2019 Onesta Rosé of Cinsault, Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi, California
Tasting Notes
Onesta Rosé is opulent and bursting with flavors of guava and melon, delivering a mouthwatering long finish. Made in a Provençal style, the Rosé is completely dry (no residual sugar) and elegant which makes it the perfect wine for relaxing with friends on a warm spring or summer day.
Cinsault is the king of Rosé varieties in Provence, producing elegant & sophisticated wines.
Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi, California
The Bechthold Vineyard is the oldest vineyard in the Lodi region, 25 acres planted in 1886. This is the oldest Cinsault vineyard in the world! The old vines are head-trained, organically grown, and dry farmed. One side of the vineyard is bordered by a water canal, which the roots from the old vines have accessed over the years. The vines closest to the canal have a larger crop and are naturally lower in Brix, so perfect for Rosé production.
The Rosé is 50% saignée and 50% fruit picked specifically for Rosé. The juice is blended and fermented in stainless steel and 15% very neutral French oak barrels. The wine is aged on the lees for 6 months to enhance the rich mouthfeel typical of the Rosé wines in Provence.
Food Pairings: Duck pate, red Thai curry, charcuterie spread, Spanish Tapas like grilled octopus or boquerones, and salmon.
Jillian found her passion for wine while studying neurobiology at UC Davis. Homebrewing introduced her to the magic of fermentation, and after taking the “Introductory to Winemaking” class at UC Davis, she quickly switched her major to Viticulture and Enology. She graduated with her degree in 2001 and soon thereafter found herself as an intern at the famous Bonny Doon Winery.
Her desire to learn more about winemaking has taken her around the globe. To gain essential winemaking experience in a short time, Jillian traveled to the southern hemisphere to work an additional harvest each year. For three years she traveled south to learn how to work with different varieties and observe different winemaking styles. She did internships in McLaren Vale (South Australia), Margaret River (Western Australia), and Stellenbosch (South Africa).
Syrah quickly became her deepest passion and she returned to Bonny Doon as Associate Winemaker in 2005, focusing her talents on the Rhone varieties that the Dooner is known for. She played a major role in the transition to biodynamic winemaking at Bonny Doon. Now a truly seasoned winemaker, Jillian has started her own passion project, Onesta. Her artistic expression is manifested in her wines. Jillian’s wines speak the truth of each growing season and each vintage is a new adventure for her, riding the waves of Mother Nature. Her promise to herself and her customers is to deliver wines with personality and depth every year. Jillian’s wines are made with passion and love, just like she lives her life. Her hope is that every sip of Onesta will ignite the soul with passion and enthusiasm for living life to the fullest.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Greetings, Casemateys! We received this labrat bottle earlier in the week. Imagine my surprise to see the wine was one we bought last autumn in the cinsault/rose combo sale. With colder weather for most of the last 6 months, we hadn’t had an opportunity to try it, however. And with a sunny day in the 60s greeting us this morning after a few days of foul weather, the timing was perfect.
One nice thing about having the labrat wine in your cellar is sidestepping the possibility of travel shock. I popped and poured a bottle from last year, serving at around 60 degrees.
Initial pour revealed a light copper color with good clarity. The nose was all watermelon, ripe and fresh. First sips revealed a slight effervescence. This blew off rather quickly, however.
On the palate the watermelon intermingled with some strawberry and apricot flavors. Acidity was really what hit the mark for me; it was mouth watering and cleansing, without crossing over into sharpness. We didn’t have this with food, but I could see it working very well with a variety of lighter dishes, and might even work with creamy sauces. There was a slight hint of bitterness in the mid palate which I found enjoyable, leading to a short-medium finish.
We put the bottle back in the fridge but I found the flavors more muted; I think serving in the upper 50s to low 60s was spot on for this wine to show its best.
Overall, there’s a lot to like about this wine. SWMBO also enjoyed it very much. And at the case price, this is definitely one to pick up if rosé is in short supply. We are a bit overloaded with summer wines right now, but I’ll definitely look for this if it ever comes up again.
Thanks to Alice and WD for the opportunity to serve! I’ll stop by periodically to answer any questions I can. Cheers!
From the previous offering, this was one of the most enjoyable Rosés we ever had - the wonderful color and unique melon-berry-stone fruit flavors, and we were saving that last bottle, so this an automatic buy for at least 4 more if not a case.
Now we hope they’ll bring an offer on the Cinsault as well!
I was also selected to be a labrat for the Onesta Rosé of Cinsault and was quite excited to try it since we are fans of the Onesta Cinsault already. Thank you Casemates for sending early in the week so we didn’t have to rush to chill and review! No thanks to the April snow flurries we had the morning of our tasting!
As we took our first sips, there are immediate notes of strawberry and tropical watermelon aromas. The wine is balanced and weighty on the palate for a rosé, delicious and refreshing, but also rich. It isn’t sweet but the watermelon almost fools you on this - or maybe it’s the nostalgic watermelon eating summer memories that do. Either way, this is a delicious wine, crying to be enjoyed on a beautiful sunny day! We had our second glasses with some Vietnamese carryout and it paired nicely with the herbs and grilled meat. I think it works well on it’s own but is also a good wine to have with a spring or summer meal. Thanks again for the opportunity!
@WineDocNapa
Question for the winery - could you explain the saignee method used (how long on the skins, did you add water and acid back, etc) and the other half (direct to press or on its skins for how long?).
Saignee is the French term for bleeding fresh juice out of the tank after crushing red grapes. It is a method used to concentrate the red wine. I posted a video on Instagram a couple years ago explaining the process as it was happening in the winery. Check it out!
As a behind the scenes wine doctor throughout California, I can tell you the majority of wine made from grapes grown in the California sun will have an acid addition. When it’s made at the juice stage, the magic of fermentation integrates these early acid adjustments. It’s the late acid adds that cause wines to taste off balance. Rhône varieties tend to be a little lower in acidity, so all the Onesta wines have an acid adjustment at juice. Most of the time they are fairly small .
Roughly 50% of the Rose fruit is harvested and processed just for Rose. This portion gets started a couple weeks before the red Cinsault harvest comes in. The saignee of the red harvest is the other 50%, and it is higher in brix (sugar), so I usually have to adjust the brix to get the juice in balance to make an elegant rose.
I’m typing this all from my phone…hopefully it makes sense.
@WineDocNapa Jillian - it all makes sense but I was looking for more specifics. How long do you wait until you saignee? One day? Two days? And then the grapes processed specifically for rose - do you go direct to press when the grapes arrive or do you crush and let them sit on the skins for an hour or two or three? Cheers
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2019 Onesta Rosé of Cinsault - $50 = 27.76%
2019 Onesta Rosé of Cinsault, Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi, California
Tasting Notes
Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi, California
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$300.00/Case for 12x 2019 Onesta Rosé of Cinsault, Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi, California at Onesta Wines
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, May 2 - Wednesday, May 4
2019 Onesta Rosé of Cinsault
4 bottles for $59.99 $15/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2019 Onesta Rosé of Cinsault
Greetings, Casemateys! We received this labrat bottle earlier in the week. Imagine my surprise to see the wine was one we bought last autumn in the cinsault/rose combo sale. With colder weather for most of the last 6 months, we hadn’t had an opportunity to try it, however. And with a sunny day in the 60s greeting us this morning after a few days of foul weather, the timing was perfect.
One nice thing about having the labrat wine in your cellar is sidestepping the possibility of travel shock. I popped and poured a bottle from last year, serving at around 60 degrees.
Initial pour revealed a light copper color with good clarity. The nose was all watermelon, ripe and fresh. First sips revealed a slight effervescence. This blew off rather quickly, however.
On the palate the watermelon intermingled with some strawberry and apricot flavors. Acidity was really what hit the mark for me; it was mouth watering and cleansing, without crossing over into sharpness. We didn’t have this with food, but I could see it working very well with a variety of lighter dishes, and might even work with creamy sauces. There was a slight hint of bitterness in the mid palate which I found enjoyable, leading to a short-medium finish.
We put the bottle back in the fridge but I found the flavors more muted; I think serving in the upper 50s to low 60s was spot on for this wine to show its best.
Overall, there’s a lot to like about this wine. SWMBO also enjoyed it very much. And at the case price, this is definitely one to pick up if rosé is in short supply. We are a bit overloaded with summer wines right now, but I’ll definitely look for this if it ever comes up again.
Thanks to Alice and WD for the opportunity to serve! I’ll stop by periodically to answer any questions I can. Cheers!
@hscottk thank you for rattage
@hscottk thank you for the very thorough report!
From the previous offering, this was one of the most enjoyable Rosés we ever had - the wonderful color and unique melon-berry-stone fruit flavors, and we were saving that last bottle, so this an automatic buy for at least 4 more if not a case.
Now we hope they’ll bring an offer on the Cinsault as well!
I was also selected to be a labrat for the Onesta Rosé of Cinsault and was quite excited to try it since we are fans of the Onesta Cinsault already. Thank you Casemates for sending early in the week so we didn’t have to rush to chill and review! No thanks to the April snow flurries we had the morning of our tasting!
As we took our first sips, there are immediate notes of strawberry and tropical watermelon aromas. The wine is balanced and weighty on the palate for a rosé, delicious and refreshing, but also rich. It isn’t sweet but the watermelon almost fools you on this - or maybe it’s the nostalgic watermelon eating summer memories that do. Either way, this is a delicious wine, crying to be enjoyed on a beautiful sunny day! We had our second glasses with some Vietnamese carryout and it paired nicely with the herbs and grilled meat. I think it works well on it’s own but is also a good wine to have with a spring or summer meal. Thanks again for the opportunity!
@sarahaha Thanks for the report - wow snow flurries still.
@sarahaha thank you for taking the time to enjoy our Rose !
@WineDocNapa
Question for the winery - could you explain the saignee method used (how long on the skins, did you add water and acid back, etc) and the other half (direct to press or on its skins for how long?).
Cheers!
@tercerowines hello!
Saignee is the French term for bleeding fresh juice out of the tank after crushing red grapes. It is a method used to concentrate the red wine. I posted a video on Instagram a couple years ago explaining the process as it was happening in the winery. Check it out!
grown in the California sun 
will have an acid addition. When it’s made at the juice stage, the magic of fermentation integrates these early acid adjustments. It’s the late acid adds that cause wines to taste off balance. Rhône varieties tend to be a little lower in acidity, so all the Onesta wines have an acid adjustment at juice. Most of the time they are fairly small 
.
As a behind the scenes wine doctor throughout California, I can tell you the majority of wine made from grapes
Roughly 50% of the Rose fruit is harvested and processed just for Rose. This portion gets started a couple weeks before the red Cinsault harvest comes in. The saignee of the red harvest is the other 50%, and it is higher in brix (sugar), so I usually have to adjust the brix to get the juice in balance to make an elegant rose.
I’m typing this all from my phone…hopefully it makes sense.
Jillian
@WineDocNapa Jillian - it all makes sense but I was looking for more specifics. How long do you wait until you saignee? One day? Two days? And then the grapes processed specifically for rose - do you go direct to press when the grapes arrive or do you crush and let them sit on the skins for an hour or two or three? Cheers
@tercerowines sorry!
Destem then direct to press with the rose harvest
I wait about 12 hours for the saignee bleed off
@WineDocNapa Thank you! That’s some pretty good color for this variety with only that little time saigneed - great job!
Onesta is an auto-buy for me! And this has risen to the top of my chart for Rose!!
@Kraxberger thank you!!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2019 Onesta Rosé of Cinsault - $50 = 27.76%
We bought this in the mixed case last time and loved it! Buying a case…
/image unpopular-notable-baseball
Wow, almost forgot and missed it - went for a case!
/giphy outgoing-knightly-farmer