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!

2017 Seven Hills Summit View Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Sunday!  It's been a busy weekend and I had the opportunity to go to our County Fair for the first time since the pandemic, which was so nice.  Today was a rainy Sunday, so what else could I do but laundry and opening a bottle of wine.  Tonight I've opened a bottle of one of my perennial favorite Cabernets from Seven Hills, the 2017 Seven Hills Summit View Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Summit View Vineyard was planted with Clone 191 Cabernet, and the terroir is ideal for this grape, creating a truly special wine year after year.  So, let's see what this vintage has to offer!

The wine is a deep, inky black at the center with bright ruby along the edges.  Give it a swirl and take a deep breath and you're transported to the tobacco smoke infused leather furniture of an Ivy League club as resist the urge to take a healthy sip.  Once you do, your mouth is coated with a velvety rich wine, that has a wide array of black fruit and a healthy zing of acidity at the back end.  Earthy, rich, velvety smooth, this is the kind wine you can sip over conversations with old friends for hours.

Overall, I'd rate this wine a solid 9, as it's just a pleasure to drink and a wine that has yet to disappoint.  This wine would be great with hearty steaks, lamb, or even summer fare like barbecued ribs or hearty brats.  Tonight, I'm enjoying this wine with a rare grilled Angus porterhouse along with grilled garlic scapes and asparagus, and some oven roasted fingerling sweet potatoes.  Cheers!

2020 Hampton Water Languedoc Rosé

Well, it's certainly feeling a lot more like summer, highs today in the upper 80s (with mid-90s predicted for tomorrow!) and humidity of 85% it seems perfect for a nice bottle of rosé!  Tonight I've opened a bottle that I recently bought from Wines Till Sold Out, the 2020 Hampton Water Languedoc Rosé.  This wine is another collaboration between fame and wine, as it's the result of a collaboration between Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse, along with Gerard Bertrand to create a unique rosé from the Languedoc region in the south of France.  This wine is a blend of Grenache(60%), Cinsault (15%), Mourvedre (15%) and Syrah (10%).  So, let's see how refreshing this wine can be on a hot, humid evening!

The wine is a pale peach color in the glass, which seems to be the trend among rosé the past couple years.  A gentle swirl of the glass reveals aromas of peach, strawberry and a bit of citrus that invites you to imbibe.  Take a sip and you're transported to the beach, with a rush of wonderful fresh fruit dancing on your palate, intermingled with some earthy notes of basalt.  The finish is wonderfully crisp and dry with just a hint of acidity at the end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's an ideal everyday rosé and a good value at just $19.  This wine would pair well with a variety of summer dishes, though it practically begs to be consumed with seafood.  Which comes in handy as tonight I am enjoying this wine with a bit of low country boil as I picked up some crawfish over the weekend, along with corn and potatoes and some creole and Old Bay seasoning makes for a perfect summer patio meal.  Cheers!