2009 Quivira Grenache Rosé

Drink Pink

2009 Quivira Grenace Rosé

Summer summer summer… time.

Hot days here in California lead to a desire for lighter, crisper wines that taste good (and maybe that just “make sense”) served at a bit below room temperature—chilled, even. Aromatic whites, imported blancs, maybe a bubble here and there. And, of course: rosés.

I remember (it wasn’t that long ago) when I thought that the end-all be-all of rosé was the damnable White Zinfandel, as proffered by outfits like Sutter Home and Franzia. How truly naïve I was.

I’ve since had some really fantastic rosés, both still and sparkling. Even a few I haven’t written about.

While this wine does not quite stack up to the likes of Pithy’s Sangiovese Rosé, it is still mighty tasty. It’s also completely organic and biodynamic, so depending on your outlook, add or subtract the appropriate points.

This rosé is 90% grenache, 10% mourvèdre, a pink take on the southern Rhône Valley. It’s a tawny pink in the glass, with this earthy hint of tan that definitely makes it stand apart from the abominable white zinfandel.

On the nose is a mix of tropical fruits—passion fruit, grapefruit, and a tiny tiny hint of kiwi—mixed with a more down-home apricot note. The wine is medium bodied, and the tropical notes carry through from the nose to the palate. There’s an interesting savoriness on the palate as well, something I found difficult to place, but that I completely blame on the mourvèdre.

The 2009 Quivira Grenache Rosé is a tasty summer wine that won’t knock your socks off, but will satisfy your thirst.

Verdict: B-

NV Yalumba Museum Reserve 21 Years Old Antique Tawny

Like Manna From Heaven Itself

Yummy wine

I mentioned in my previous Yalumba reviews that I experienced these wines as a bit of a happenstance, as Jane Ferrari of Yalumba happened to be in town, just happened to be at my favorite wine shop while that shop just happened to be hosting another exemplary winemaker (Mike Dunn of Dunn Howell Mountain) for a tasting.

Jane had a lot of wine with her, including the aforementioned Scribbler and Signature, but apparently, that wasn’t enough. One of my fellow tasters-slash-revelers mentioned to Jane that he’d had a Yalumba dessert wine he claimed had received “something like 99 or 100 points” (the best I could find was a RP 93 for this wine, still excellent), and while she wasn’t sure about the review (I’m betting people in the business of making wine would remember a mainstream review score that high) she did know the wine he was talking about, but didn’t have any on her.

However, Prima Vini, the shop in which we all stood at that very moment, did have it for sale. (They still do.) So what did Jane do? She bought the half-bottle and shared some with each of us. A remarkable move, but after tasting the wine, I knew immediately why she’d done it.

We were now, all of us, irrevocably hooked. This shit is good.

Before I get into the tasting notes, I want to quote this wine’s varietal makeup from the Yalumba website:

Original old vine Shiraz, Grenache, Dolcetto, Mourvèdre, Muscadelle, with a small percentage of Touriga, Tinta Cao and Tinta Molle contributing complexity to the blend.

Whew! Now, on to the wine itself.

The wine is a clean tawny tan in the glass. I wouldn’t use the word “brown” to describe it. It fades from a rich almost-golden tan, to basically clear at the edges.

On the nose is one of the most enticing bouquets I’ve come across: raisins, honey, and caramel. All sweet (this is, after all, a dessert wine) but not at all sticky, or saccharine/sickly “sweet.” Rather, the nose is rich and lustrous.

Take a sip and you won’t be disappointed. The wine is very full bodied, it covers the inside of your mouth like velvet. The honey from the nose is here, but with a rustic, robust heat that reminded me of drinking mead. The wine is sweet but not overly so, hot (at a good 20% ABV) but not off-putting, with hints of candies and sugar.

In short, it’s exactly what dessert wine should be.

Verdict: A

(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/delphaber/ / CC BY 2.0)

NV Steven Kent Insieme Red Blend

Odd Blends Do Not Always Work

I’m always down for interesting, different blends. Steven Kent Winery tosses its hat in this particular ring with the Insieme. The Insieme I tasted was non-vintage: some of the grapes were harvested in 2006, and some in 2007. It’s a blend of 34% mourvedre, 30% syrah, 20% zinfandel, and 16% grenache. It’s also 15% ABV, so you better be in the mood for the alcohol.

For me, that alcohol level was kind of a turn-off. It made the nose of the wine smell like rubber and alcohol. It wasn’t disgusting, it wasn’t completely off-putting, but I could tell that the alcohol content of the wine (which I guessed at at the time, didn’t know the exact amount until later) was overpowering other notes on the nose.

The only fruit note I noticed on the palate was kind of a sour cherry, or perhaps black cherry. The wine was very tight, and rough and tannic. I’d like to say it was simply youth, and the wine needs to be laid down for 5-10 years. However, it’s my (as of yet still undereducated) understanding that higher-ABV wines do not cellar well, which leaves me at a bit of a conundrum. I suppose at $30 for the bottle of Insieme, I could buy some, lay it down myself, and try it again in 2016 or so.

But I’d rather spend my money on more enjoyable wine.

Verdict: C+