"I don't want to say 'I told you so,' but I
did. I've been singing the praises of rosé for years..."
91
2006 Verdad Rosé
Arroyo Grande Valley
Ripe raspberry and wild
strawberry combine with spice and watermelon. The mouthfeel is creamy
with a lengthy finish....
 Read
Andy Blue's complete Rosé article from the June 2007 issue of "The
Tasting Panel" magazine. |
This is an exciting wine for me. Most of the
fruit (86% total, both Grenache and Tempranillo) is from our new
biodynamic vineyard, the Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard in Edna Valley. This
vineyard was planted in 2005 and had its first “real” harvest in 2008.
The balance of the fruit (14% Grenache) is from the beautiful Alisos
Vineyard in Los Alamos, which is sustainably farmed to the highest
standards.
The Rosé is made up of 10% of Tempranillo which was picked early and
de-stemmed then pressed after about 12 hours of skin contact. This is
the first time in 3 years I’ve used a small amount of Tempranillo for
Rosé. In the past I used about 5% “en saignée,’ a technique that bleeds
the juice from a red wine (therefore riper) ferment. I found that even
this tiny percentage of ripe Tempranillo was overwhelming in the blend
because of its smoky-spicy-gamey quality. I realized that in order to
use Tempranillo in my Grenache-based Rosé it must be picked early when
the fruitier flavors dominate.
The Grenache was also picked early. The majority was de-stemmed in the
afternoon, left overnight on the skins, and then pressed after about 12
15 hours of skin contact. The last 3 ton lot of Grenache was whole
cluster pressed because I didn’t want to extract any more color.
The resulting wine is fresh and lively with wild strawberry aromas
layered with watermelon and subtle spice. It finishes crisp with a touch
of citrus. The flavors are bright and nuanced on the palate. There is a
lot going on in this wine and it will match well with a wide variety of
flavors from shellfish stew to cold roast beef.
1200 cases were produced.
- Louisa Sawyer Lindquist
 |
