“It’s always open season on dry rose at our house…”
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I keep finding more good specimens of dry rosé at our friendly neighborhood Costco, and last week, I brought these two home. Both are follow ups on previous wines featured in this blog, and offer good bang for your buck.
When I like a wine from a particular producer, say Domaine Lafage, I’m often inclined to try another bottling from that same producer. Because we enjoyed the Lafage red blend so much a few months ago, it wasn’t a difficult choice to give this one a try.
Domaine Lafage is located in Cotes Catalanes, in the Roussillon region of southwestern France. This is only the third wine I’ve had from this area as of late, and all three have been much to my liking. The QPR (quality-price-ratio) of the three is even more to my liking, as they are quite pocketbook friendly.
2022 Domaine Lafage Rosé Miraflors Cotes Catalanes, 12.5% alc., $12.89: Perhaps a little lighter in color than some, but this is no lightweight rosé. The appeal is immediate, with an expressive bouquet of raspberry, cherry and a little mineral that leads into flavors of raspberry, watermelon and more minerality than the nose might suggest. The balance is impressive, with acids that are neither shrill nor flabby and good length on the finish, all on a medium-bodied frame. All of the components here fit seamlessly into a harmonious whole. There are a lot of good dry rosés in the greater Detroit market, and this is as good as any of them in this price range, or even for a few bucks more. Find this wine
Named after an old estate located in the heart of Domaine Lafage, Mas Miraflors, the Miraflors Rosé is from old vines of Grenache Gris and Noir (50%), some nearing 80 years old, planted near the Mediterranean. Added to this is Mourvèdre (50%) that Jean-Marc planted here about 25 years ago. This is a direct press rosé with the color coming from the skins of the pink Grenache Gris berries and the much darker Mourvèdre and Grenache Noir. It is aged in tank for 3 months before bottling.
Imported by European Cellars, LLC, Charlotte, NC
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2022 Gérard Bertrand ‘Cote des Roses’ Rosé Languedoc, 13% alc., $12.89: This is a zingy little number, and I like it like that. It’s a little pale in color, but it’s certainly not shy on flavor. I’m not at all surprised that my initial impressions of watermelon, strawberry and mineral are pretty much the same as what I wrote about the 2021 model. It’s middleweight and it’s racy, and I like it just fine at this price, at least $5 less than anywhere else in the neighborhood. Find this wine
This cuvée Cote des Roses celebrates the Mediterranean Art de Vivre . The soil, very varied, is essentially made up of hard limestone of the garrigues, schistose soils but also of gravel brought by the rivers of Languedoc. The climate, warm and windy (“semi-arid Mediterranean climate with mild winter variations”) favors the maturation of the grapes and their good health, while maintaining coolness thanks to the altitude and the effect of the sea, which attenuates the high summer temperatures. Its bottle is unique with a rose-shaped bottom, created by a young designer from the Ecole Boulle . It is a wine that is offered as a bouquet of Rose!
I like the spiffy bottles these wines come in, but I like what’s inside even more. It’s always open season on dry rose at our house, and there’s a sizable number of selections available around town. If you’re looking for good QPR, you want to add these two to your list, and buy them while they’re still available. The Lafage is running a little low, but there’s still plenty of the Bertrand, so go for them both.
Imported by Gérard Bertrand USA, Sausalito, CA
Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo
