This past Saturday, I invited a few wine professionals here in Houston to my house for what I believe to be the largest blind tasting of American True Rosés, This year we tasted 64 wines, more than last year’s 53 and 2022’s 51, but thankfully slightly lower than 2021’s 68 (four years ago we tasted 74, in 2019 there were 54, 68 in 2018, and the first year we had 36).
What is a “True Rosé”?
Well, there are essentially three ways to make a rosé wine. The first, which is rarely practiced outside of sparkling wine production, is a simple blend of red wine and white wine. The second, which is widely practiced around the world, is called the Saignée Method where shortly after a red grape crush, a portion of the grape juice (after brief contact with the skins) is bled off (“saigné” means “bled” in French). This bled-off wine is then vinified as if it were a white wine.
The third option is what I call a “True Rosé.” In this process, the grapes are raised, picked, and processed with the intention of making rosé. True Rosés are therefore not a byproduct of red wine production, they are intentionally or purposefully made. They are True Rosés.
All 64.
Five years ago, just a few days after the Third Annual Largest Blind Tasting of American True Rosés, two articles landed in my inbox. The first was from the online wine publication, Vinepair, and its then Executive Editor Emily Saladino (who has since moved on to be a writer with The Wine Enthusiast) who took a rather meandering look at the current rosé market in the U.S.
Among other puzzling points, Saladino claimed: “At this point, we have absolutely hit peak rosé.” I imagine that she meant that after several years of rather dramatic growth, the U.S. market has become over-saturated with pink wine. She continued, suggesting that the market has nowhere else to go but down since the market is now flooded with hundreds of inexpensive, “bad” rosés.
The other article, by Mitch Frank in the June 30th (2019) issue of Wine Spectator, also took a multi-faceted look at the rosé market (which frankly lacked focus, but that is another matter, perhaps). Among many of his claims, Frank suggested that the current rosé “trend” (which he posited was a step above a”fad”) had likely hit his zenith. He also seemed to imply that rosés, were less serious than other styles of Wine:
And rosé can be a lot of fun, its alluring hues often packaged with eye-catching labels and creative bottle shapes. Market research firm Nielsen claims that 40 percent of rosé consumers are women ages 21 to 34, but the pink wine audience is broader in scope-just search the hashtag “brosé.”
While both articles provided a few interesting points of view and several unsubstantiated assertions, they seemingly based their opinions on the bottom of the market, wines that cost $10 or less. The Spectator article did mention that many of the “new” rosés on the market were saignées, which “was an afterthought, and the quality of most of it reflected that.” Neither of the pieces spent much time on the wines at the upper end of the spectrum, on intentional or True Rosés, which for me represent the best of the category, both in the present and future.
Too many continue to see rosé as a niche, a fad, a non-serious wine that does not require much thought. Well, if our tastings these past eight years are any indication, there are oodles of wines that prove that some rosés are not only at the top of the genre but should also be considered outstanding wines regardless of hue.
A couple of weeks ago, seven of us tried 64 American Rosés on a glorious Saturday afternoon, trying to find the best. As promised, I am publishing my actual notes from the tasting, which we tasted in 16 flights of 4 wines. Here is the third set of three flights.
2023 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir Rosé, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $25. Fairly light cotton candy color with melon and a bit of flint on the nose with a touch of florality. The palate is lovely: good strawberry fruit, intense tartness, fantastic. Outstanding. 93 Points.
2022 Ketcham Estate Pinot Noir Savannah’s Rosé, Russian River Valley, CA: Retail $38. Medium color with a sweet strawberries and cream nose. Lovely. The palate is a bit round with nice fruit and a mineral note. Nice. Excellent. 91 Points.
2023 Chehalem Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $28.Ridiculously Responsible Bottle (461g; 16.2oz). Quite light in the glass, easily the lightest of the flight, but all pink (no orange). More floral than fruity on the nose with some crushed seashell. Quite provencal on the palate with reserved fruit and more than ample acidity. Look, this is light and delicate, but it is also delicious. Whoa. Outstanding. 93 Points.
2022 Acquiesce Grenache Rosé, Lodi, CA: Retail $35. Heavy Bottle (653g; 1lb 7oz). Light to medium color with a salty, almost caramel strawberry nose. Whoa. This is it. Rich, fruity, textured, smoky, even. This is the most serious wine of the tasting thus far. Outstanding. 96 Points.
2023 Lange Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $29. Responsible Bottle (525g; 1lb 2.5oz). Light to medium in color with a lovely nose: melon, strawberry, and even guava. The palate? Whoa. Another classic Rosé. Fruity, tart, balanced. I would drink this all day, every day. Outstanding. 95 Points.
2023 Brooks Pinot Noir Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $28. Responsible Bottle (537g; 1lb 2.9oz). Medium color with more of a creamy, ripe fruit here. Gorgeous nose. The palate is fruity, but also rustic with the tartness driving the bus, along with a meaty component, but it all works. Excellent. 91 Points.
2023 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Rosé de Ville, Sonoma County, CA: Retail $30. Medium pinkish orange with a salty, red fruit, almost caramel nose that is fantastic. This is another wine that is more serious, it’s not just a fruity, tart, glass of wonderfulness, it is more vinous and vibrant. Outstanding. 96 Points.
*2022 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Rosé, Edna Valley, CA: Retail $25. Ridiculously Responsible Bottle (476g; 16.7oz). Medium color with a touch of petrol on the nose, oddly, with a palate that is a bit listless. Some stale fruit, and just an odd vibe. Although this is under screw cap, there might be something off with this bottle as it was one of the top wines last year. Very Good. 87 Points.
*2021 Cline Cellars Mourvèdre Rosé, Contra Costa County, CA: Retail $21. More of an orange than pink with ripe melon and a touch of funk (I love the funk). Rich and creamy with tons of body, I feel like this has a bit of age on it, which is why we do this tasting. To highlight all well-made rosé. Excellent. 91 Points.
*2022 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Rosé, Sonoma Coast, CA: Retail $25. Medium to dark in color with the slightest hint of orange. Mostly strawberry here with a touch of melon and some flint. Nice. Really fruity. Really fruity. So much so that it comes off sweet, but this has to be pretty close to bone dry. Great weight. Gangbusters. Lovely. Outstanding. 94+ Points.
2023 Stoller Pinot Noir Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR: Retail $22. Ridiculously Responsible Bottle (454g; 1lb). Medium pink with a hint of orange, with melon, maybe some guava, and a touch of red berry fruit on the nose. Solid fruit, buoyed by a nice acidity, with fantastic balance. Very solid. Excellent. 92 Points.
*2021 Notre Vue GSM Rose, Chalk Hill, Sonoma County, CA: Retail $29. Very Heavy Bottle (733g; 1lb 9.8oz). 34% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 33% Mourvèdre. Pale pink, maybe more orange, with a subtle, subdued nose lhat really only gave off a bit of caramel on the nose. Rather non-descript on the palate as well, with only a touch of fruit (I really had to search for it) and just kinda blah. Very Good. 88 Points.
Note: Wines with one asterisk (*) were second bottles from last year’s tasting. Wines with two asterisks (**) I actually purchased to include in the tasting.
More coming soon!
the drunken cyclist 