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Here Is Why You Have Been Missing Out On Amazing Wine

It was drilled into me some 20 years ago: Producer trumps Vintage. Always; Producer trumps Vintage. That is; if you have to follow either the vintage or the producer, that you follow the producer … ‘A good producer will always make the best wine possible even in poor vintages’. So what do the producers we care and hold in esteem do with 2017? We look to their Rosé wine ...

The harbinger of the coming vintage is Rosé: it is the first glimpse into what can be made of the grapes from the year just gone past - think of it as the Punxsutawney Phil of the wine world … if the coming rosés are good then the vintage overall might be worthwhile, if the Rosés aren’t so good then the vintage might be a stinker.

Without too much prognostication: 2017 might just well be a stinker. Out of 62 Rosés that I’ve tried from the 2017 vintage I have, willingly, brought 7 into the store. The worst offenders - those that didn’t make the cut - were dilute, diffuse, and just downright boring. Worse of all; in the past I might just have stuck to my old ways and made blanket statements of love, above all, for a producer and bought the wine from 2017 that missed the mark but even some of my truly tried and truly true Rosé producers just fell flat in 2017. So 7 … just 7 so far.

But the seven that I brought in have all exceeded my expectations. I have mentioned two of the 7 Rosés in our past emails (Subscribe Here) so I'll introduce the other 5 below.

A Tribute to Grace Rose 2017

This is by far the best Rosé I’ve ever tasted from the producer. This wine is normally extremely tasty, but this time there was a certain crispness and cleanness that could not be ignored.

Matthiasson Rose 2017

The stalwart and beautiful Mattiasson Rosé. This wine that is somehow deeper in soul but lighter in approach than ever before. How the producer was able to fit this much depth into a Rosé and still keep on the lighter side is beyond me.

Julien Braud 'Forty Ounce' Rose 2017

This list would not be complete without the über fun Edward Fourty-Hands 40oz Rosé. Not only is this Rosé insanely delicious, but it also comes in a fun 40oz bottle. You'll enjoy this Rosé even if you don't tape it to your hands.
The next two are wines that I hardly ever go for:

Luigi Giordano Vino Rosato 2017

A Nebbiolo Rosé from the stunning Giordano Estate. This wine is delicate with floral and citrus notes. There's a certain freshness to this wine that really took me by surprise. This producer always does a good job of balancing the acidity in their wines, but the balance of this vintage goes above and beyond.

Soter Vineyards North Valley Origin Rose 2017

Last but certainly not least a Pinot Noir Rosé from Soter. This Pinot Noir Rosé is another example of how versatile this style of wine can be. This producer is another one that seems to find a way to create a wine with a lot of depth while still keeping things light. This might just be the Rosé of the year … and I despise most Pinot Noir Rosé wines.
There are a couple more but I’ve either written about them already or they’re too limited to speak their names. Anyway. … 7 great wines of 62 tried. Does this mean that all is lost for the 2017 vintage? It’s waaaaayyyyyy too early to tell but I’m gonna have my guard up when tasting the whites and reds coming forward but if I look at the Rosé that I’ve already sourced: go with the producer. I know all of the people making these wines and I trust them to pull it all together and sell the best thing they can. 2017 might be a crap vintage over all but if you follow the right producer; they’ll lead you right to the good stuff. 
Pick up a few bottles of these today:

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