 2010 We never get the volume of Rosé quite right. It’s like a quadratic equation where x really is the unknown factor! Last year we made too much and had to special it toward the end of the season and this year, dollar to a donut, we have made too little… It is an inexact science because Rosé is for the most part, a by-product of the oh-so-important Pinot Noir production. Measured amounts of juice are bled from the must prior to fermentation - more in a light season and less in a concentrated year - with such precision that the number of cases produced is the last thing on a winemaker’s mind! When the dust settles and the various fractions are blended for bottling, the result is nonetheless always one of my favourite tipples. The wine beams innocently and brightly from the glass like a newborn afflicted with a nasty case of Slapped Cheek. With this delicacy and optimism, it is already winning hearts but when viewed from the corner of the eye, the vibrancy boarders on demonic. The nose is heavy with plump ripe strawberries soaked in blackberry nip then smothered in brandied butter. Homely aromas of simmering cauliflower soup and hollandaise sauce topped with chopped coriander entice, as do toasty notes of bread and butter pudding. The palate is all rain drops on roses with flashes of polka dot bikini. Delicious apricot-crush flavours build alongside a subtle acidity which kind of creeps up on you then jumps easily over the backsliding wedge of comely residual sweetness. Freshly sliced apple sprinkled liberally with cracked black pepper accentuates the exquisite balance which bridges the theological grey area between good and evil, pure and simple. The wine invigorates the tastebuds like the rush of the tide upon a gravel strewn beach and uplifts in the finish like the swish of a tennis skirt during a Sharapova backhand. Enjoy courtside over the summer.
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We believe our Pinot Rose is best served at between 9 and 11 degrees Celsius. |
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