What could be better than a dozen rosés?
Another hot-as-Hades Houston August looms, but help is on the way! In a word, it’s called rosé, 9-1-1 in a glass.
Over our past two tastings, the Chronicle wine panel has sampled 45 pink wines, including several sparklers. Most of them made us happy, and a dozen left us fighting over the leftovers, earning composite scores of 9 or higher on a 10-point scale. No serious injuries were incurred, though. We’re an amiable bunch.
You’ll see some very familiar names on the list that follows. The 2018 Domaine de Mourchon Loubié, for example. A classic grenache-syrah blend, this perennial favorite from France’s Southern Rhone Valley received six scores of at least 9. More good news: At $18.49 — Spec’s cash price — it’s one of our highest-price touts, too. The 2018 Charles & Charles from Washington’s Columbia Valley received an overall 9 and sells for only $10.99.
Regrettably, only two Bandols were in the tasting mix this year, but they both scored 9 or higher — and the 2018 Bastide de la Ciselette became our unofficial class champion for 2019, although it doesn’t appear to be available in retail in Houston. The top family of wines? That would be those from Gérard Bertrand, the onetime Narbonne rugby legend turned iconic Languedoc producer who’s taking his entire operation biodynamic. That extra all-natural care shows through clearly in the winemaking, too.
All four of the Bertrand wines, including the Cuvée Thomas Jefferson Crémant de Limoux sparkler and the Hampton Water he made in an odd-couple partnership with rocker Jon Bon Jovi, scored 9 or higher. Alas, we didn’t get to taste his new Clos du Temple. Released only in June, it’s the new Rolls-Royce of rosés, selling for 180 euros (about $200) in the winery’s tasting room not far from the Mediterranean shore. Hopefully, we’ll score a few bottles in the Houston-area in the near future, although I’m quite happy quaffing Bertrand’s Côte des Roses or the Gris Blanc, both of which are less than $15.
Domaine Gueissard also showed quality depth, earning 9s for the entry-level “Le Petit,” which combines fruit from both the Côtes de Provence and Bandol and sells for $14 at French Country Wines, and also its Bandol ($23).
Interestingly, none of the rosés we sampled back in the spring received a score as high as 9. Could it be that summer hadn’t yet taken its toll?