Here we have two more rosés from the O’Briens summer rosé sale. One is a typical blend from a Languedoc legend, the other is an unusual blend from a Veronese outfit who use both local and international varieties. Both have a cool feature on the bottle they arrive in.
Gérard Bertrand Cote des Roses 2020
With the untimely death of his father Georges in 1987, flank forward Gérard Bertrand had to balance his rugby career with becoming a vigneron. He sought to increase the quality of the wines while gradually increasing the family’s holdings. Bertrand is now an ambassador for Languedoc wines and the biodynamic approach – all his vineyards have been converted to biodynamics and certifications should be completed by 2023. In the past 30 or so years the Domaine has grown from 60 to 920 hectares, includes 15 estates, and exports its wines to over 150 countries.
Cote des Roses [sic] is a traditional Languedoc blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah. It’s a very pale pink (rose in French!) in the glass. The nose simply smells of summer! Strawberry and raspberry aromas continue onto the palate where they are joined by a steely streak of minerality. The fruit and mineral aspects are not distinct entities but are entwined together. They arrive together, hang out for a while then leave together hand in hand.
There’s also some texture to this wine which mean it could partner well with food. It stands astride the line between food rosés and quaffing rosés, a great all-rounded that’s worth a try.
- ABV: 12.5%
- RRP: €14.21 down from €18.95
- Source: sample
- Stockists: O’Briens stores and obrienswine.ie
Cool bottle feature: the base of the bottle is formed into a relief shaped like a rose
Pasqua 11 Minutes Rosé 2020
Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine, to give the firm its full name, was founded by the Pasqua brothers from Puglia in 1925. Their original venture was intended to commercialise Puglian wines in greater Verona, but it didn’t take too long before they invested in local vineyards and began to market those wines too. The second generation joined the business in the 1960s and were the driving force behind a focus on exports and the establishment of a research and development institute. The new millennium saw the building of a new headquarters in Verona and dedicated export entities in the USA and China, with the third generation now taking over the reins.
The Pasqua range now extends to two dozen wines, split into five ranges: Icons, Famiglia Pasqua, Pasqua Specials, Pasqua Timeless and Independents. 11 Minutes is the Rosé member of the Icons range. 11 Minutes refers to the length of time the juice stays in contact with the skins before being separated for cold settling. Selected yeasts are used to initiate fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, and once completed the wine matures in the same tanks on its lees.
It’s the blend which is really unusual here: Corvina (50%; a key red wine variety of the Veneto) plus Trebbiano de Lugano (25%; a white variety which makes excellent wines on the shores of Lake Garda), Syrah (15%; from the Rhône but grown internationally) and Carmenère (10%; Bordelais in origin but now the signature variety of Chile).
Given the brief maceration time of 11 minutes it’s no surprise that this is a pale wine. Red fruits and floral notes dominate the nose and resolve nicely on to the palate. There are also grapefruit flavours and textures, specifically grapefruit segments in juice, pith and all.
This is a remarkably balanced and tasty rosé, undoubtedly the best I’ve tasted so far this summer!
- ABV: 12.5%
- RRP: €14.21 down from €18.95 (75 cl) or €38.95 (150 cl)
- Source: sample
- Stockists: O’Briens stores and obrienswine.ie
Cool bottle feature: the front label is actually donut shaped; if you align it correctly the image on the inside of the back label can be seen in the hole through the wine.
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