Not much fruit or complexity on the palate but good acid. Strawberry, green apple and herbs on the nose with a mineral edge. Or serve it to that guest who isn’t a wine connoisseur that likes a sweeter wine that they can put an ice cube in. It would be nice on a hot summer afternoon and I could even see using it in a Sangria. This wine has floral and melon notes and for its sweetness doesn’t have quite enough acid for balance. So I decided that I should buy several bottles (all under $5.00) and give you my recommendations. Yes, you read that right, two dollars and thirty nine cents. On this occasion there was a display that featured Rosés starting at $2.99! And, by the way, they were having a 20% wine discount which brought the price down to $2.39. I recently popped into a Grocery Outlet store which I do from time to time to see if I can find a wine bargain. The wine department at Grocery Outlet draws bargain hunters like flies.
That makes a good Rosé a great value in my book – which brings me to my point. The characteristic of Rosé that appeals to me almost as much as the others that I’ve mentioned is they tend to be very reasonably priced. I remember slugging down fabulous Rosés like water in Spain and there are great bottles from California, Australia and on and on. That’s not to say that you can’t find wonderful examples all over the world. They have been making delicious Rosés there for centuries so they know what they’re doing. The prominent varietals there are Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. It’s no coincidence that the region that is best known for Rosé, (and pretty much invented it) is Provence, France. My favorites tend to be the more pale colored wines that feature Rhone and Southern France varietals like Grenache.
The level of color depends on how long the wine maker leaves the juice on the skins during maceration and the flavor profile is determined by the varietal characteristics and other factors in the vineyard. You’ll see Syrah, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese and even Cabernet. Almost every red varietal is used to make it. Red wine grapes picked and ready to make Rosé in Provence