2016 Seven Hills Dry Rose

Happy Wine Wednesday!  Today it was unseasonably warm, 83 degrees, which felt remarkably summer like, which means it was a perfect day to chill some rose!  And tonight I've decided to open a bottle of 2016 Seven Hills Dry Rose, a bottle I got a few months ago and I've been hankering to try once the weather warmed up.  Well tonight's the night!

The wine is a lovely peach color in the glass.  The nose presents aromas of peach, orange blossom and a hint of basalt.  The taste is crisp and refreshing, with some interesting Chardonnay like notes of buttery fruit, peach, grapefruit and papaya that transition nicely to some lovely mineral notes midpalate.  A rose like this, made primarily from Cabernet Franc has somewhat mellow acidity and a smooth, bone dry finish, similar to the classic dry rose wines of France.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's an ideal wine for summer, perfect for salads, lighter meals or just sipping on the deck.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a wonderful dinner of bucatini tossed with broccoli rabe sauteed in olive oil and garlic and topped with a bit of shaved parmesan.  And after dinner I'll finish enjoying this lovely rose on the deck as it should be!  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!

2014 Seven Hills Columbia Valley Dry Rose

Happy Easter!  Yeah, I know, Easter was two weeks ago, but given my hectic travel schedule over the last few weeks I've had to wait until today to have my traditional Easter ham!  And not only am I having to pair a wine with glazed ham, it's also beginning to feel a lot like springtime, so what better wine to open than a nice 2014 Seven Hills Columbia Valley Dry Rose?  This particular dry rose is a blend of Cabernet Franc (84%), Petite Verdot (8%) and Malbec (8%), making it somewhat more interesting than many rose blends I've seen.

The color of the wine is a nice pale peach color in the glass.  The nose expresses an interesting combination of citrus notes, along with some white floral notes and a bit of peach.  The taste is delightful, with a crisp blast of fruit up front, plenty of grapefruit and tropical notes of papaya that give way to some honeysuckle and mineral notes of limestone midpalate.  The finish is crisp, refreshing and bone dry, perfect for sipping on the patio on a cool summer evening, which I can see myself doing a lot this summer!

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a terrific dry rose wine, ideal for the summer months and a perfect complement to the sweetness of my glazed ham dinner.  The wine is also a great value at $17, but even more so with the wine club discount!  As mentioned, tonight I'm enjoying this one with a classic, though belated Easter dinner of glazed ham, cheesy potatoes and of course, green bean casserole!  The only thing better than this will be the left overs, ham sandwiches for lunch this week!  Cheers!