MW Sheri Morano and MW Mary Gorman-McAdams
My Third TEXSOM conference
Masters of Wine Mary Gorman-McAdams and Sheri Morano led a discussion and tasting about the aging rosé wines and the fundamental question if these wines are made to age. This was one of the many seminars I attended at TEXSOM, one of the most prominent and influential sommelier education conference in the world, which just celebrated its fifteenth year.
If you look in my cellar, my aged rosé wines are accidental versus intentional. I pray that they won’t be horrible, but I am not expecting much. This is a tough subject because rosé is such a subjective topic and everyone appears to have an opinion. Just look at the popular “rosé all day” movements where people cannot seem to get enough and it’s hard to figure out what is a good rosé. Pink wines were dismissed for a long time and I admit, I did not like the first rosé wines that I tried. My evolution occurred over time until I had an epiphany. And, then you had the blessing and curse of White Zinfandel.
So what is a good rosé? Fruity? Pale? Easy drinking? Dry? Is this type of wine capable of aging? Let’s consider.
A wine that can age has structure, acidity, complexity, balance, variety and terroir. Rosé is produced in several ways — skin contact, saignée or blending red and white wines. You also have producers who age rosé wines before they produce them (not many), but some.
Here was our line-up and I have to say I have an opinion on some (champagne always works, some rosé wines do, some don’t. Lessons learned for me, is to open the ones that should have been opened and see what happened). They were very diverse styles for a reason as we were all meant to come to our own opinion.
2016 Ravenoros| Blanc, “De Nit,” Rose, Conca de Riu Anoia
NV Taittinger, “Prestige,” Rosé, Brut, Champagne
2006 Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Brut Rosé, Champagne
2017 The Eyrie Vineyards, Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
2013 Sandhi, Rosé of Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
2016 Tablas Creek Vineyard, “Dianthis,” Adealaida District, Paso Robles
2015 Domaine de Chevalieé, “Rosé de Chevalier,” Bordeaux
2016 Domaine OTT, “By Ott, Rosé, Côtes de Provence
2016 Châuteau Musar, Rosé, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
2017 Domaine de Terre Brune, Rosé, Tavel
2017 Chateau d’Esclans, “Garrus,” Cötes de Provence
2017 Clos Cibonne, Cuvëe Spéciales des Vignettes,” Tibouren, Rosé, Cötes de Provence
Having sat through this session, I can’t tell you I can answer the question. Can you age rosé wines? Will they improve with age? There are wines that will. There are wines that will disappoint.
Winemakers are making wines that can age and there are rosé wines you need to open today. Of the wines listed above, the rosé champagnes definitely make my list of those I would age. There are qualities you should look for in a wine that ages not matter what the variety and that holds true for rosé as well.
Last year, I had a 2014 Chateaux Musar Rosé. Since they do not release wine for seven years they clearly intend it to be aged. It tasted like stewed tomatoes. Definitely a food wine. I’m just not sure I want tomato in my wine unless I’m adding vodka and call it a bloody mary.
I too was in that session and we were not able to answer the question. It would have been interesting if they had Viña Tondonia Rosé Gran Reserva 2008 from Lopez de Heridia.
Melanie,
Nice post – but you really did not answer the question that was posed . . . I mean, you did ‘slightly’ but gave no impression of the ‘still’ roses that were served. And I’d love to hear about those – your impressions, the impressions of the MW’s and those on the panel, etc.
As you know, I dig Roses and feel that some, not all, can and will improve with age. I really believe it comes down to variety and ‘intent’ – and find that Bandol roses (and Mourvedre-based ones in general) to tend to age beautifully, taking on more complexity and body over time.
Hope to hear more, my friend.
Cheers!
My experience as a Rose producer in Paso Robles: (1) Rose wines should have some RED in them, yellow is not RED; (2) Rose wines are not built with the structure for aging. As they age, they can begin changing color; (3) Rose wines are the least cost to produce, they should not cost the customer excessively; (4) Rose wines are among the few that can accompany almost any food and food class; (5) a good Rose wine should have flavor, some aroma, be somewhat dry, and, above all, look great in a tall wine glass in the sunlight; (6) for fullest enjoyment, they should be consumed within 1-2 years from purchase but, preferably immediately[ and (7) for maximum enjoyment, when first poured, a good Rose should be chilled to at least cellar temperature of 57 degrees Farenheit and can take being a fraction colder. This way, as you are admiring the beauty and drinking slowly, a good Rose will open up and make you realize why you bought it, hopefully yesterday. Bottom line: Drink it NOW, not in 5 years. Thank You.
That would be really interesting. Our Musar was 2016, so still fresh. I would love to have tried that one to see the comparison. The oldest we had was the champagne at the 06.
Yes! I’m glad you came to the same impression as I did. Our oldest rose was the 2013 Sandhi and it showed some aging characteristics, but it wasn’t necessarily aged…. The folks that I was with had the same impression.
I’m not trying to skirt the question, I just didn’t have enough data to truly come to a conclusion. Your rosé would have been a great one to age and try. As you see below from Mark’s comment, he was in the same boat as I was.
Great feedback, Robert. I think there are some exceptions and I have heard of some French producers that have made rosé wines structured to age. I have not yet tried those, but I believe there is a place for both for wine lovers as long as they know what they are buying. I look forward to trying your rosés.
Our last Rose was in 2014 and sold out. It was a saignee blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Primitivo. It had color, depth of flavor and was distinctly pleasurable to drink. One added point: I believe varietal contents should be listed on the bottle for better education. We are pleasantly retired from the wine business after 15 years in Paso Robles. Thank You.
Well congratulations and happy retirement. Your 2014 rosé sounds amazing and I wish I had the opportunity to try it. I agree with you on the varietal point.