Friday Sips

Dry Rose Day and all from Provence!! Drop by to taste 4 blazing pink wines that are sure-fire heat-beaters!! There will also be red wine open for those who have the notion that something may fall off of them if they drink something pink.

Rose from a Chateuneuf-du-Pape maestro. The grapes for this wine literally come from just across the border of Chateauneuf and are the same utilized for his ungodly Cotes-du-Rhone that often outperforms other Chateauneufs of the likes La Nerthe, Mont-Redon and Grand Veneur. But I digress. On to the blitzing pink wine at hand.

Visited with Laurent Charvin on June 3rd and tasted this and was once again knocked over. Pale pink color, all directly pressed after 2 hours of skin contact. Very provencal herb scents, particularly lavender and fenoueil along with hawthorn, rose and cherry pit. Livewire zip, plenty of material that fills the mouth. Scintillating and succulent on the finish, this rose seemingly lasts for an hour on the finish. Will be one of the selections of the summer. Well, at least while I have some, it is very limited!

Bastide Blanche's 2014 Bandol Rose is a knockout, and we are GIDDY to sell it for 20 bucks as we have the over the past decade. If there were one area that deserves its prices to be a step above the norm, Bandol would be it. One sip and you realize the seriousness and table-worthiness of the wines. The Bronzo brothers bought La Bastide Blanche in the 70s and in the last 35+ years, they have brought their Domaine into prominence and now are one of the pre-eminent producers of Bandol Rouge and Rose.

So many roses, so little time you say. Never! There is always room in our fridges for rose! Now that we have had a go at this, we may well clear out the meat drawer and crisper! Loads of cut red flowers, smoke, rosemary, lemon and strawberry fold over into a texture that is mouth coating and fleshy, yet extremely brisk. Insane complexity, richness and depth shine on the long, long finish. Absolutely a food wine, drink this tsunami of a pink wine with seafood stew, grilled whole chickens with fresh herbs, or crusty bread and an assortment of olives.

Tavel is sort of like listening to The Stooges, a funhouse thrills and chills will result when you experience it. Tavel, known for Rose, has been growing and producing pink wines since 600 BC. Tavel is also very misunderstood as a Rose region. More often, people are expecting these wines to be simple patio pleasers; however, they are the opposite and the producers who I visited earlier this month all refer to it as vin pour le repas. In addition, one person mentioned that Tavel is not red, white or Rose - it is Tavel! Limestone soils drive these wines and while they have big color and body, they always maintain energetic presence and an underbelly of illuminating briskness.

Florian Andre of Chateau Manissy is a promising youngster in the region and when he approached the religious order who owned this property, the monks were impressed with his philosophy and after years of turning down other offers, invited Florian to do the wines. The 2014 Tavel Cuvee des Lys reveals raging aromatic red berry, wind-swept herbs, mandarin and plenty of floral aromas shout out for you to take a big swig. Completely dry, generous and mouth filling, but so invigorating, zesty and bursting from front to back. Brilliant ripeness, but brilliantly balanced, this Rose is a winner that will stand up to grilled white meats, denser fish, tomato-based pasta dishes as well as spicy Asian cuisine.

In so many ways the Luberon region in Provence is about as ass-backwards as can be, however, in some cases, and certainly not necessarily all, the wines from this region can be quite good. It is here one must look at the northern sector of the region and then really focus on small growers who truly care about their land and the upbringing of their wines.

Chateau la Canorgue is a prodigal Provence producer who excels with reds, whites and particularly this superb, dry pink wine. Made from the usual suspect regional grapes and done via direct press versus the saignee bleeding method, smoke, spice, strawberry and watermelon notes jump from the glass and lead into a sophisticated and mouth-watering texture that shows itself to be regal rose. From initially gawking at the color until the last drop when you drain the bottle, it is perfect fodder with grilled tombo tuna or grilled prawns. Break out the olives and petanque balls then fasten your seatbelts, put your seats into their full, upright position and be prepared for your virtual journey to Provence!