A Wonderful Spanish Rose

Don Salvador Rosado 2007, Monsatrell, Alicante, Spain, 12%; Whole Foods, $5.99.

I am not following my usual procedure and ideological leanings this time by discussing this wine by itself, rather than with the meal we had with it. Truthfully, neither Brigette nor I can remember what meal we ate, meaning I did not make my usual notes. Normally I would just not then talk about the wine, but this time I am making an exception. This wine is good.

Roses as good, well-made wines began in the South of France. The French have been enjoying these wonderful wines as summer fare for decades, at least. The wines are dry, crisp, fruity, and served chilled. Other than the wines from Tavel, dry, French roses were found only in France. You see, the French drank it all. There was not enough to export. But the word leaked, and demand for these tasty wines grew enough that the French could no longer horde them. Tavel wines were always hard to find. They still are. But you can find other French roses everywhere, notably ones from Provence. Once they started shipping roses regularly, the demand continued to grow and other people noticed. Now many countries are shipping Roses. Personally, I think the best outside of France come from Spain and Portugal. The French wines are typically the most consistently good. But you can find good ones from the Iberian Penitsula, too. Most of these wines are inexpensive.

The Don Salvador is a very good rose. It is dry and fruity. It is a darker pink than some. I have found that the darker color does tend to translate into more flavor, and it is true for this wine. It is light enough to be good with delicate summer fish dishes. It also has enough flavor to stand up to salmon or most any chicken concoction. Or, if you just want to sit and enjoy the day, put it in an ice bucket and sip away. It will refresh you and give winey pleasure with every sip or gulp.