Lettie Teague of the Wall Street Journal wants readers and rosé buyers to embrace “last year’s” rosé for many reasons. One is the supply chain, making it undetermined if the 2021 vintage will be state-side in the Spring. These wines are not just your “best-bet” for lack of other options, many have evolved and continue to be very refreshing. Lettie recounts a wine that she revisited and “It was every bit as good as I remembered it, no less lively or fresh.”
Rocco Lombardo, president of Wilson Daniels shares that rose sales are indeed seasonal, and therefore their arrival is time sensitive. “We sell 75% of our rosés between April and September,” he told me in a phone call. Still, Mr. Lombardo decried the idea that rosé is a “seasonal” wine, to be consumed only at a specific time of year. It makes no more sense to him than the idea that sparkling wine should be consumed only for a celebration.”
Related Wines
Masciarelli
Masciarelli Villa Gemma Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2020
Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOC
Perhaps the finest rosé production area in Italy, and one of the few appellations dedicated only to rosé, Cerasuolo has a long history of producing serious rosé, and showcasing how well the Montepulciano grape is adapted to rosé. Masciarelli first produced this wine in 1986, only 5 years after the winery was founded. With deep fruit and structure but no shortage of pleasure, it is a rosé you can take to the dinner table.
E. Guigal
E. Guigal Tavel 2020
Tavel
The Guigal family has been working for decades in Tavel, and today specifically works with 6 growers to produce the traditional style of rosé the region is known for deep fruit, full of spice you find in the reds of the area, structured, and substantial enough to age. Thank goodness this appellation across the river from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 100% dedicated to rosé, still produces wines of this full-bodied style!
Marietta Cellars
Marietta Cellars Old Vine Rosé 2020
California, United States
Marietta's Old Vine Rosé is a perfect extension of the Old Vine series. Made in a Provençale, direct-press style from some of the oldest Syrah and Grenache vines in California, it is fresh, nuanced, and perfectly balanced to enjoy with food or on its own. As always with the "OVR" wines, it delivers a lot more substance and pleasure than you could expect.
Related Producers
Marietta Cellars
Sonoma & Mendocino, California
Starting with only a handful of purchased grapes in 1978, Marietta Cellars has been a standout winery in Sonoma and Mendocino since the very start. Founded by Chris Bilbro, a Sonoma native with winemaking roots dated back three generations, Marietta rose to prominence with its revolutionary Old Vine Red, a California red blend that essentially created the category. The winery has slowly expanded its estate holdings over the past thirty years, evolving into a beacon for high quality, balanced Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Rhône variety blends.
Masciarelli
Abruzzo, Italy
Through tremendous vision and endless innovation, Masciarelli has not only become one of the most admired wineries in Italy, but is often regarded as the standard-bearer of the Abruzzo region. Led by the mother-daughter team of Marina Cvetić and Miriam Lee Masciarelli, the winery is the only one in Abruzzo to own land in all four provinces and produce wine from 100% estate-owned vineyards.
Attems
Friuli, Italy
Attems is one of the most historic producers in the northern Italian region of Friuli, with a winemaking heritage dating back nearly a millennium. Attems wines have a decidedly Friulian character: fresh, full of flavor and elegant, they respect the singularity of the unique terroir of a region ripe for discovery.
E. Guigal
Rhône Valley, France
The more you learn about the Guigal family, the more astounding becomes their story. Their wines are the benchmarks for every Rhône appellation, and over the last thirty years they have become arguably the most lauded producer in the world. Year after year the Guigal family produces wines of exceptional quality that in all classes offer exceptional value.