ROSÉ ALL DAMN DAY!
By David Keck
Thought we’d focus on a few new rosés from the Cynthia Hurley portfolio that will be landing this week.
LIMITED AVAILABILITY—anyone who has been watching international shipping (just for fun, right?) knows that it’s miserable getting containers out of Europe right now, SO, what we have is what we’re getting on some of these wines (just a few cases for some), so we’re very sorry if we can’t fulfill your request!
Abadia da Cova Souson Rosé 2020
In Ribeira Sacra, this small family-run estate is making some very exciting wines. All the fruit is from the Quiroga vineyard where steep, terraced clay and slate soils at a 12% pitch face South. Only 2.3 hectares, all of this is (obviously) worked by hand, with very little intervention in the vineyard or the winery. The grape here is Sousòn (known as Vinhão in Portugal), and is very dark-skinned, spicy grape, and rarely seen in a varietal bottling. We get a few cases. It isn’t inexpensive, but with the quality here, plus the insane lack of availability, we think it is totally worth it!
Couly Dutheil Rosé of Cabernet Franc 2020:
We’ve had the Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc in inventory, but now, for the first time in Vermont, we have their spectacular rosé. This wine is not the by-product of red wine production or a side hustle, Domaine Couly Dutheil grows these grapes specifically for the rosé on gravel and sandy soils and harvests at optimum ripeness. They are allowed a little skin contact, then bled off the skins leaving a wine that is deep pink, highly aromatic, and essentially checks every box. 100% chuggable, this wine also has depth and intensity that make it ideal with food and actually more intense than many of the ‘chillable reds’ out in the market right now. Can you tell we’re excited this is here?
Domaine Mourchon ‘Loubié’ Rosé 2020:
Another serious wine under the guise of rosé. From Domaine Mourchon, this is 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah, and all from 40+ year old vines. Their yields are aggressively low, and the wine (much as above) is made with the saignée technique as well as a bit that goes direct-to-press. Well-balanced with just enough weight to make it an ideal pairing for spicy seafood dishes (bouillabaisse, anyone??) or a summer salad. This wine has some of the ripe fruit that you’d expect from Tavel or another Rhône rosé, but is just a touch lighter on its feet.