Rose' with Mr. Janssen - Tuesday, July 17th 2012

Rose' with Mr. Janssen - Tuesday, July 17th 2012 

We will do our typical blind tasting format for this event. 



About this theme: " Rose, is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques." NOTE:  Rose is not the same thing as White Zinfandel.
Food Pairings: Vino For Dinner site says"Roses are nick-named a summertime "patio" wine, as they are refreshing on warm summer days and are lower in alcohol, which makes them easy to drink. They are a great party wine, as they can have broad appeal (not too sweet and not too heavy)... Rose is a versatile wine that pairs well with shellfish and can stand up to a bit of spice. "

Food served:
- Cacio e pepe (simply pasta with cheese and pepper)
- Garlic and ginger rubbed pork tenderloin
- Scallops ceviche over pasta cakes
- Berry and peach fruit salad

Quote of the night from Kathy:  "I'm guessing this is French?"


Tasting Notes:
Welcome Wine:  Tarantas Sparkling Rose - under $10 @ Whole Foods, 100% Spanish Bobal, 12.5% alcohol, made with organic grapes

1)  2011 Ameztoi Cosecha Rubentis - $12.99 or 14.99 (I forget) @ Le Caveau Fine Wines, 10.5% alcohol
"This Basque wine, made in the town of Getaria along the coast near San Sebastian is lean and mineral with just a whiff of unripe strawberry aroma. This tart, spritzy rosado is much in demand and hard to find in retail shops." - Spanish Table
TWITS notes:  "I taste ceviche", coral pink color, grapefruit/sour apple aromas. Foamy, light, powdery, very light maple/honey aroma, tastes of fresh mowed grass, fast growing green grass
Kathy:  "I'm guessing French" green grapes, candy apple aromas.
Val:  graphite nose, anise, licorice, fine bubbles
Deb: Smooth, sweetarts, pixie sticks, sugar candy,

2) 2010 D'autrefois Pinot Noir Rose' Pays d'Oc - $11.00 @ Total Wine, 12% alcohol
pale pink, salmon color, almost clear, flesh colored, aroma like Pinot Noir (good guess!), wildflower, orchid, buttery, more honey, light smoky aroma, sublte.
Les - sour apple, Melissa - subtle minerality, Abbie-subtle grapefruit, Kathy - bitter,
not as harsh as first wine.

3) 2011 Chateau La Tour Beraud Costieres De Nimes - $14.99 @ Sherlocks Wine Merchant in Decatur, 13.5% alcohol, 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah
Rosy pale pink, Rhone-French
Les - this one's got NOSE, Val - burnt toast or asphalt, candy then savory, charred BBQ, Abbie - too burnt, tar nose, like Italian Nebbiolo, crisp but viscous, lime green gummy bears, popcorn jelly belly bean, burnt sugar, creme brulee, Rheinallt - southern Rhone, strawberries, Marilyn - mineral, would pair well with spicy food, Deb - More legs than the others, Jaffet - Dueling Cobras, Janssen - lilacs, peach, tastes of crisp pear, Kathy - likes this, Leslie - weird aftertaste, Karstin - almost bitter, sour aftertaste, wants cheese,

4) 2009 Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rose - $15 @ Kroger, 14% alcohol
100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Chilean)
magenta, rosier color, ruby-er, Kathy - like cherries, a new float (for the pool), synthetic rubber smell, "I'm on a Float! with my flippy floppies"   Rheinallt - like jam, distinct fruit, sweet, muscadine, not fresh cherries, lollypop, juice,  Karstin - smells like lipstick, really dark chocolate (low sugar),  Deb - bacon, smoky, Leslie - like a Riesling, petroleum nose, Abbie- like a Trojan, latex, juicy soup grapefruit, not in love with it. Jaffet - Chevron, too much licorice, cheap licorice like Red Vines, Jamie - Jamie, rubbery, like licking a float, Melissa - Poptarts

5)  2006 Chateau de Lancyre Pic St. Loup Coteaux de Languedoc Rose - $15 or less @ WinesTillSoldOut, 13.5% alcohol, 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Cinsault  (Karstin brought this wine for Susan, who couldn't make it to this event)
Bets were placed on guessing the alcohol percentage: Leslie said 13.5%,  Marilyn said 14.5%, and Deb said 14%.  Leslie wins this round. 
brown pink, cognac, tawny color, sherry, aged, Melissa - smells like a tawny port, Leslie - chocolate covered cranberries, Asian food, Marilyn - tastes like a sherry, bronze, aged, Deb - lovely, Abbie - Dessert wine, sweeter, alcohol smell, choclate like dessert wine, old lady perfume, coconut, buttery, thick, Karstin - foie gras pairing, Rheinallt - fig, pair with "hot pot" at Gu's Bistro, Janssen - syrupy

6) 2009 Landmark Rose Sonoma - $16 from the winemaker's wine club, 13.8% alcohol,
Val - Aromas of sulfur, most complex, keeps changing, Abbie - rose of CabFranc, rosy, garnet, earthy, mushroom, Rheinallt - farts, dutch-oven, jammy, Leslie - dirty French Oak, Jaffet - oak, sweet oak, old cheese, Janssen - creamed corn (sweet), Deb - tastes of buttery caramel popcorn, Les - toffee apple, nutmeg, effervescent, loves it!  Marilyn - savory, pair with fish or balsalmic, Karstin - pair with grilled fish, Melissa - barnyard, peppery

7) 2011 Zestos Garnacha Rose, Madrid Spain - $9.99 @ Whole Foods, 13.5% alcohol, 100% Garnacha, rosy peach color, funky stinky cheese, Rheinallt - bad brie or gouda, very light blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, guessing Provence,  Val - bready, bitter aftertaste, pair with seafood, kool-aid, Melissa - Jarlsberg cheese, swiss variety cheese, Kathy - "I think it's French", Leslie/Deb - barnyard, like a spring day, grows on you, Karstin - lighter mold cheese, grass or hay in the mouth, Jaffet - smells pretty good, honeycomb, wiff of woman's perfume, Janssen - manchego with hint of parmesan cheese, pair with good cheese

8) 2011 Pierre-Marie Chermette Domaine du Vissoux Les Griottes (Beaujolais Rose) - $14.99 @ Le Caveau, 12% alcohol, 100% Gamay
Melissa - more rancid, burnt toast, raspberry, beautiful perfume to wear and to eat.  A Mademoiselle, not Courtesan, Jamie - "Not a French Whore" , Abbie - pale peach, stinky, butter on finish, tar, burnt, "Spotted Trotter's Sorghum cured pork belly" (Deb thought I said circumcised pork belly, and we laughed a lot at that one), Jaffet - watermelon, Les - grapefruit, Deb - burnt marshmallow, butterscotch, Rheinallt - not acidic, Janssen - best finish so far, Leslie - bacon.

9) 2011 Parallele 45 Cotes Du Rhone "Ici Commence Le Sud" - $15 @ Whole Foods, 13% alcohol, 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 10% Syrah, "Ici Commence Le Sud" means "The South begins here"
Abbie - coral peach, like conch shells, light nose, Janssen - Bahama pink, lychee fruit, Kathy - Spanish, Madrid (nope), Leslie - pink roses, party in your glass, Deb - it's after 9pm, oh dear god please stop, this is FUN!  Fun in a glass, Kathy - Surin's has the best lychee martini's.  Jaffet - not bad, not sure if great, Rheinallt - classic rose, watermelon, 1st bite of watermelon, turned into salted dark chocolate, Melissa - watermelon close to the rind.

10) 2011 Cantele Negroamaro Rosato Salento IGT, Puglia Italy - $12.99 @ Total Wine, 100% Negroamaro, 13% alcohol
Jamie - Penultimate, cheap scented candle, lip smackers, Karsten/Jaffet - like walking into a perfume store - ug!, kool-aid, jolly rancher kool-aid, smells like Fanta, Abbie - cheap pink, Melissa - like a pantomime, Les/Jamie - "cheap French whore", Val - non-descript, something in a can, forgettable, Melissa - Arbor Mist, Deb - liked it though

11) 2010 Sutter Home White Zinfandel - $6.99 @ QT Gas Station

Val threw this wine in, last, to see if the TWITs could tell it was not a Rose.  I think we passed!

pale rose pink, Leslie & Deb - strawberry lemonade kool-aid, carmelized, fruit taste, meringue
Abbie - "smells like bad breath", "like boyfriend who ate bad Asian food and tried to hide it with toothpaste", "I think it was orange chicken and a cigar, a bad cigar.", Val - honeysuckle, jolly rancher, Melissa - diet Welch's grape juice, Kathy - "This is messed up!"

Read Ms. Leslie's notes here also:   Starving Wino: Beat the Heat with Rose

Until next time...