As the heat of summer continues to build, more and more of
you are reaching for tasty bottles of cold rosé. Lots more of you, in fact. Whether from Provence or Petaluma,
American consumption of rosé has exploded in the last decade.
When I wrote the first words in this space in 2006, the U.S.
imported somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 liters of rosé from Provence.
In 2016, upwards of 8 million liters
found their way to American palates. Big Wine Store near me recently rearranged
its shelves – devoting practically an entire aisle to the pink stuff from
around the world, where I used to hunt for my goodies from Tavel and Provence tucked
away in a dusty corner near the White Zin.
As I started my quest to get my readers to embrace my
oenological mentor’s mantra that “Pink is not a flavor” and that dudes could
drink pink wine and still feel manly, dry rosé was one of the best kept secrets
of the wine world. But as the world’s caught on to just how daggone good the
stuff is, winemakers and distributors picked up on the public’s new thirst and
began raising prices to match demand. Where a $15 bottle of rosé was almost
unheard of just a few years ago, many quality entries are now in the same range
as premium reds and whites – in the $25-30 range. Heck, I sampled a rosé a few
months ago tagged at $70.
The Lineup -- Drink Pink and Don't Think! |
People, that’s just crazypants. Rosé is a wine for
happiness. It’s a great choice for meals, sure – but it’s darned near
impossible to drink rosé and be depressed. There’s something about that fruit
and acid balance that just calls for friends and a social setting. And while,
yes, there are certainly levels of quality that can roughly correlate with price
– come on, that’s simply excessive. Give me $70 and the Spanish section and
I’ll get you three bottles that will knock your socks off. A $70 bottle of rosé
is just showing off.
The other end of the spectrum, thankfully, hasn’t been
pushed out of the market entirely. I like my rosé cold and plentiful and if
you’re reading this, I know you do, too. After a recent trip to the store where
I saw that a couple of producers are now boxing rosé, I decided to pit three
large-format rosés against each other in a happy-go-lucky wineglass rodeo. The
contenders:
- Bota Box 2016 California Rosé (3 liter box -- $20-25)
- La Vielle Ferme 2016 Rosé (1.5 liter bottle -- $14-18)
- Black Box 2016 “Limited Edition” California Rosé (3 liter box -- $20-25)
[Side note – a few of you may remember that I swore off Black Box wines after a series of messes in my fridge from spout issues. I let
one back in the house…you know…for science.]
The La Vielle Ferme is from the Southern Rhone valley, just
northwest of the Provence region. It’s a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, and
Syrah. The Bota Box and Black Box wines are considered “California blends” –
meaning there’s not 75% of one varietal in either. The Black Box wine says that
it’s “built around Syrah,” and I couldn’t find info on the makeup of the Bota.
I suspect it’s also Syrah-driven.
Pouring the wines side-by-side-by-side, the LVF was by far
the lightest in color – the pale pink traditionally associated with much French
rosé from Provence and surrounding environs. The Bota Box was a slightly darker
pink, although still clearly on the lighter side of the ledger. The Black Box
was a darker salmon color, almost orange. This shouldn’t be considered a defect
– rose gets its color through brief contact with grape skins. The longer the
contact, the darker the wine, so one would expect a richer flavor with a darker
colored rosé.
On to the flavors – rosé typically has a fairly delicate
nose, as was the general case here. The Bota Box’s nose was light with peaches
and strawberries as the dominant characteristic. I found it to be medium weight
for a rosé, with more strawberries and a mildly acidic palate. The finish was
crisp and fairly clean. I see this as an inexpensive American riff on a French
rosé.
The LVF was along the same lines as the Bota, but classed up
a bit. While peaches and strawberries were in the game here, the nose was much
more “blossomy” on those particular flavors. The wine was lighter and more
crisp, with lemons, peaches, and strawberries all taking their turn on the
palate. While it’s certainly not a complex wine by any stretch, it tastes like
what you would expect from a dry French rosé.
The Black Box was produced in a different style altogether.
Oranges and grapefruit were the first flavors I got from the bouquet, which was
followed by melon and cantaloupe on the palate in a somewhat heavier style. The
finish was fruitier, lower in acid, and had a minerally/metallic taste that
wasn’t nearly as pleasant to drink as the other two. Served cold, this would be
good if you really weren’t thinking about it much. A cheap rosé for day
drinking perhaps.
So, as one might expect, the wine that came in the big
bottle topped the two boxes, but not by much. I’d not hesitate to pour either
the Bota Box or the La Vielle Ferme on a hot summer’s day for some kickback
time or with a meal where you really aren’t looking for a perfect wine pairing.
Drink your rosé without thought and with happiness, the way it was intended.