IF you were to stock Rose

I always think of Rose's during the Spring Time. It always conjures up a view of sitting on a blanket in an open field, with a great picnic lunch and just sipping those cool, refreshing alive Roses.

Now that Spring is here, I am trying to create a rack of various Rose's wines to appeal to almost anyone.

Right now, we have

Côtes du Provence Rosé from France
Sofia from California
Gianni Masciarelli Rose d'Abruzzo from Italy
Veramonte Reserva Rose from Chile
1 Greek rose, whose name has left me (to really dark for a Rose and very intense)

I would like to bring in some Tavel from France and probably something from California and Washington State. I am just trying to balance our Rose's so we can be appealing to those that like it
Light, Dry, Sweet, etc

I've looked online for the Best Roses, but I figure there is more expertise on this site then what a few write for a magazine.

[David M. Bueker]

One that should not be missed is Renardat-Fâche Vin du Bugey-Cerdon. It's pink, sparking & somewhat sweet (some say quite sweet), and tastes of fresh strawberries. Lovely stuff that is popular not only with non wine geeks but geeks as well.

Ron, Hi...

Before responding with suggestions, a question. Do you prefer your rose wines crisply dry, off-dry or towards the truly sweet side?

Best
Rogov

My favorites from last season were the Duseigneur Rosé Lirac (Rhone - crisp, mineral) and the Crios Rosé of Malbec (Argentina - fresh, fruity). The Crios I intend on buying by the metric ton. Metric litre? In any case a whole heaping lot.

I don't know, generally speaking I find that when you try to appeal to everyone, you wind up appealing to no one.

More importantly, though, should rose be capitalized? I'm not sure. You don't write White wine. I think it's more proper to italicize the word.

For geeky awesome rosé made from Pineau d'Aunis in the Loire Valley:
Domaine de Montrieux (Emile Heredia) Coteaux du Vendômois

Lagrein makes for superb rosé from the Südtirol/Alto Adige in northeastern Italy

Lemberger/Blaufränkisch can make for some rather interesting slurpable rosés . . . I've had memorable ones from Washington.

Txakoli in Basque country in northern Spain is one of my favorite sources. The Ameztoi Rubentis blend of Hondarrabi Beltza and Hondarrabi Zuri is an annual fave.

I love rosé!

I don't have much but I do like having a few bottles of Lagier Meredith's dry rosé from the Syrah grape. It's not cheap by any means but very good, especially on a hot summer day. It it looks like I'll be able to order some and have it sent right to my Maryland home after July!!

Keith has some great suggestions if any of your clientele are geeky.
Then of course there is the Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Rioja Gran Riserva rosado. Great wine, but not really a summer sipper as such.

On more mainstream side I like:
Edmunds St John Bone Jolly Rose (not sure if he has CT distribution)
Cantalupo "Il Mimo" (nebbiolo rose, pretty affordable)
Agree with David's suggestion of Cerdon-Bugey, interesting for geeks but not geeks love it too
I don't love the Muga rose, but it's pretty popular and its cheap;

Before responding with suggestions, a question. Do you prefer your rose wines crisply dry, off-dry or towards the truly sweet side?

For me personally, I like the crisply dry rose wines. For the store, I am trying to make sure we cover various taste buds, so dry to sweet is what I am after

Ron, Hi...

Several European producers, a good range from the crisply dry to the off-dry.....

Domaine des Diables, Cote de Provence
Chateau Montaud, Cotes de Provence
Domaine Bunan, Bandol
Chateau de Lancyre, Coteaux de Languedoc
Les Vignerons de Tavel, Tavel
Domaine de Mordoree, Cotes du Rhone

Best
Rogov

[quote="Dale Williams"]Keith has some great suggestions if any of your clientele are geeky.
Then of course there is the Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Rioja Gran Riserva rosado. Great wine, but not really a summer sipper as such.

I saw Gary V's episode on that a while back and I have to admit I'm curious though by all description it ain't nothin' like one normally thinks of when they think of Rosé. I'd be curious to know your impression.

Some others:
Marsannay rose. Bart is popular and fairly priced, Pataille and Bruno Clair are really good, but priced a bit more.
Sancerre rose. Cotat is great, but almost impossible to find (and expensive by rose standards). I've liked Boulay, Lucien Crochet.
Bandol- Tempier, if you have the clientele that will spend $25+ for rose. Ott is also expensive.
The Ch. d'Oupia Minervois rose is good and under $10
JP Brun (Terres Dorees) in Beaujolais has 2 pinks, the Folie still rose and the FRV100 petillant.
I know the Brun and Oupia wines are available in CT (or have been in past) as Franco's in New Canaan had a lot of Louis Dressner wines.

Kelly, the Tondonia is released at about 10 years old. 4 or 5 years in barrel, rest in bottle. It's big, very dry, with an unusual fruit profile- red fruits, but lots of citrus zest and onion skin. Usually just alittle oxidative note. It works at table more like a red than a traditional rose.

Many thanks to all of you that have replied.
My major experiences with rose wine was with Lancers and Mateus, but then of course the nice French Côtes du Provence.

Now, armed with some good information, I can talk to the owner to see which ones he is willing to go for.

[Jenise]

One that should not be missed is Renardat-Fâche Vin du Bugey-Cerdon. It's pink, sparking & somewhat sweet (some say quite sweet), and tastes of fresh strawberries. Lovely stuff that is popular not only with non wine geeks but geeks as well.

That wine is maybe the one wine in the universe that both geeks and mothers-in-law can slurp together with abandon.

Ron, Hi...

Several European producers, a good range from the crisply dry to the off-dry.....

Domaine des Diables, Cote de Provence
Chateau Montaud, Cotes de Provence
Domaine Bunan, Bandol
Chateau de Lancyre, Coteaux de Languedoc
Les Vignerons de Tavel, Tavel
Domaine de Mordoree, Cotes du Rhone

Best
Rogov

Another vote for the Lancyre!!

There are lots of good suggestions here. It might also be worthwhile stocking a few bottles of "serious" pinks capable of improving with some age.

In this category, there springs to mind Sancerre rosé (Pinot noir) from a top producer. I remember some wonderful bottles of 1996 from Cotat which at about year 8 had the finesse of a great Champagne without the bubbles.

Another one which becomes attractively complex with a little age is Château Simone which comes from Palette, a North facing site near Aix-en-Provence.

Both the above are quite expensive, about €30 for Ch. Simone, but they are worth it.

Pinks from the Côtes de Provence are improving a lot (RVF ran a good article about a year ago) but I would be wary of the pretentious offerings of Château d'Esclans; their top cuvée costs close to 3 figures in € and I could hardly taste the wine through the wood; it may integrate with time, of course, but worth the price....?

And there is pink Champagne, of course.

For me, stocking Roses happily equates to "pink champagnes".

While I've always been a blondes guy (haha), one of the greatest roses I've tasted was a Krug NV in a half bottle (I was able to purchase three halves, it was the first).

Mmmm...nice! My ultimate impression was simply whispers of strawberries wrapped in silk!

I'm not good at quantifying wine with "points" or even with standard tasting notes, but I told my sweetheart it was the kind of wine that made we want to kiss her after each sip she took so I could taste her and the wine at the same time. We laughed and the faint blush on our cheekbones probably matched that of the delicate bubbles.

"Not quite blonde on blonde, but pink on blonde," I smiled.

As for picnics, we're often "all-american" in our taste and are likely to take along some fried chicken, some potato salad and a few 8 oz bottles of ice cold Coca Cola. And in my eyes that's also one of the greatest picnic pleasures one can experience!

Jeff

Hmmm....."Coca Cola".....seems that I've heard that term somewhere.

Best (and Smiling)
Rogov

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Belliviere Giroflees. One of the handful of wines that pops to my mind when I think of rose.

Hmmm....."Coca Cola".....seems that I've heard that term somewhere.

Best (and Smiling)
Rogov

It couldn't have been here in America...

Jeff

Another vote for Bugey-Cerdon. I'm picking up three bottles at a wine, coffee and tea shop in Chapel Hill later this month. I also like the Bruno Clair Marsannay Rose' from Pinot Noir that Dale mentioned and the Cotat Sancerre rose'. Elizabeth Spencer (California) has a Pinot Noir rose that might be worth considering. I happen to like the Muga rose' but when I couldn't find more of that I purchased a Marques de Caceres rose' (also Spanish and from the Tempranillo grape) that was okay. I would suggest trying to stock at least one Tavel rose'. Your more experienced wine drinkers will recognize Tavel as a region known for high-quality rose' wine. And I have enjoyed several rose' wines made from the Syrah grape but don't remember the specifics. You already mentioned Provencal rose' and that is another region devoted to producing rose' wine.

Ron - since you're looking for wines to stock for retail, I think it's always a good idea to promote local products. I have no first hand knowledge of CT wines, but have heard some good things about Sharpe Hill dessert wines and I'm sure some of them make rosé. It might be worth your while (and fun) to check them out. Here is a link: http://www.ctwine.com/index.php?wineries.

Don't know if the Gianni Masciarelli Rose is a Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo. If not, would definitely stock one.

I don't have much but I do like haveing a few bottles of Lagier Meredith's dry rosé from the Syrah grape. It's not cheap by any means but very good, especially on a hot summer day. It it looks like I'll be able to order some and have it sent right to my Maryland home after July!!

Counting down the days!!

My Turley arrived at my brother's house yesterday so I'll make the 2-hour round trip this weekend it pick it up - an outrage!!

Actually, it may be past July before we can get wine because of this requirement (from WP)

"Out-of-state wineries will have to post a $1,000 bond, pay a $200 annual fee for the privilege of shipping to Maryland residents, and file quarterly reports stating which Marylanders are receiving their wines."

A tad of big brother to me but a small price to pay for direct shipping.