It’s hard to believe that the Wine Bloggers Conference is just a few days away. Since we only had a few days in Napa during our last trip in February, my wife and I are making a vacation out of this trip and staying a week after the conference to veg out, drink lots of wine, eat lots of fattening food and do little else. The downside of taking a 10 day vacation is the glut of work to do before leaving. Since my job seems to be getting in the way of my extracurricular activities, I am quite behind on posts – I’ve had a lot of wine and taken lots of low quality pictures, but just can’t seem to get around to actually churning out my typical award wining wine prose.
During a quick weekend getaway with the in-laws in Orlando a few weeks ago, I stopped by the Orlando Total Wine to grab these three bottles of Rose for a taste off. To pair with the sweltering Orlando summer heat and La Vie En Rose, I selected three Roses from different parts of the world – Tavel, Napa, and South Africa.
Elizabeth Rose 2008 Rose $17.99. From Napa. Light red color, although it looks much darker due to my amateur photography skills and my POS camera. A blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Zinfandel. Alcohol 13%. A great nose of sweet watermelon candy, raspberry, and light cherry aromas. In the mouth, I got pronounced flavors of watermelon, strawberry, lime zest with a lengthy red fruit finish. Would have been great with spicy Thai take out.
Les Vignes des Precheurs 2008 Tavel $16.99. From Tavel in southern Rhone. Typical watermelon and strawberry nose – about the same in the mouth. Expected more of the mineral notes that I’ve come to expect from Tavel Roses.
Mulderbosch 2008 Rose $12.99. From Stellenbosch, South Africa. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon. Nose of cherry and tart citrus that led to flavors of sour cherry. One aspect of this wine that I enjoyed was the crispness in the mouth. My least favorite of the trio.
The favorite of the night was the Elizabeth Rose Rose. I had higher expectations for the Les Vignes des Precheurs. The Mulderbosch finished a very distant third, and bordered on blech!
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Very cool! I’ve seen the Elizabeth Rose and wondered if it was any good.
Next time you are in Orlando, you have to let me know!
Cheers!