Cellier du Rhone Cotes du Rhone, Rose 2007

Cellier du Rhone Cotes du Rhone, Rose 2007; Trader Joes, $5.99; October, 2008.

France has made pink, dry wines for centuries. They were hard to find in the United States until the late 80’s. You could find a Tavel occasionally, but that was all. Why? The French drank them all! They are young, fresh wines, drunk chilled, mostly in the summer, and goes well with the food of Provence. They are good anytime. Now these Roses have become something of a fad. The French in the south are making enough to export a wide variety and their popularity has grown. You also see dry roses from Spain, Portugal, and other countries. Even (surprise, surprise) California has gotten on the band wagon. Bonny Doon makes a good pink based on the same grapes used in the south of France. This wine, the Cellier du Rhone, comes from just north of Tavel.

Drank it with a salad with tomatoes, ricotta salata, dressing of olive oil, garlic, shallots, pair infused white balsamic vinegar and seasoning.

Fresh from the bottle, the rose smelled like a summer day, fresh and fruity. Brigette said it smelled like a pear. The color was light, almost as light as the Quinta do Carqueijal we didn’t like very much recently. This wine had lots more flavor. It wasn’t a stronger Rose, not like the Tavel (It is hard to find a cheap Tavel. It is also hard to find a bad one.). It held its own. You wanted that next sip. It went well with dressing, light in color, nicely fruity. It met the garlic head on, and brought out the taste of the tomatoes, which were some of the most flavorful tomatoes we have had this year (from Wegman’s, the vine ripened with the vine still attached). The wine held up well, after the salad, it was good by itself and remained fresh, no cloying. Some light wines will wilt by themselves after a meal. This one stayed delicious.

We have tasted better roses this summer, and some that were not as good. It was good enough that I would happily buy this Cotes du Rhone rose again.