Cabernet shares Napa rosé limelight

Napa Valley’s top wines include a long list of Cabernet Sauvignons, but is Cabernet the king of Napa rosé too?

In a recent tasting of the 2011 vintage of Napa Valley rosés, industry panelists chose two Cabernet Sauvignons, two Syrahs, a Pinot Noir and a Sangiovese as the valley’s best examples of rosé wines.

The St Helena Star and Napa Vintner Tasting Panel met at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone this month to taste through 36 different Napa Valley rosé wines from the 2011 vintage. From the wines included, the grape varieties were diverse: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, Charbono, Syrah, Grenache, and Carignan as well as blends.

In general, Napa Valley’s Cabernet Sauvignon rosés still display the grape’s up-front blackberry or black cherry flavours and some of the drying sensation from tannins.

Napa Valley Pinot Noir, especially from the cooler Carneros region, can produce very elegant rosés which show some of the grape’s perfume aromas.

Napa Valley’s Syrah rosés can have the grape’s violet, raspberry or blackberry flavours, and some show the variety’s inherent smokiness and meatiness.

The Sangiovese rosés have bright acidity and a tangy, sometimes sour cherry flavour.

A discussion among the panelists found varietal hits and misses. Shannon Kuleto of The Napa Valley Wine Trail was less fond of rosés from Bordeaux varieties, especially when they had a woody profile; and Kay Malaske from Terlato Wine Group preferred rosé made from Rhone varieties like Syrah. Tom Simoneau, of KSRO radio’s wine program, maintained that Grenache, Pinot Noir and Sangiovese were the best varieties for rosé.

For many of the varieties used to make Napa Valley’s rosés, producing large volumes is just not possible. Several winemakers on the panel commented that their wineries produce small amounts of rosé in order to have something refreshing to offer guests, especially if any white wines they make are created in small lots and distributed.

A good number of Napa Valley rosés are offered at tasting rooms only or for sale online by the winery. That is not to say you won’t find a number of them distributed throughout the country.

No matter where it is sold, rosé is continuing to sell in the US, with Nielsen showing a healthy growth of 14.4% in 2011.

Panelist Eric Carpenter of fine wine purveyor Dean and DeLuca in St Helena observed: “Customers are coming in specifically asking for rosé. They are introduced to rosé through a wine club or at a wine tasting event and feel comfortable buying it now that they understand rosé better.”

Of course, it helps that it is summer, and pink wine drinkers come out in droves for rosé when it is hottest. It will take a bit more time to show people how incredible rosé is with Thanksgiving dinner, or as a prelude to the holiday feast.

For the panelists’ review of the 2011 vintage,  the grape varieties were randomly mixed and the wines were tasted blind. Panelists were split into two different groups and each tasted 18 different rosés in three separate flights. The top three wines from each flight and group were then re-tasted blind in a grand taste-off to find the favorite rosés of the 2011 vintage. The top six wines were:

Franciscan Estate Rosé 2011 (Syrah), $24. This rosé was the top wine of the tasting; dark pink in color with lots of red fruit flavour

Silverado Vineyards Rosato di Sangiovese 2011,  $25. The panelists liked this wine’s crisp acidity and tantalising minerality.

Merryvale Vineyards Dry Rose (Pinot Noir, Syrah) Carneros, $24. Stanley Ranch is synonymous with great Pinot Noir, and it continues to prove it with this rosé.

Juslyn Vineyards “Bella Rose” 2011 (Cabernet Sauvignon), Spring Mountain, $28. Drink well and do good at the same time: 50% of sales are donated to Breast Cancer Research.

Pine Ridge Vineyards “Encantado” Rosé 2011 (Cabernet Sauvignon), $22. Encantado means charmed or enchanted in Spanish. Its inclusion as one of the top wines of the tasting makes this more than just a clever name.

Caldwell Winery Syrah Rosé 2011, Coombsville, $30. The Coombsville sub-appellation is gaining attention for its rosé wines and this is one of the appellation’s stars.