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 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!

2019 Forgeron Columbia Valley Chardonnay

As most of you are no doubt aware, I am not much of a white wine consumer.  That said, I also can't resist a mystery box, so when Forgeron recently offered a mystery case of wine for just $150, I couldn't pass it up!  And one bottle in the mystery case was a 2019 Forgeron Chardonnay, a 100% Chardonnay sourced entirely from the Weinbau Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a bright golden color on the glass, more akin to lemon as opposed to a golden olive oil color.  A swirl of the glass reveals aromas of lemongrass, pear and hints of tropical fruit amid undertones of oak.  Take a sip and you are treated to a rush of lemon, pear and pineapple notes that envelope your palate before transitioning to some mineral notes and hints of oak midpalate.  The finish is crisp and dry with just a faint impression of the classic Chardonnay "buttery sweetness" at the end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a lovely Chardonnay that would be ideal for the upcoming holidays.  This wine would pair well with a variety of seafood, Thanksgiving turkey or pork.  Tonight, I am exploring the latter and enjoying this wine with an Asian zing grilled pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes with chives and some maple bacon shaved Brussels sprouts.  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!

2016 Gnarly Head Sauvignon Blanc

Happy Monday!  I have to admit, my wine tonight is somewhat of an accident, as I bought this bottle mainly to use in cooking some mussels in white wine over the weekend (you know I'm unlikely to buy a white wine just for drinking!) so I looked at Costco for the cheapest dry white wine I could find and settled on the 2016 Gnarly Head Sauvignon Blanc.  Now it's Monday and I'm cooking a completely different kind of seafood, so why not finish the bottle?

The wine is a very light golden color in the glass, classic for a Sauvignon Blanc.  The nose is cascade of citrus and tropical notes, grapefruit, passion fruit and just a hint of pineapple.  The taste is quite crisp, with a gradual buildup of fruit that starts with some citron, moves to some notes of melon and then reaches an apex of tart apple over some hints of minerality in the background.  The finish is crisp and refreshing and quite dry, a really ideal white wine for a dry red wine lover like me!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7, as it's a very refreshing Sauvignon Blanc that would be quite versatile with food, and it was a terrific bargain at just $6 at my local Costco!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some sea scallops seared in wasabi oil along with some steamed white rice and sugar snap peas.  The tart citrus aspects of this wine are a wonderful counter to 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!

2015 Forgeron Rose of Sangiovese

Happy Sunday!  Boy it sure feels like summer here now, I was mowing the grass today and was sweating like mad as it reached the upper-80s today!  Hot is the perfect weather for a summer favorite, rose!  Today I've decided to open a bottle of our office wine club selection for June, the 2015 Forgeron Rose of Sangiovese from the Walla Walla Valley of Washington!  I reviewed the 2014 vintage (you can see that here) so let's see how the 2015 stacks up!

The wine is a very light peach color, perfect for a dry rose for summer!  The nose is a lovely combination of grapefruit, strawberry and orange blossom notes, with just a bit of minerality in the background.  The taste is a lovely rush of sweet strawberry and tropical fruit up front that transitions to some wonderful floral notes midpalate.  The finish is crisp, with mild acidity and a smooth, very dry ending.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's one of my favorite roses for summer, perfect for sipping on the patio on a warm evening light tonight.  This wine would pair well with a variety of summer fare, from caprese salad to lighter fish dishes, but tonight I am enjoying this wine with some pan seared sea scallops along with some bucatini tossed with broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic and olive oil topped with a bit of shaved parmesan.  Sante!

2015 Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc

Happy Sunday!  It's been a somewhat more relaxing weekend, with the normal errand running and chores with a bit of work tossed in, but now it's time for a nice relaxing Sunday dinner.  Tonight I am doing something a little unusual, in that I've opened a bottle of white wine!  Tonight it's a bottle of 2015 Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand.  To be fair, this is a bottle of wine that's been in my fridge since my Christmas party, and since no one ever drank it, I thought it would go very well with my dinner tonight.  So here goes nothing!

The wine is rather light in color, with a nose full of  tropical fruit, mango, Meyer lemon, and a bit of pineapple over some hints of green grass.  The taste is rather nice, with a good bit of fruit up front, but with a nice tart acidity throughout, leaving you quite refreshed by the time you enjoy the crisp, dry finish.

Overall, as a dry red wine lover, this wine is actually pretty nice, so I'd rate it a solid 7.5,  I'm sure I didn't pay anywhere near $10 for this wine, so it was also a good value.  The main reason I opened this bottle was to go with my dinner tonight, which is a classic Midwestern Sunday dinner of oven roasted chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and some steamed asparagus.  The tart acidity in this wine is perfect to cut through the richness of my chicken dinner, cheers!