During my stay in France's Rhone Valley, Languedoc and Roussillion in early April (2017) I had the good fortune taste through many, but not all of my favorite Rose wines.
Top of the heap has wines from Chateau de Roquefort's Corail, a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan and Vermentino showing its usual stuff right out of the gate. Then of course there's the trio of 2016 Roses from Domaine de la Mordoree, the two from Tavel and one simply branded La Remise de la Mordoree, and of course there's the delightfully crisp 2016 Chene Bleu as well as the lovely Loubie from Domaine du Mourchon in Seguret. The latter two are interesting in their style is very much the crisp, pale pink color style of Provence, with the power of Tavel.
Yesterday, along with the millennial oriented wine critic from London, Amelia Singer, we started a Los Angeles lunch with Rose from one of my benchmark producers, Chateau Trinquevedel.
As it showed in Avignon only a few weeks ago, the 2016 is as good or better than the 2015 from the Tavel producer. In many ways the 2016 is far ahead of the 2014, the one year in recent memory that Trinquevedel didn't hit the mark for me, and steps ahead of the 15 in crispness and fruit.
Where some Rose's tend to take on a powdery flavor, the steely, crisp, mineral and stone base of the Trinquevedel gives way to really bright strawberry and blueberry fruit, that is not sweet, chewy or dense. This is a lively wine that is not overpowering, but more present from first sip to last drop.
The 2016 Rose wines are gems. Many are starting to arrive in the USA and will move quickly. As Spring and summer is the time for Rose, now is the time to look and find your favorite, and then go off and have some fun with them.