Rosé wine.
Rosé wines can be consumed within about three years. Often longer. I am still enjoying bottles of rosé created five years ago by a winemaker from Bourg, Bordeaux. They are magnificent.
Below are 2023 French Bordeaux and one Armenian rosé wines, as well as one Bordeaux white to consider for livening up a spring terrace lunch or porch dinner.
Rosé de Malleret. Vin de Bordeaux. 2023. 93+ points.
Pale peach color. Snappy, somewhat chalky aromas of white flowers, fresh peaches and slight mint. Mildly sweet on the attack with a balanced and crisp mid palate. Lovely oily mouth feel with a rainbow of pastel flavors—mandarins, red cherries, white pear and pineapple. A beautiful finish with crisp acidity. A light, wispy and well made wine that will pair with poultry or hummus, or a fig and goat cheese and pine nut plate.
Antoinette. Cap-Castera. Bordeaux Rosé. 2023. 90 points.
Medium pink orange color to this wine with snappy young fruit aromas, as well as some limes. Linear but also a rich, mildly spicy and textured mid palate filled with oranges and light plums and peaches. An easy drinking wine for starting a spring afternoon gathering.
Château Haut-Fontenelle. Bordeaux Rosé. 2023. 93-94 points.
From Vignobles Alain Pascal in Lussac, this 12.5% alcohol wine has a pale light orange color. A mango blast of aromas, followed by creamy banafi pie and chunks of juicy pineapples. A billowing mid palate of balanced and gushing fruit flavors that include green apples and yellow pears, with a caramel lick on the finish. Precise but generous acidity. Compact and delightful.
Château George 7. Blanc. Fronsac. 2023. 92 points.
A 70/30 Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon blend with 12.5% alcohol from Sally Evans. Aged six months in Burgundian oak. Brisk aromas of white flowers, lime and slight salinity. Honeyed and delicately crisp mid palate flavors include tropicals. Rich and balanced with a complex finish and acidity that is lit but on slow burn. Pair this with paella.
Famille Todeschini. Mangot. Rosé. Bordeaux AOC. 2023. 90 points.
This 100% Merlot has the color of pale peaches. Forward and strong set of aromas of marshmallows and strawberries with slight granite. A light mouthful of soft flavors, beginning with lime and lemons, trending mid palate to red plums and raspberries and finishing with a peach plum rinse. Light and luscious. Pair with apple pie or a clafoutis dessert. Acidity is quite strong, but not out of the bounds for maintaining overall balance.
Tozot. Volcani Rosè. Armenia. 2023. 92 points.
From Voskeni, this rosé has the color of watermelon juice and includes 13% alcohol. It comes from the Ararat Valley in Armenia and celebrates Queen Tamar the Great sharing wine with Prince Zakare in the year 1199. Aromas of lime, red fruit and wild flowers and flavors of rich red cherries and sherbet. Well enfolded juicy acidity.
