This blog is based on the Spirits of New Mexico radio show that aired on March 20, 2021. We do on-air tasting of one or two wines to illustrate what is available in a particular wine region, or as a contrast of what influence a wine region has on a grape or blend. We use suitable glasses for the type of wine and do a double-decant of red wines to insure they have opened sufficiently for accurate judging.
While we have covered Rose wines previously they have all been Old World examples. It seems only fair to cover New World Rose wines now. Rose wines are very popular at many of our local wineries and with worldwide demand still high it is time to see what offerings are to be had in California and locally in New Mexico.
Classically Rose is a summer wine, but since it is spring here in New Mexico and with our constant sun to warm us (even if only the radiant heat on the other side of our window) we can certainly pretend it’s summer. Also a recent article from Kermit-Lynch has been suggesting it is high time for Rose, even though the current vintage is not due for months.
Many of the lighter pink and crisper Rosé wines, such as classic Provence are more in demand, and New World winemakers have taken note. However, while it’s the predominant style there are other Rosé wines that produce richer, darker-colored wines that extend food-pairing into typical red wine territory. Longer extraction of the skins pulls in more polyphenols and red wine accents for a deeper, richer Rosé.
While the amount of extraction, or skin-contact on a red wine isn’t always easy to perceive until we taste it, the amount of time on skins is ready apparent on a Rosé. The one factor that only comes from reading the label or tasting the wine is the level of sweetness. While dry Rose has become the standard now, off-dry and sweet Rose is still readily available.
Making Rosé Wine
I’m reprising this information from a previous post. Rosé wines are made by removing the skins quickly from red wine grapes, using one of four methods. A Rose blend might include some white wine. A Cote du Rhone blend can be a white or Rose as well as the classic red.
- Saignée (sohn-yay) or bleeding method: Free run juice, around 10%, bled off for Rosé and permits two wines to be made; Rose and a richer more intense red wine.
- Free-run juice comes from cold un-pressed grapes, which can be:
- Blended back into the wine
- Sold as a free run juice wine, which has lower tannin, potassium
- Sold as Saignée Rose, which has intense, dark colors and uses the juice after 2 hours to 2 days of runoff before pressing and fermented separately
- Because the primary wine is red, grapes are harvested later than typical Rose
- Maceration, similar to conventional red wine, but juice taken off skins after 3 – 24 hours
- The grapes are harvested earlier than for red wine to preserve acidity and red fruit flavors and brighter notes
- Vin Gris: Grey wine, lighter skin grape like Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio, color near grey and with lower maceration times. Skins removed quickly like a white wine.
- Blending red and white wines to create Rose, typical of many Champagne Rose wines and some domestic Rose.
- Blush wines: The first so-called blush wine was made by accident, which is also the history of winemaking. A stuck fermentation at Sutter Home, a Zinfandel producer, caused the free run juice to be sweet rather than dry. The resulting white Zinfandel became an industry all to itself and quickly overtook red Zinfandel.
Rosé Wine Basics
- Many New World wines are following Old World winemaking techniques.
- Prices range from $7 to $15 most common, not often over $25
- Rosé wines can be dry, off-dry or sweet, but drier has become the trend since the millennium.
- Most low-end Rose wines should be drunk young, the wine, not you. That means 2019 vintage as the 2020 vintage is not out yet. Fortunately, there will be a 2020 vintage.
- Many high-end and more extracted Rose such as Bandol or Tavel can benefit from longer cellaring.
- Once opened a Rose wine should be consumed within two days to preserve its freshness.
Rose Red Grapes
The principal red grapes used to make Rose wines need bright flavors, lower tannin and good acidity, but any red grape and some white grapes in blends have been used to make a Rose wine. Since these wines have become very popular the range of grapes in much broader than the classic Rhone and Provence grapes, but those are still often the best choices.
Most Rose wines are blends of 2 to 4 grapes, which are often fermented separately, and not always using the same technique. The winemaker has many resources to build a quality Rose. Below are many of those choices.
- Cinsault: Popular blending grape of raspberry, red currant, tart cherry with low tannin; a Provence blending grape.
- Carignan: A heavily-planted grape in Languedoc and Spain and often part of a Rose blend with dried cranberry, raspberry and baking spices and medium tannin and acidity.
- Grenache (Garnacha): Generally spicy, red berry-flavored (typically raspberry and strawberry) and soft on the palate producing wine with a relatively high alcohol content. A very popular grape for Rose in Provence
- Merlot: The most planted grape in France with tart cherry, pomegranate, blackberry and licorice with medium high tannin and good acidity. Merlot is sometimes done as a Blush wine.
- Mourvèdre: An intense grape with blueberry, blackberry and plum with high tannin and medium acidity. Often used in Rose blends and provides the power to Bandol Rose
- Pinot Noir: One of the most popular red grapes worldwide also lends itself to many Rose wines due to its light tannin profile. Generally doesn’t show much color in Rose wines.
- Sangiovese: Mostly finds its way into Italian red wines with flavors of cherry, roasted tomato, sweet balsamic with high tannin and acidity, but works in Rose when picked earlier.
- Tempranillo: The principal red wine grape of Spain, but with growing popularity, with flavors of cherry, plum, tomato, and dried fig and tertiary flavors of cedar, leather, tobacco, vanilla, dill, and clove. Spanish Rosado wines made with this grape are more intense in color.
- Zinfandel: Normally found in big red wines, but the raspberry, plum sauce, anise and allspice can work for a big Rose as well. White Zinfandel is often made with bulk grapes in a sweet style that is nonetheless very popular.
What we are tasting: Bogle Rose ABV 12.5% $10.99
The Bogle family is in its 6th generation, although the ranch first farmed by Captain AJ Bogle, an infantryman in the Civil War, was lost during the Depression. It was Warren, in the 4th generation, who was able to set down roots again when he purchased their first acreage after serving in the Navy during WWII. It wasn’t until 1968 that Warren and his son Chris planted their first 20 acres of wine grapes on the Home Ranch. The first Bogle wine label went on in 1978.
Photo courtesy of Bogle
In 1989, Warren’s son Chris and his wife Patty took over the winery. Chris farmed, while Patty did the books at night, with offices in the family home. Chris grew the grape operation, reaching his goal of 1,000 acres before he passed away in 1997. Named for his grandfather, Warren returned to the ranch to take over the vineyard manager duties in 1997. Two other siblings also came on board.
Composition: This Rose is a blend of Pinot Noir 80%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10% and Merlot 10%. Bogle used the Saignée process on the Pinot Noir, bled during pump over.
Tasting notes: Aromas of newly picked strawberries and melons. On the palate, vibrant fruits of tart cranberry and wild strawberries are refreshingly crisp and dry, leading to a good finish.
What we are tasting: 19 Crimes Cali Rose 2020 10.5% ABV, $13
Treasury Wine Estates is an Australian global winemaking and distribution business with headquarters in Melbourne. It was formerly the wine division of international brewing company Foster’s Group.
Members include Penfolds, Lindeman, and Rosemount in Australia. In the US that includes Acacia, Beaulieu Vineyards, Beringer, Chateau St. Jean, Etude, Stag’s Leap and Sterling. That’s a serious list of high-end wineries.
Tasting notes: Ripe strawberry notes along with delicate floral and rose petal aromas. Fruit-forward notes of fresh raspberry, strawberry, and red cherry. Exhibits a pleasant mouthfeel with balanced acidity and sweetness. Composition: 75% Zinfandel, 20% Grenache, 5% Pinot Noir
What were the 19 crimes? I knew you’d ask.
- Grand Larceny, theft above the value of one shilling
- Petty Larceny, theft under one shilling.
- Buying or receiving stolen goods, jewels, and plate…
- Stealing lead, iron, or copper, or buying or receiving.
- Impersonating an Egyptian. (So maybe this is someone trying to sell you the Suez Canal?)
- Stealing from furnished lodgings. (Obviously only steal from unfurnished lodgings.)
- Setting fire to underwood. (Refers to underbrush, kindling that could start a fire.)
- Stealing letters, advancing the postage, and secreting the money.
- Assault with an intent to rob. (Tell them you didn’t intend to rob.)
- Stealing fish from a pond or river. (Normally I’d call this fishing without a license.)
- Stealing roots, trees, or plants, or destroying them.
- Bigamy
- Assaulting, cutting, or burning clothes. (Women’s fashions then were highly flammable.)
- Counterfeiting the copper coin…
- Clandestine marriage. (If it’s clandestine how do they find out?)
- Stealing a shroud out of a grave. (At least they left the body.)
- Watermen carrying too many passengers on the Thames, if any drowned. (Thames regulatory commission establishes legal number of passengers.)
- Incorrigible rogues who broke out of Prison and persons reprieved from capital punishment. (Isn’t everyone an incorrigible rogue if they break out of prison? And when is reprieved, not reprieved?)
- Embeuling Naval Stores, in certain cases. (If you know what enbeuling is you should stop it right now.)
During the reign of Henry VIII, a number of nomadic groups were mistakenly considered Egyptians. Over time the “e” was dropped and it became gypsies. So I’m guessing dancing with a tambourine might be considered impersonation?
What we are tasting: Unshackled Rose 2019, 13.5 % ABV, $20-$25
This is a newer label for 19 Crimes, but now they are unshackled with a different label, which reads sideways. Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre grapes from North Coast and Central Coast vineyards, carefully selected by the Prisoner Wine Company team and fermented separately on the skins for just the right amount of time to impart tangy ripe flavors and a vivid pink color.
Tasting notes: Bright and crisp with juicy tropical fruit characteristics with aromas of citrus with a hint of strawberry and melon. Flavors of grapefruit, tangerine and lemon with bright acidity results in a refreshing rosé with vibrant acidity and a crisp finish.
Composition: Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre
Source: Central Coast: Monterey, Santa Barbara North Coast: Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley
Buying local
Most of our local wineries are classified as boutique. They do not ship out of state as the cost is too high and they depend on local purchases; often at the winery. While Gruet and DH Lescombes do ship out-of-state and have the much larger scale to recover; the smaller wineries are hurting and need our support.
New Mexico Rose:
Black Mesa Dry sparkling Rose Casa Rondeña 2019 Merlot Rose
DH Lescombes Heritage dry Rose Acequia Cooper’s Hawk Rose (off dry)
Vara Winery Rosado and Sparkling Rosado Milagro Rose of Leon Millot
La Chiripada Rose del Bosque Black Smuggler Painted Lady Rose (recommended)
Analysis
The Bogle was my favorite; I liked the crispness, balance and bright flavors. The Unshackled Rose was also very good, but at twice the Bogle I know which one I’d pick. Actually that is the one I brought. The 19 Crimes was a bit light with little crispness and too sweet; tasted more like soda pop to me. However, while it‘s not my style it would be more approachable for someone that typically doesn’t drink wine. And if you have the app on your phone, Snoop Dog comes alive on the label. However If he comes alive and you aren’t using the app you might have had too much to drink.
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