Last summer I burned through as many dry rosés as I could find... This summer I'm going to continue the voyage, and in my usual style, seek out new bottles that I've not tried before. Last week when I picked up the Cassagne the guy at the wine shop highly recommended the 2004 Red Bicylette Rosé. Don't follow that link, though--the website is annoying and doesn't have any information on this particular wine. If you want information, there are other options. The latter link provides me with what I really wanted to know: the grapes involved. For this little wine, it's a curious mix of Syrah, Grenache, and Pinot Noir.
Funny thing there... Aside from Champagne, are there any traditional wines that involve blending Pinot Noir? For some reason it alone seems to be sacred and thus protected from other grapes. You could say it's just a Burgundy thing, but Chardonnay gets blended with everything from Semillon to peach juice to 7-Up. I guess it's a little too soft and mellow and would disappear into the background of any blend, but that never stopped anyone from blending Merlot.
Anyway, back to the rosé. There's a classic rosé aroma that's hard to pin down. It's a sweet rhubarb-strawberry scent, but it's not overpowering. This wine has that, but it's good and dry. Very soft on the tongue, with a little kick of acidity at the end. Bright lemon and berry flavors abound. The color leans towards the lavender/grey side rather than bright magenta. Definitely a good, serviceable rosé for the summer, a great bargain at $8, and should be available damned near everywhere.
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