2023 Rosé
Nine wines were assembled for the annual rosé tasting at 6pm last Saturday evening.
Unusually, the sun was shining with a clear blue sky, the ambient temperature didn’t require coats, and it was dry.
This annual event does not have a defined date, but is a tasting that identifies the rosé for the coming summer, as well as an excuse to have around twenty local mates for a drink. Therefore, more of a drinks party than a panel tasting. Nevertheless, a valid assembly of varied ages to identify a promising brew to last the summer.
The wines were a combination of the current vintages of previous wines that had performed well, some that I had seen reviewed in the press, plus anything else that caught my eye.
They came from Yapp Brothers, Berrys and Waitrose. Priced from £13.25 to £35.00.
The assembly did not know the price of the wine, nor where it was acquired.
Lacking in any ambiguity, there was one very clear winner:
Château de Berne, Côtes de Provence 2022
Waitrose - £14.99 - Available from many merchants.
A combination of Grenache Noir, Cinsault and Grenache creates citrus blossom and strawberry on the nose with red plums, apricots, a hint of melon on the palate are enlivened by a few herbal notes of sage and rosemary complexity on the palate. Great packaging in a square-bottle. Also, it is a Relais & Château hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant. A visit might be necessary!
One For The Cellar
Also, I had noticed a new vintage from New Zealand producer Escarpment whilst thumbing the Waitrose pages:
Kupe Escarpment Pinot Noir, Martinborough, New Zealand 2020
Waitrose - £41.00 - Available from other merchants.
It is a flawless delivery of well defined New World Pinot Noir. Aged in 35% new French oak barriques for 16 months, it delivers pronounced varietal characteristics on the nose. Ripe dark plums, red currants, red cherries, and strong raspberry flavours on the palate. The new oak is very evident with fine tannins and a long finish. Texture and mouthfeel are very well aligned. However, it is young, and the finish needs time to integrate and evolve: it will settle over the coming years and be perfection around 2030. Definitely one to put away and forget about for a few years. Made from a single vineyard planed in 1999.
Escarpment is located in the Wairarapa sub-region of Martinborough: north island of New Zealand. Generally small vineyards, tended by family-owned producers. With a climate and soil profile similar to that of Burgundy, it’s not surprising that they are creating great Pinot Noirs.
