The Home of Renowned Tasting

Rose of Virginia turns 21 this vintage and I’d say it’s still about my favourite local rosé. It walks with style that fine line between being juicy, fresh and flavoursome without wobbling over to the sweet or sickly side. This year’s model is Grenache 44%, Cabernet 29%, Pinot Meunier 14.4% and Shiraz 12.6%.

As pretty as ever with the scent of rose petal and musk over clean raspberry and cranberry fruit. On the palate fine balance between the sweeter raspberry flavours and those of the fresh dry cranberry juice - it comes across as being juicy and vibrant rather than sweet. Lots of flavour and refreshment but showing slightly edgy acidity at this youthful stage which should settle down with few more months in bottle (just in time for Spring). Dry finish of good length. Still a firm favourite and one of the rosés I’m always up for drinking.

Other vintages : 2007, 2006

No Responses »

I have a fair stack of Rosé to taste and summer is nearly over now, not that we ever really had one this year in Sydney, just lots of rain mainly. No wonder I never bothered to tuck into much of it. This is a blend of 67% Cabernet and 33% Merlot and comes from the McLaren Vale. I have a swag of wines to try from this producer that are all well hmmmm well, shall we say, equally unconventionally labelled. Thus far I have tried the 05 and 06 Yarra Valley Chardonnay but no bingo there, although we do have a winner here.

Deep red colour with dark cherry, raspberry, a little spice and some earthy fennel aromas. On the palate plenty of flavour with slightly spicy blackcurrant and dark cherry fruit - really moving towards a light bodied red in weight although still fresh and dry. It has a little grippy tannin and a good long clean finish. Interesting and a long way off being insipid and sweet. It has the weight and texture to work beautifully with a wide range of foods. Very good wine.

No Responses »

This is made from Touriga Nacional which is interesting. I probably dish out some highish scores to rosé, some might think, but I base the points on a number of factors including refreshment value, interest, balance, finish and whether you might want to knock over a bottle..and quite possibly how quickly you might want to do it. This, therefore, makes the cut as an Excellent wine on the old Winorama rating scale.

Watermelon pink in colour with pretty lightly floral redcurrant and red berry aromas. On the palate fresh and feathery with bright red fruits and a little spice. A clean burst of flavour coupled with fine acidity and even a bit of textural grip add interest to this most refreshing wine. It strikes that fine balance between juicy fruit and dryness that makes this beauty an irresistible drinking proposition.

8 Responses »

Oh what a lot of wines I have to write up..so I’ll start with a simple one. It says on the website to decant this for an hour before serving and I’d guess that’s because they have not got it into bottle cleanly; initially it’s as reduced as an end of financial year sale at a Bob Jane T-Mart. I’m also not sure of the practicality of decanting a rosé either but suggest the following process. Pour out a glass, shake the bottle vigorously, open cap to let out the pressure and repeat till the rubber hits the road.

Very pretty. It smells of roses, watermelon (did you know they make them without seeds!) and red berries. Lots of rubbery reduction at first but it does blow away. On the palate plenty of flavour of watermelon, red berries and cream with no obvious sweetness propping it up. It has fresh clean acidity, fine balance and drinks beautifully. An excellent and very refreshing rosé. I’d score it a little higher if you did not have to pfaff about doing the cleaning before knocking it off.

4 Responses »

A confluence of events led me to open this wine. Namely (1) it is hot and muggy tonight and (2) I am cooking a curry for dinner. Therefore (1) and (2) = Rosé.

It smells like Pinot with cherry, strawberry and rose petal and has faint earth and licorice aromas adding complexity. On the palate light but flavoursome with delicate fresh strawberry and cherry fruit, undergrowth and licorice root flavours. It has lovely vibrant natural acidity and tastes pretty much dry. Balanced, delicious and does all the things a good Rosé should do.

3 Responses »

Quite a bit of Rosé comes through the door at Winorama HQ and I don’t review many of them because I don’t much like writing about them (although I like drinking them). Some are worth writing about mind you, and this one is an absolute beauty.

A pretty blush colour with equally pretty aromas of summery red fruits, violet, rose, licorice with a bit of earthiness. Fragrant but not sweet. On the palate light and crisp with red cherry, spice and slightly earthy licorice root flavours. Clean, fresh and dry with lightly grippy tannins. Great style and refreshment.

4 Responses »

I have a little selection of wines from Ce Soir Wine Importers to taste over the next X period of time. First off is this blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault from the Côtes de Provence which is where we spent our ‘voyage de noces’ about ten years ago. Sitting in an office tasting this sort of wine does not really achieve anything like the same results..

Pale salmon pink with gentle aromas of red fruits, dirt floor and a light floral lift. On the palate light bodied and perfectly dry with subtle red fruits, a little creaminess and just a little earthiness. Low flavour with high texture - it feels a little grippy, has the right amount of acid to balance and finishes nice and dry leaving the mouth feeling clean and refreshed. Spot on.

No Responses »

I tasted this with two other Yarra Valley rosés (07 Shelmerdine, 06 The Wanderer) and liked this one best. The other tasters went for the Shelmerdine but Winorama is an autocracy, the best and most sensible form of wine government, so their voices will go unheard.

Super petrol colour. It has some funky smells, a bunch of redcurrant and strawberries stomped into a dirt floor, a touch of cream and some juicy licorice root. On the palate an interesting combination of waxy and chalky textures with low acidity but good balance. It has flavours of dirt, red fruit and some creamy characters. Dry and mouthfilling. Finishes dry and clean with excellent length of flavour. Very easy to knock back yet curiously engaging. I like this better than the 2006.

Other vintages : 2006

2 Responses »

This is made from 100% Grenache and arrived today just as I was looking for a nice rose to pop into an article. I snapped the top off and slarked a little bit directly out of the bottle and thought…’this is a goer’.

Very pretty pink with aromas of red fruits, watermelon and a little whipped cream. On the palate light and crisp with red fruit flavours, a bit of boiled watermelon lolly and a little spice. It is off dry with a good whack of clean acid and a couple of nice textural tweaks. The balance is just right I think and it drinks beautifully. It reminds me of a cleaner juicier Côtes de Provence and makes me think of summer holidays.

Other vintages : 2006

No Responses »

This rosé was made by the traditional saignée method of bleeding off juice from just crushed grapes; in this case Shiraz grapes were used. A vibrant red, but with some hints of pink. A fluffy nose: cherry, red plums, spice and musk. The palate is light and fresh, red fruits, musk and spice, but with a touch of hardness on the finish. With time, the wine warmed and the finish softened, the palate broadened a bit, and it displayed a refreshing lightness. Drink on a hot summers’ day.

Other vintages: 2005

No Responses »

A blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, and an old one indeed. Not many Aussie 2001 bubbles on the market.

A salmon apricot in colour with a very fine bead. Quite aromatic, yeasty, toasty and creamy, light strawberry and cherry fruits. There’s a bit of mousse on the palate, clean and cleansing, delicate, lemon and yeast, light cherry fruit, soft and quite fine, green apples, finishing with a touch of apple seed and peel, dryly. Six years old, but I would hazard a guess that it needs more time to develop.

2 Responses »

A whole bunch of Champagne arrived today which makes me very happy. I know some are dismissive of rose Champagne but I am a fan. This is exactly the sort of wine I would choose to guzzle whilst talking robbish and watching fireworks on a hot summer night (finances permitting).

Pale salmon colour. Aromas of strawberry, raspberry, brioche with a light caramel glaze and a wisp of smoke. On the palate soft and fine with flavours of fresh strawberry, redcurrant, spice and vanilla cream. It has gentle soft foamy bubbles and fresh clean acidity. Elegant and subtle. Good length of flavour too. A charming wine with excellent balance and drinkability. I’d buy this without hesitation.

3 Responses »

Lincoln went 80 points on this wine so I thought I would give it a whirl too.

Super petrol colour. Aromas of red berry, toffee, dirt and dried meat. On the palate light to medium bodied with red berry, toffee and some attractive earthy dirty flavours. Quite dry. It has lively acidity and a nice lightly grippy texture. Finishes dry with some old toffee, dirt and tangy unripe strawberry flavours. A very nice ‘Yarra-Euro’ food friendly rose for those who like this dirtier more oxidative style.

Other vintages reviewed : 2006

No Responses »

Made from Yarra Valley Shiraz. An apricot blush in colour. Vague aromas of cherries and an old bit of dried meat. There are also some reduced characters. The palate is shy and reticent: the lightest of red cherries, quite lean and acidic, all culminating in a slightly sticky and sweet aftertaste. That’s it. Sealed under Diam, so I don’t think it was affected by cork taint, but it does appear pretty well stripped. I will have to request another bottle.

3 Responses »

An anniversary demands a bottle of Rosé; this time I thought we’d try a bottle of Jacquesson. A salmon blush in colour. A manic bead, reminiscent of a flurry of snow in the wild storm. It was exhausting just watching all those bubbles fighting to escape the glass. A bready and yeasty nose, not as sweet as brioche, not as dry as biscuits, tight, with an intense citrus streak. The palate was firm and upright, hints of strawberry and cherry fruits intertwined with freshly cut lemons. Delicate and pure, structured, a wine with a lot of potential and not really for drinking now. Give it 5 years.

No Responses »

Yes it is the first day of Spring and I threw in 3 Rose to try with a group of friends last week in anticipation. This is from a winery that one does not hear too much about yet they have the largest bag press in Australia. Wendy and I visited there on our way to Mildura last May. I believe the label has been changed so that it is now called Masterpeace Rose 2006. They also have a nice Sagrantino and a great quaffa style chardonnay. This wine is made from Shiraz and Sangiovese. The colour is a lovely bright pink/red and the nose is full of fruit that is vaguely like a raisin/muscat/red berry style. On the palate the fruit is full on but the level of sugar is too much for my palate but that probably just means most others will love it.

No Responses »

The spring has sprung, the grass has riss’
I wonder where the birdies iss’

The first day of spring, and excellent weather for a cheery rosé. A vibrant red. Fresh cherries and strawberries, pretty rose florals. The palate shows summer fruits, glacé cherries, strawberry conserve and a bit of spice. Pleasant cherry length. Remarkably it doesn’t show 15.0% abv, but I would approach drinking it with caution; a chair and whip would suffice.

No Responses »

Once upon a time I worked in an office where the general manager’s wife had an interest in interior design…and so it came to pass that we were the lucky recipients of decor that included office partitions covered in a carpet-like fabric in the colours ‘Dreamtime Hibiscus’ and ‘Vivid Fuchsia’…

Vivid fuchsia in colour. Very lively and aromatic with musk stick, cranberry, crushed red berries and flowers. Smells sweet but the palate is only just off dry with flavours of cranberry, red berry, musk and spice. It is fresh and crisp with a little rasp of tannin like the lick of a kitten’s tongue. Finishes dry with surprising length of flavour. An excellent and highly refreshing Rose of Virginia.

Other vintages : 2006

10 Responses »

Catching Thieves is a McWilliams brand established in 2006, and presents a variety of wines from the Margaret River. This rosé was made from Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon free run juices. A vibrant red blush. A nose of pretty florals, strawberry conserve and a touch of smoky stalks. The palate showed sweet rounded light cherry fruits, with a touch of stalks too. Interestingly, the wine improved with some time in the glass after initially showing a waft of burnt bitumen and asparagus that I found very distracting. In the end, quite pleasant and refreshing, though there were some left-of-field characters in the wine.

No Responses »

This is a rosé made from Pinot Noir grapes, which were crushed and left on skins overnight before pressing. 10% of the wine was then fermented in French oak for added complexity. A brilliant cherry red in colour. On the nose, strawberry conserve with some red cherries and a hint of vanilla pod. The palate is beautifully textured, medium bodied with pure fruits balanced with savoury nuances; not at all sweet. The finish is drying and long - an excellent rosé.

2 Responses »