Wine: Domaine de la Berthete Sensation Rose
Wine: Domaine de la Berthete Sensation Rose
Grapes: Cinsault (55 percent), grenache (25 percent), carignane (15 percent), syrah (5 percent)
Region: Cotes du Rhone, Southern France
Vintage: 2012
Price: $3.99
Availability: Lee’s Discount Liquor
In the glass: Sensation Rose wine is an antique rose color with streaks of salmon pink with medium-high viscosity and good orange to clear rim definition.
On the nose: There are soft cypress notes, with red stone fruit, crushed rosehip, strawberries, rhubarb compote, red currant juice, juicy cranberries, minerals and wet rock.
On the palate: The wine is fruity and lively in the mouth with an upfront touch of strawberry coulis, then white cranberry juice without the sugar, pomegranate seeds, currants and no trace of wood.
The midpalate is rounded and zesty, but nicely balances the fruit and acidity. This wine also has a charming dryness that leads to a fine dry fruit finish with a touch of minerality at the end.
Odds and ends: With outdoor temperatures topping 100 degrees, it is prime time to enjoy a chilled rose wine. Although different in style and taste from the “blush” wines from California many consumers here are used to drinking, these rose wines have charm and finesse and are worth seeking out.
This wine is from the Rhone Valley, a region known for aromatic, easy-to-drink rose wines. Because the pressed grape juice stays in contact with the grape skins only briefly, the wine does not turn red, but rather a deep almost salmon orange-pink color.
Vinification takes place without using wood and is usually faster than that employed for the red wines made from these grape varietals.
We get all the nice fruit, but without the “interference” of oak and the wine stays bone dry. It is correctly called Sensation on the label, because it is sensationally priced at less than $4.
This is an ideal wine for seafood or fish dishes, so if you are looking for something special and you’re tired of always serving white, this wine is the ticket. It should be served chilled to 52 degrees Fahrenheit. It will drink well over the next one to two years.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com
