Stop and Smell the Rosés

Stop and Smell the Rosés

The 1974 tune by Mac Davis, called “Stop and Smell the Roses,” has been hijacked by City Vino for our themed rosé tasting this weekend, which shall now be known as Stop and Smell the Rosés. Of course, our City Vino staff were not even a twinkle in our parent’s eyes in 1974 , so this song was played for us as an “oldie” in the 1990s, during our formative years . That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.

While Mac wasn’t writing about rosés, the first two lines of the chorus seem apply just beautifully “You got to Stop and Smell the rosés. You've got to count your many blessings everyday.”  We certainly consider rosés to be blessings, especially going into the warmer weather, where they make great partners for a porch swing and a nice breeze, or for afternoon or evening grilled delights.

Let us stop and smell the 2021 Fossil Grenache Rosé, from San Luis Obispo, in California. The grapes for this wine are harvested by hand from sustainably farmed vineyards, and this wine is made by direct press. Direct press means the grapes are selected and harvested to make this rosé only, and are not a byproduct of making red wine. This pale pink blend of 93 percent Grenache, 5 percent Syrah, and 2 percent Mourvèdre may show aromatics of pink grapefruit and Meyer lemon. On the palate, freshly cut strawberries and ripe honeydew melon come to mind.

Get your noses ready for the 2021 Poe Grenache Rose, from Mendocino County, in California. This wine is a gorgeous salmon color made from 100 percent Grenache. The Eagle Point Ranch is at 1800 feet above Ukiah, and has been certified organic since 2005. The grapes were picked early to retain acidity and fermented in stainless steel to produce a lower-alcohol wine, as rosés tend to be. If you put your nose to the glass, you may get lovely notes of orange blossom, orange peel, and stone fruit like peaches and nectarines. The more you swirl it around, you may find additional fragrances of red cherries, strawberries, watermelon rind, roses, and red apple skins. The palate brings stone fruit, orange marmalade, and red berries.

The next rosé, for your aromatic indulgence, is the 2020 Domaine de l'Herré La Galope Rosé, from the Côte de Gascogne, in southwestern France. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Marselan. If you aren’t familiar with Marselan, it is an intentional crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. The bouquet of this wine cries out with fresh red berries, like strawberries and raspberries. This lively and fruity wine has a nice long finish. 

Another aromatically stunning wine is the 2021 Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris, from the Corbières, in the south of France. This is a blend of 90 percent Grenache Gris, 5 percent Mourvèdre, and 5 percent Carignan. The Grenache used for this wine is not the Grenache used in red winemaking, but they are closely related to each other. Grenache is often the general term used for Grenache Noir. Grenache Gris is a mutation of that grape, and has more of a pinkish-gray tinge to the skin, hence the term Gris, which translates as gray. Just like Pinot Noir has mutations Pinot Gris (Grigio), which is pinkish gray and Pinot Blanc (Bianco), which is white, Grenache Noir has the same in Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc.

Now that your nose has had a bit of a grape nerd break, the perfumed notes from this Gris de Gris show white fruit like pears and apples along with peaches and even some pineapple and mango. The climate down south, with its warm temperatures, brings out those more-tropical aromas. The aromatics are echoed on the palate.

Back to Mac Davis, one more time:

“Hey Mister,
Where you going in such a hurry
Don't you think it's time you realized
There's a whole lot more to life than work and worry
The sweetest things in life are free
And there right before your eyes

You got to Stop and Smell the roses”

Indeed, we all do need to take time to Stop and Smell the Roses and the Rosés. Join us Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23, 2022, and let us help you do just that. Bring your noses!

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