Varietal: Rose (40% Cabernet Sauvignon; 33% Merlot; 23% Cabernet Franc; 4% Malbec)
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $13
A bright, vibrant pink with aromas of candied rose petals and peach. Â Flavors of cherry and candy with a crisp finish. Â Pairs well with Asian, Mediterranean, Mexican and vegetarian dishes.
Recommendations: During our March trip to Charlottesville to visit several vineyards, my wife and I stopped at Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard towards the end of our first day of tasting. Â Tasting several of their wines, we ended up bringing two home – one of which happened to be their Albemarle Rose. Â I finally got around to opening it last night and I’m wishing I had bought another bottle of it.
First, to put it in perspective, my notes while tasting this wine boiled down to “Obnoxiously Good”. Â As for my actual thoughts on the wine – the floral aroma of rose was definitely there, and while I’ve never smelled candied rose petals and thus cannot speak to the validity of that claimed aroma, there is definitely a floral, rose aroma to the wine that seems to fit with the pink color.
I got more strawberry than cherry flavor out of the wine and while it was advertised as having a “sweet” flavor, I in no way found it to be sweet, which was a good thing. Â Crisp is the best word to describe this wine, which made it a great pairing for a dinner of grilled chicken with cajun seasoning with some garlic green beans and butter noodles.
The crisp, bright flavors of the wine did an excellent job of cutting through the spice of the seasoning on the chicken, and most importantly, we were sad to see the final drop fall from the bottle. Â While Rose’ tends to get a bad name thanks to White Zinfandel, I’ve been warming to them more and more as I sample them, and for somebody that grills a lot of white meat during the summer months, this wine in particular has a lot of potential to find its way back into my home.
Definitely one worth trying out, especially if you’ve been hesitant on Rose’. Â If you can’t find it at your local store, Kluge does ship and you can find the wine here.
