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!

2022 Bledsoe Family Winery Healy Rosé

Happy Sunday!  I finished planting all the annual flowers along the garage today, so my planting season is officially over.  To celebrate, I've opened a bottle of summer rosé since it's been in the upper 80s every day for the better part of a week.  Tonight, it's the 2022 Bledsoe Family Winery Healy Rosé which was just delivered in a club shipment yesterday (or maybe it was Friday, the days are running together lately!).  This wine is a 100% Syrah sourced from the Schafer, Flying B and Los Oidos vineyards in the Walla Walla AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this wine is shaping up!

The wine is a lovely pink salmon color in the glass, and give it a swirl and you're greeted with aromas of tropical sunshine, with mango, citrus and pineapple intermingled with white floral notes and just a hint of minerality.  Take a sip and you're palate is inundated with sweet tropical fruit, bright citrus and a crisp freshness that awakens your senses.  The tannins are mellow, providing for a crisp dry finish that exhibits a roundness that lingers until your next sip.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as I think this is the best effort yet of the Healy Rosé.  This wine practically begs to be enjoyed on long afternoons on the patio with friends, enjoying summer caprese salads, light seafood or summer barbecue.  Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with a butter poached lobster risotto, as the creamy richness of the dish is a perfect foil for the bright acidity of this wine.  Cheers!

2022 Helix Sangiovese Rose

Happy Saturday!  I trust you are all enjoying a wonderful Memoria Day weekend.  I spend much of the day at the cemetery planting flowers for my relatives, but now I am back home and ready for a nice glass of wine dinner.  Given the near proximity of summer, tonight I've decided to open a classic summer wine, the 2022 Helix Sangiovese Rose.  This wine is a rose of 100% Sangiovese from the Stillwater Creek Vineyard in the Royal Slope AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this burst of summer is tasting!

The wine is a pale peach color in the glass, and a gentle swirls reveals aromas of peach blossom, strawberry amid hints of citrus.  Take a sip and summer comes rushing in, crisp refreshing notes of grapefruit, fresh melon and tropical notes of guava and mango.  This wine has a crisp and refreshing dry finish that's just perfect for summer sipping on the patio.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5 as it's just a wonderfully simple, refreshing wine that is an ideal representation of what rose should be.  This wine would pair well with seafood, light salads or beef tartare.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with my Memorial Day lobster fest, as my local market had live Maine lobsters on sale for just $9.99, along with a sale on corn on the cob, so here I am, enjoying a perfect taste of summer in late May.  Cheers!

2020 DaMa Wines Chardonnay

Happy Sunday!  It's fall, so that means every weekend that it doesn't rain I'm spending at least one afternoon gathering leaves and putting them out in the street for pickup, and so that's how I spent my afternoon today.  But at least the weather was gorgeous, with lots of sun and highs in the upper 70s, I got one last chance to work in the yard in shorts.  And now that I'm done, I'm ready to sit down for Sunday dinner, which has been roasting as I was working.  And to go with it, I've opened a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from DaMa Wines, the 2020 Chardonnay, which is sourced from the Conner Lee Vineyard in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this unusual white wine for me to review is tasting!

The wine is a pale gold color in the glass, and a gentle swirl reveals aromas of faint lemon citrus, hints of pear and pineapple, suggesting a much more fruit forward Chardonnay than the classic butter bombs.  Take a sip and it's like you've washed ashore on a tropical island, with a rush of pineapple, mango and hibiscus that capture your imagination as you follow the flavor adventure to some vanilla cream notes on the finish, which is crisp and dry.

I am not a but white wine fan, and many Chardonnays I find very one dimensional, but this one is really a pleasant drinking wine that's sure to please a wide crowd of wine drinkers.  For that, I would happily rate this wine a solid 9, perhaps the highest rating I've ever given a white wine.  This wine would pair well with a wide range of dishes, from halibut to classic fish tacos, moules frites or Thai curry, but tonight I am enjoying this with a classic Sunday dinner of roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy, along with some asparagus with Hollandaise.  Cheers!

2019 Mark Ryan Flowerhead Rosé

Happy Wine Wednesday!  It's somewhat sweltering here today with a high of 89° here today, so since it feels like summer, it must be time for rosé!  Tonight I've opened a nice bottle of rosé that I received as a gift with my most recent wine club shipment from Mark Ryan Winery, the 2019 Flowerhead Rosé!  This wine is a blend of Sangiovese, Syrah and and Grenache, so let's see how this preview of summer tastes!

The wine is a very pale peach color in the glass, a very light rose in color.  The nose is chock full of summer fruit, apple, peach, melon and a hint of citrus over some interesting mineral undertones.  The taste is surprisingly tropical up front, with flavors of mango and melon bursting through before transitioning to notes of grapefruit with modest acidity midpalate.  The finish is crisp and bright, with lingering tropical fruit notes.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's an ideal breath of summer that I could see myself sipping on the patio in the late evening sun.  This wine would pair well with a variety of summer dishes, from beet and goat cheese salad, to burgers on the grill.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a steamed lobster tail with drawn butter, wild rice and steamed sugar snap peas.  Cheers!

2018 Band of Roses Washington State Rose

Happy Tuesday!  I know this is a confluence of events with Cinco de Mayo happening on Taco Tuesday, but I've decided to go in a completely different direction tonight.  As it happens during a lockdown, I've decided to host a virtual wine tasting with a bunch of my work colleagues tomorrow night and I've decided to go with a sneak preview of one of the wines tonight.  The 2018 Band of Roses Washington State rose is a nice, irreverent wine from Charles Smith, which is one of the larger producers in Washington that has gained nationwide distribution.  The wines are very well priced and I know that no matter where I pick one up, the quality to value proposition almost always favors us consumers.  So let's see how this one tastes.

The wine is a very soft peach color in the glass, almost like a Chardonnay, but still clearly rose.  The nose is a wonderful cascade of tropical fruit, pineapple, mango, honeydew and citrus that seems as refreshing as s bright summer day.  The taste is a rush of citrus, strawberry and melon, with just a hint of minerality.  The tannins are somewhat soft, but unyielding, with subdued acidity providing for a wonderfully crisp, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's just a pleasant drinking summer rose, that I could see myself sipping on the patio, if it wasn't cloudy and 47 degrees (where are you spring!?!?).  This wine would pair with summer barbecue, burgers, or salads, but tonight I am going in another direction.  I am enjoying this wine with a recipe I found randomly on twitter (!) for chicken paprikash, a Hungarian chicken dish simmered in paprika and finished with sour cream to make a lovely sauce, served with a bit of jasmine rice.  Cheers!

2017 DaMa Wines Rose of Cabernet Franc

Well, rose season is starting to kick into high gear, as the weather has been warm and sunny, all of my trees have leaves so suddenly my yard is under a complete canopy, making for stunning evenings on the patio.  So on this Wine Wednesday, I've decided to open a new rose I received in a wine club shipment from DaMa Wines a week or so ago (caveat on this rose season, I'll be drinking a lot of it, but writing little as I have such a surplus yet from last year!).  So let's see how this wine is preparing me for summer!

The wine is a very pale peach color in the glass, as the nose emits aromas of spring flowers, sweet strawberry and mango that shifts decidedly to a more citrus bent with some grapefruit aromas as it opens up.  The taste is just sublime, with some lovely spring floral and earthy mineral notes at the outset that throws you a bit off your game, but then it brings you right back with some wonderful citrus and tropical fruit notes intermingled with such light floral notes that it really is like sipping Spring!  The finish is crisp and clean and very dry, perfect for summer.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it is really a favorite for rose season.  This wine could pair well with a variety of seafood and salads, but I think it would pair the best with an afternoon on the patio!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some seared sea scallops on a bed of fresh picked arugula, along with some garlic and Parmesan orzo and steamed broccoli.  The crispness of this wine is just wonderful with the richness of the scallops.  Cheers!

DaMa Cowgirl Blanc

Happy Sunday!  It's been a good day to stay indoors and watch old movies, as it's been cold and snowing/sleeting all afternoon.  And given the melancholy weather, it also seems appropriate to enjoy a little comfort food for dinner, which is what I plan for tonight.  But what wine to enjoy with this particular comfort food was a challenge, but one that I was up to when I got out a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from DaMa Wines, the non-vintage Cowgirl Blanc.  This wine is a blend of Chardonnay (65%) and Viognier (35%) from both the Mill Creek and Sagemoor Vineyards in the Columbia and Walla Walla Valley AVAs of Washington.  So let's see how this unusual evening of white wine progresses!

The wine has pleasant aromas of rich tropical fruit, mango, passion fruit and some apricot notes with some mineral notes over the top.  The taste is more subdued tropical fruit on the outset, which seems more dominated by citrus notes and bright acidity, which easily transitions into some earthy mineral notes midpalate.  The tropical fruit makes another appearance on the crisp refreshing finish, which is surprisingly long for a white wine.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as you know, white wines are really not my thing, but I could easily see this wine as a Thanksgiving favorite.  Tonight I am enjoying this one with my Mom's recipe for classic tuna noodle casserole, creamy goodness that of course is topped with crumbled potato chips, it doesn't get more comfortable than that.  Cheers!

2016 Domaine La Sangliere Cotes de Provence Rose

Well, here it is, my last gasp of summer!  As the temperatures have been coming down, with highs only in the 60s and 70s and lows reaching into the 40s, I thought I needed one last bit of summer before the leaves start falling in earnest.  So today I've opened a bottle of 2016 Domaine La Sangliere Cotes de Provence Rose!  I saw this wine at Costco a few weeks ago and was fascinated by the blend of Cinsault (70%) and Grenache (30%) and the price was such that I couldn't resist getting a bottle even though it was late in the rose season, so let's see how this one tastes.

The wine is a lovely peach color in the glass.  The nose is a lovely combination of peach, strawberry, white floral notes and some minerality.  The taste is somewhat mellow when compared to the nose, with subdued flavors of citrus, mango and strawberry that transitions to some warm mineral notes midpalate.  This wine displays the classic French stealth finish, with mild acidity and incredible dryness that is feels like there wasn't a finish at all.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, as it's not a spectacular rose, but one that would be ideal with a variety of food on the patio during the summer.  It was also a wonderful value at just $8!  This wine would be ideal for summer salads, or a variety of seafood, which is handy since I'm enjoying this wine with my end of summer crab boil, featuring Alaskan king crab legs, corn on the cob and red potatoes with parsley and butter, the kind if dinner that you never notice you've just eaten a stick of butter!  Cheers!

2016 DaMa Wines Rose of Cabernet Franc

What a day!  It started by pouring down rain this morning when I am in a pinch to get my yard and garden ready for having some folks over for a cook out this week (you can't be ill prepared for the first yard gathering of the season!).  But alas, I was able to clean all the patio furniture, pick up branches that came down in the storm, pull weeks and mow in what seemed like a very compressed timeframe, though now that I look at the clock it's been seven hours!  Well with patio get together's and warm weather, it's definitely the start of rose season, and tonight I've decided to open a bottle of 2016 DaMa Wines Rose of Cabernet Franc.  This is a 100% Cabernet Franc, the second vintage from the Chene de Mille Vineyard in the Columbia Valley, so let's see how this one stacks up!

The wine is a lovely, very pale peach color in the glass, such that you might even mistake it for a white wine if you weren't paying attention.  The nose presents aromas of grapefruit, melon, strawberry and a hint of lemongrass.  The taste is quite nice, very fresh, notes of citrus, mango, and a hint of pineapple that transitions to some wonderful white floral and lemongrass midpalate.  The finish has nice backbone, clear acidity and a bone dry finish.

Overall, I like this one better than the 2014 or 2015 vintages, so I'd rate this one a solid 8.  It's crisp and refreshing and this girl is ready for summer!  This wine would pair with a variety of summer dishes, from salmon to a caprese salad, but tonight I am going way off script and enjoying this wine with some chicken Tikka Masala!  What's better with Indian food than a nice dry rose?  Cheers!

2015 Seven Hills Dry Rose of Cabernet Franc

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I know this is traditionally a holiday marked by corned beef and cabbage and green beer, but I'm not much of a beer drinker, so what to pair with my lovely dinner that's been simmering all day long?  Thankfully I received a case of 2015 Seven Hills Dry Rose of Cabernet Franc with my wine club shipment last week and that should be perfect!

The wine is a lovely, light peach color in the glass, and at certain angles it almost appears to be a white wine.  The nose presents aromas of peach, mango and a hint of orange blossom.  The taste is just wonderful, with a blast of floral notes up front that transition nicely to some flavors of grapefruit, watermelon and a hint of spice midpalate.  The finish is crisp and refreshing as I am not imagining how this wine will be on the patio during a pleasant July evening.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it one of the nicest roses I've had from Washington, and they keep getting better every year.  As mentioned earlier, I am enjoying this wine with my traditional corned beef and cabbage with red potatoes and cabbage, as the fresh fruit and acidity cuts nicely through the richness of the corned beef.  Cheers!