Tasting Notes: Pink Stuff

When we were at my goddaughter's birthday party a few weeks ago, her two-year-old cousin only wanted to eat the pink parts of the birthday cake. This provided an interesting contrast to Hubby, who wanted no part of last night's rosé tasting at JavaMonkey except for the sparkling one. I don't think his masculinity was threatened by the pink wine because, let's face it, the only way to go more girly with rosé is to add bubbles to it and maybe a maraschino cherry. It's just one more example of different tastes, although we tend to agree on most others with the notable exception of Italian Pinot Grigio (I like, he hates) and oaky Chardonnay (vice versa).

As I tasted, I tried to capture the degree of pinkness in the wine, so there will be an extra line to these notes. Also notable was that this was my first attempt at tweeting a wine tasting. I'll plan to do that from now on, although I won't have space to tweet everything.

Avinyó Rosat Cava (Penedès, Spain): 100% Pinot Noir
Degree of pinkness: dark pink roses
Cranberry nose, tart with nice undertones that almost went plummy after it opened for a bit.
Rating: Very Good

Château Routas Rosé Rouvière (Provence, France): 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 30% Cinsault
Pink meter: Bubble gum
Honestly, this one was shy from the beginning and ran and hid from food.
Rating: Meh

2007 Mercedes Eguren Cabernet Rosado (Castilla, Spain): 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (duh!)
Pink? Like a Converse high top. Yeah, I had them, and the whole pink and electric blue ensemble to go with them.
Strawberry candy nose, but bitter like watermelon with the sweetness removed.
Rating: Meh

2006 Saddlerock Rosé (Central Coast, California): 100% Cabernet
This was introduced as "Barbie wine" because it comes from Malibu. I think that I had a few outfits for my dolls in this color, which was a little darker than Barbie pink and edging toward fuschia.
Cranberry juice box nose, raspberry over grape juice with a hint of butter on the finish.
Rating: Yeah, I know my description doesn't sound all that appetizing, but I gave it a Good/Very Good.

2007 Cusumano Rosato (Sicilia):
Faded pink denim color.
I swear, I got a hint of maple syrup on the nose at the first whiff, but I couldn't find it after that. This one also had a lot of berry and white grape.
Rating: Good

2008 Del Rio Vineyards Rosé Jolee (Rogue Valley, Oregon): 90% early Muscat, 10% Merlot
New ballet slipper pink
This one could pass for a fruity girly cocktail with its peachy nose and syrupy tangerine peach flavor.
Rating: Good for a sweet wine

The next tasting will be Pacific Northwest wines. I'll try to have finished my notes on Seattle by then. You can find me on Twitter @RandomOenophile if you'd like to tune in. Happy weekend!