This is the last article about this year’s Annual Largest Blind Tasting of American True Rosés in the World and as I have done the past eight years, I thought I would end with some general impressions and this year’s top rosés.

Getting chilly (hopefully).

For those that have never done it, tasting 52 rosés blind might sound “fun” but it is actually pretty difficult. First, there are only a dozen or so descriptors for the color pink. Sure, you could get fancy and introduce foreign words or tap into Crayola, Behr Paint, or nail polish color names, but, well, I’ll just say that is not my style.

Here are a few ways to describe “pink” but they’re in French….

As it did the last couple of years, it took a toll on my teeth. Swishing around all that acid in your mouth really challenges the gums and chicklets. Four years ago, my teeth hurt for a solid four days after tasting through 68 wines twice (I stupidly pre-tasted all the wines right before the tasting). Ouch.

This year, I decided not to try all the wines twice. Still, after tasting 52 high-acid (hopefully) wines, the teeth and gums go into a bit of a revolt.

Lots and lots of wine left over.

Some general observations:

• I ran a couple of correlations and I found that once again this year, there was no apparent correlation between quality and price (r=  0.1) nor between quality and when the wine was tasted (r = 0.18). (Statisically speaking, number geeks don’t start getting excited about correlations until  r> +/- 0.3 and we must remember that correlation does not prove causation.)
• This year saw a slight increase in the quality of the wines (my average score rose about a half a point). While certainly, some wines were “better” than others, all the wines but two fell at least into the “Very Good” category, with nearly 3/4 achieving “Excellent” (33% at 90-92 points) or “Outstanding” (38% at 93 points and above).
• I contend that “True Rosé” can age as well as any well-made white wine, but I did think that it would be fairly easy to identify the older wines (four wines were from 2022, 19 from 2023, and 28 from 2024 [one wine was a non-vintage]), but that was certainly not the case. Although, there was a higher concentration of  “Outstanding” wines from the 2024 vintage wines (5 from 2023, 14 from 2024).
• Although still dominated by California (36 wines), Oregon was nicely represented with 16 wines.
• At big tastings such as this, even when spitting, the alcohol eventually starts to have a bit of an effect–there was much more conversation and general hilarity by the end of the tasting.
  

  Our dog, Mailly, after the tasting.

Thanks to H-E-B for, er, “supplying” the bags for the tasting.

Many thanks to those who attended the tasting and offered their comments and expertise, particularly Sandra Crittendon (Galveston Weekly) Kat René (The Corkscrew Consièrge), and Troy Johnson of Michael David Winery.

Three wines appeared on the lists of all the writers at the tasting:

• 2024 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir Rosé, Sonoma County, CA ($25)
• 2023 Pisoni Family Vineyards Lucy Rosé of Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, CA ($24)
• 2024 Covenant Red C Rosé, Lodi, CA ($35)

Another four wines appeared on the majority of the writers’ lists:

• 2024 WillaKenzie Estate Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR ($30)
• 2024 We Know Jack Zinfandel Rockpile Riff Raff Jack Florence Sr. Vineyard, Sonoma County, CA ($34)
• 2024 Girasole Rosé, Mendocino County, CA ($20)
• 2023 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir Rosé, Sonoma County, CA ($25)

And another seven appeared on multiple lists:

• 2024 Penner-Ash Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR ($40)
• 2023 Clif Family Winery Grenache Rosé ($30)
• 2024 Matanzas Creek Winery Rosé of Malbec, Sonoma County, CA ($45)
• 2024 Van Duzer Pinot Noir Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR ($25)
• 2024 Lange Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR ($25)
• 2024 Brooks Pinot Noir Rosé ($30)
• 2023 Alma de Cattleya Rosé of Pinot Noir, Sonoma County ($20)

Here are my top twelve wines from the tasting:

• 2024 Hartford Court Rosé of Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, CA ($35)
• 2024 WillaKenzie Estate Rosé, Willamette Valley, OR ($30)
• 2024 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir Rosé, Sonoma County, CA ($25)
• 2024 We Know Jack Zinfandel Rockpile Riff Raff Jack Florence Sr. Vineyard, Sonoma County, CA ($34)
• 2024 Girasole Rosé, Mendocino County, CA ($20)
• 2023 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir Rosé, Sonoma County, CA ($25)
• 2024 Domaine Carneros Avant Garde Rosé, Carneros, CA ($32)
• 2023 Pisoni Family Vineyards Lucy Rosé of Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, CA ($24)
• 2024 The Walls Vineyards, Cruel Summer Rosé, Walla Walla, WA ($35)
• 2024 Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir Rosé, Sonoma Coast, CA ($25)
• 2022 Chehalem Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR ($28)
• 2024 Covenant Red C Rosé, Lodi, CA ($35)

As you can see, there are a ton of fantastic rosés out there, many that can be had for a bargain (the average suggested retail this year was $28.83, which was thirty cents higher than last year).

That’s it for this year’s Largest Blind Tasting of American True Rosé! My next “big” tasting is this fall, with American Pinot Noir.

Flights 1-3        Flights 4-6     Flights 7-9     Flights 10-11   Flights 12-13

An alphabetical listing of all the wines tasted can be found HERE.