Browse Tag

rosé

Muga-chaka, Muga, Muga

[bottle]Muga 2007 Rioja Rosado (Center-North) – What intrigues me about this wine is how it tastes like an aged rosé – not something most people drink – without being tired or yielding to oxidation, even though there is a touch of the latter. Strawberry, persimmon, perhaps a bit of cranberry…but all in well-aged form, rather than their bright, squirty, fresh-from-the-vine expression (as found in most rosés). Perhaps the effect could best be described as a slight intellectualization of pink. (10/08)

TGV to FRV

JP Brun “FRV100” (Beaujolais) – I would normally say that I could never get tired of drinking this, but after a summer of doing just that, I find that the persistent sticky character to the fruit is just a little enervating, and despite the unmistakable appeal to those who are having their first encounter with its charms (I’m serving this at a non-geek dinner party), I’m left a bit bereft of enchantment. This is a very fun wine, but ultimately I think the Bugey Cerdon is more compelling, perhaps because it’s just less slutty. None of this should be taken as a denouncement of the wine, which is eminently recommendable and incomparably drinkable. I’m just full of jaded ennui, and not to my credit. (10/08)

Julien calendar

[vineyard]Villerambert-Julien 2007 Minervois Rosé (Languedoc) – Sharp, then soft, then anonymous. OK…strawberry, leaves, cranberry, some sun-dried soil, some tomato…but mostly a chug-and-forget rosé. Very, very dry, and perhaps not entirely to its benefit. This has been significantly better in other vintages. (10/08)

Red I

Mionetto “Il” Rosato (Veneto) – Plum, blood orange, strawberry, and old raspberry pushed past its ideal maturity. Heavy and deep. Quite striking, and very much a light red wine more than it is a sparkler. (6/08)

Serra smile

[bottle]Argiolas 2006 Isola dei Nuraghi “Serra Lori” (Sardinia) – In contrast to earlier bottles that were exhibiting some fading, apparently from being held too long, this is singing with spiced, edgy strawberry. (8/08)

One dollar

JP Brun Vin Mousseux “FRV100” (Beaujolais) – How can fruit be both concentrated and light? It’s like the essence of something late-summery…strawberries, perhaps, or maybe cloudberries, writ pink, midly frothy, and immensely appealing. This is more “winey” than the similarly-constructed wines of Bugey-Cerdon, and it’s definitely heftier, but it’s no less an interpretation of a fun, quaffing “soda pop’ for adults. (8/08)

The pink

Mionetto “Il Rosé” Rosato del Veneto (Veneto) – This is a strange bird; it’s a little sweet and frothy, but the redness of the fruit is of a darker hue than one expects in a pink sparkler. There are better pink sparklers out there, to be sure, but at a party where there might be red-wine-friendly food, this does better than something more light-minded. (8/08)

Muri Andropov

[lagrein]Muri-Gries 2007 Lagrein Rosato (Alto Adige) – Strawberry and raspberry rendered in neon. More candied than I’d like, but it’s a Japanese candy…one of those things with lemongrass and shrimp that sorta redefines what one thinks of as candy. It’s initially offputting, but eventually wins my intellectual side over with a lot of striking complexity. My emotional side remains suspicious of its Technicolor, though. (8/08)

Feeling Bouzy

[bottle]Bara Champagne Bouzy “Grand Cru” Brut “Grand” Rosé (Champagne) – From 375 ml. Piercing x-rays of raspberry, crisp apple, and essence of mountain wildflower over a gravel bed. Complex and yearning, but painfully youthful; even if this won’t age (which I think it will), it needs some time to settle into itself. (8/08)