Round Table – August ’08, Rosé Revolution!

We are committed to not rating wines. That is totally up to you. However, we do want to tell you what wines taste like. Everyone has a unique set of taste buds, so how can we be objective? Group wisdom, my friends, group wisdom. The WINO Round Table is a wine symposium of sorts. This month, we invited a diverse group of winos over to taste various wines, take studious notes, draw pretty graphs, and then relax and finish off the rest of the wine. What we’re left with is an average of each taster’s flavor profile, and a variety of things you may pick up on when you try these wines. Have a look, and then go have a taste. This month: Greg Brisendine, Curtis R. Campbell, Douglas Haugen, Josh LaRosee and Dan Suski.

White Heron Cellars
2003 Mariposa Vinyard Rosé
Retails: $10.00

Dan: Floral, tropical fruit (punch), well balanced, layered, with a strong, lingering finish. Definitely bring this one out again. Long-term relationship worthy.
Curt: Contrary to an earthy nose, this wine offers layers of fruit and balanced structure. Has a sort of delayed “stanky” aftertaste that parallels a dry, tart lingering.
Josh: On the nose, butterscotch, white cheese, rhubarb, bacon fat, and Starburst candy. Easily the most interesting of the group aromatically. Grapefruit on the attack followed by tropical fruit, maybe kiwi. Lingering acidity that would cut through an appetizer.
Doug: Pie cherries.
Greg: Pine needles, dry and crisp finsh. Complex, multi-dimensional. Layered fruit with grass and pomegranate. Drink with summer dinner of chilled salmon with fresh dill. Have three glasses.

Cowan Vineyards
Cab Franc Rosé
Retails: $11 .00

Dan: Rich, fruity finish that is a bit much. A little clingy but rebound worthy.
Doug: This tastes like the Kool-Aid my mom would add too much water to. After brushing my teeth.
Josh: Opens with a raspberry rage followed by a tongue switching by a barkless sapling. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that the rage was a front and the sappling was really just a bunch of hay.
Greg: Pear, Shirley Temple: drink at a backyard party in the suburbs with a kiddie pool by the fence. OK to gulp.

Thurston Wolfe
2007 Lemberger/Zinfandel Rosé
Retails: $10.00

Greg: California grapefruit – not as sweet as Florida or Texas. Crisp throughout but finishes fast. Sip on a sunny day in an informal, slightly overgrown garden.
Josh: Bright, acidic punch followed by grapefruit and hits of melon. Werther’s Originals on the finish.
Doug: Notes of citrus, cane sugar, and peanut brittle.
Dan: Plenty of fruit but not overwhelming. Definitely doable though nice and polite. Take it home to the parents.
Curt: Opens with tart fruit, comes to a mild sweetness for the finish.

Kiona Vineyards & Winery
Vivacious Vicky Rosé
Retails: $9.00

Greg: Distinctly non-complex. Single dimension and unimaginative. This is the bottle you keep in the back of the refrigerator to drink just before drinking cooking sherry.
Josh: Cherry cough syrup.
Dan: Unrefined. Leave this one behind. Don’t tell your friends.
Curt: This would be wonderful if I’d never tasted wine before. Or fruit.
Doug: Pass.

Airfield Estates
2007 Foot Stomped Rosé
Retails: $10.00

Greg: Drink on the patio in the late afternoon, as the sun is going down and just before opening a Pino Noir. Wear a hat.
Dan: Decent red fruit after the midpalate. This wine will work in a pinch – bring along as a stand in.
Josh: Straight forward acid and fruit, but what’s interesting is how the fruit really shines following the midpalate. Good stuff.

Hollywood Hill Vineyards
2007 Pinot Noir Rosé
Retails: $10.00

Josh: Brilliant grapefruit throughout with all the tart and sour I can handle, which I dig. Midpalate gives way to a smooth, strawberry finish that teases and lingers. If your favorite part about Sourpatch Kids is the sour, you will love this wine. Dangerously bright and easy to drink, this juice is perfect for both food or by itself.
Doug: Nice bright acidity makes you pucker like you’ve eaten a watermelon Jolly Rancher after popping a grapefruit wedge. After the tart attack, there’s notes of vanilla and dairy on the finish, and it’s like eating strawberries dipped in whipped cream cheese.