“That which we call a rose …”
Posted by Chris on Monday July 28, 2008
Posted By : Chris Corley
Juliet :
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Romeo and JulietAs a refreshing finish to a warm day or midsummers night, I’ve been enjoying our 2007 Rose with some frequency over the last couple of months. Clearly I have a natural bias, but I really like it. It’s got a nice light pink color, vibrant acidity, and a long fruity finish.
In the past, our Rose has always been varietal specific – for instance “Rose of Pinot Noir” and “Rose of Syrah”. In 2007, I did ‘saignee’ on a fair amount of our red fermentations. No, saignee is not a form of voodoo, although I have been known to use a little mojo in certain vintages. Saignee is a french term for bleeding juice from the fermentation almost immediately after crushing the red grapes. The juice that is bled from the tank is generally clear to light pink, as it is removed from the tank before it has a chance to extract much, if any, color from the skins. This pink juice is then treated much like a white wine, fermented at cool temperatures and protected from the air.
In 2007, we had several varietals of rose which we had produced by saignee, which all tasted great individually – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. Not really inclined to bottle four separate Roses for the vintage, I started playing around with blends, and ultimately arrived at the current bottling, which includes all four varietals and even a splash of Chardonnay, which added a very nice textural component with its naturally high acidity.
Clearly, we couldn’t call this wine “Rose of …”, so we casually kicked around a few ideas. One name that sticks with me is “Rose de Sangre Fresca” because its fun to say and translates (in a somewhat macabre way) into “Rose of Fresh Blood”, tying into the winemaking technique. Ultimately, we decided to simply identify the wine as “Rose”. It’s elegant if you ponder the word a bit and let it linger …
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
What is in a name? This is the best rose that I have ever had, I have been opening a bottle frequently for guests and love to see their expressions when I bring out this “pink” wine. Their faces scrunch up. Then the magic happens – they sniff at it, raise their eyebrows, and sip. That is when the magic happens! There is no residual sugar in this Rose! Then I’m looking at big grins, “what is this? It is wonderful”. What’s in a name? Rose seems so simple for this wine… I would call it – Make Me Blush! Great Work Chris Corley!!!
The best non-french rose I’ve had to date,my wife are drinking a bottle right now!