also a solid value at only $10 at the World Market.  Tonight I paired this wine with a lovely dinner of sea scallops seared in toasted sesame oil and served on a bed of baby greens with some spicy curried couscous on the side.  The wine is really a perfect match for seafood as the crispness really played well with the richness of the scallops, while the honey finish was a nice foil to some of the bitterness of the baby greens.  Cheers and have a lovely Independence Day!

2012 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

So tonight I am enjoying another wonderful Snooth virtual tasting, this time featuring the wines of La Crema, a wonderful producer out of California.  Now this is a bit unusual as I am doing this virtual tasting from my office of all places as my home internet is still not up and running (moving to a new home can be such a joy!) So the first wine of the virtual tasting that I am trying is the 2012 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.

Now as a complete novice to white wines, I can only say what I've heard in the past, particularly that Chardonnay may be a more popular wine, perhaps a bit overdone, but heck I'll try anything once!  The wine itself has lovely aromas of green grass, ample citrus, honey and just a hint of caramel.  The taste is ripe and crisp, with very little of the tart fruit I so often encounter when I venture into the world of white wine.  I would characterize this wine as a classic, buttery sort of Chardonnay, with many rich flavors that would be perfect with a varierty of fall and winter dishes.  The finish is somewhat soft with some metallic notes, but ultimately a very nice wine.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, as it's a very nice example of a very food friendly white wine, particularly for fall and winter dishes.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some thick cut oven roasted pork loin chops, mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts, a perfect dish on a cold winter evening!

2008 Cloudline Pinot Noir

This wine was part of our "Best of" wine tasting, and what's not to love about a Pinor Noir from Oregon?  Now I'll be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Pinor Noir, but having lived in Portland for a few years and traveling extensively throughout the Willamette Valley, I have to admit it kinda grows on you!

The 2008 Cloudline Oregon Pinot Noir is not a pure Willamette Valley wine, but is a blend of wine from a variety of Oregon vineyards.  This is one of the lighter Pinot Noirs that I've had, and it tends to have more delicate flavors than some heavier wines.  The wine itself has a nose that is somewhat woodsy, with mild floral aromas, that hints at the lightness.  As for the taste, it's a fruit forward wine with hints of blackberry and an almost honey-like sweetness, with a finish that was somewhat lacking.  This wine is light enough that I would hesitate to pair it with a full meal, instead I think it's an ideal wine for a cheese course, particularly made up soft cheeses that would not overpower the delicate nature of this wine.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7, it's certainly not a "knock your socks off" sort of wine, but for the $12-15 price tag, it certainly is a value among Oregon Pinots!