I’m a LabRat!! So I have to say I was sooo pleased when it was Rosé and not Cab, as it’s been super hot here this week and I knew I’d be sipping the RatWine outside while I watered the 186 pepper plants I grew from seed this Spring while in a quarantine daze…

I’ve been in the wine biz for many years and when I opened the package I didn’t recognize the brand, so I thought hmmm maybe a side hustle for someone or maybe a private label that didn’t make it to Trader Joes etc… but I see it’s Scheid, who are well-respected and make good juice.

The wine’s a pretty color and, while sorto blando, the packaging is fine, except for the pink capsule, which I would change, but that’s nitpicking.

The first sip was brisk and bright… I thought maybe even a bit petillant but that’s not the case (but I would have been fine with that). No watermelon or other melon up front, but lots of bright, tart, almost sour-cherryish fruit. It was good by itself as well as later with a simple grilled pork chop & salad. The cherry is predominant and there is an undertone of something slightly bitter-ish, but in a pleasant, almost Aperol kind of way. This would probably make a good summer spritzer-cocktail mashup, come to say… The nose was a bit not there and I figured that was because it was too cold. It’s 9:18 am now on day 2 and I’m sipping/smelling again and the nose is still not very much there.
My last sip now echoes everything from last night- cherry, tartness in a good way, no melon or other sweetie typical Rosé flavors. I was guessing in the $8 range. My only “issue” (not really an issue) is the same one I always have, being in the industry, is that domestic Rosés have always had an uphill battle competing with the cheapest/best stuff being imported, and this wine is no different. I give this a solid B score, and would have given it more if the nose had been more present !

Part 1: Backstory (skip if you just want the review)

It has been more than a year since my last attempt at RATing. Thwarted by Providence and UPS in times past, WCC and I had both given up on the possibility. Now, with a bit less travel in my life, I cautiously sent the email asking if there was an opportunity to try again. Within mere days I had my answer - a shipment scheduled to be delivered Thursday night. This one arrived when it was supposed to.

What would it be? Tempranillo? Too soon after the last. Cab? Red blend? Our dinner (nearly on the table when the wine arrived) was spicy Thai food. As I opened the box, I hoped it was something that could stand up.

Imagine my surprise (and admittedly, initial disappointment) to find.

Rosé.

“Huh. Guess we’re not drinking this tonight.” I put it in the extra-cool wine fridge where I keep our small selection of whites.

But the more I thought about it, the less disappointed I became. After all, I live it Atlanta. It’s nearly summer. Tomorrow (now yesterday) is our youngest daughter’s birthday and I’ve got two events - afternoon in the backyard with family at the grill and evening at the church with a bunch of friends, kids, and pizza. Seems like a perfect time to try out some Rosé!

Happy National Rosé Day, everyone!

About me:
Cellar Tracker Profile
Big into craft cocktails, craft beer, and learning my way with wine. While I’ve been drinking and enjoying wine for several years now, I’m just starting to understand what I really do and do not prefer.

When it comes to white, I like just a hint of sweetness and a decent amount of dry. Sancerre is my favorite white (thus also many Sauvignon Blancs) and I also love dry-ish, but not sweet, Riesling.

About our tasting environment:
High class - might as well be sitting in a Napa tasting room. Well, if a Napa tasting room is a church fellowship hall with Marco’s pizza and Greek salads to go with our wine. Only the finest plastic glasses we had would suffice. Despite the environment, we did take it seriously (without taking ourselves too much so).

Part 2: RAT Review

Chilled in the (white) wine fridge for about 20 hours pre-consumption, then put on ice for the last two and travel to the church.

Tasting notes:
A nice, fruity, nose - though it was difficult to distinguish any particular fruit. Lovely pink color.

The initial thought on the first sip is “refreshing.” You get the citrus first - not enough to pucker but it is the dominant flavor for sure. That gives way pretty quickly to a nice level of dryness. The transition from tart to dry is very satisfying. My wife, as well as two other friends, had the same experience. The tartness builds slightly over the course of the glass - too much so for one taster who prefers sweet to tart + dry. It never reached unpleasant levels for the rest of us.

The only negative of the wine, from those of us who liked it, is a slightly odd aftertaste. This comes after the dryness has faded from the palette and none of us were able to describe it. Taking another sip or a bit of food made it disappear, but despite the overall pleasant flavor of the wine none of us enjoyed having it as the last taste on our tongues after several minutes.

Verdict:
The one adamant “non-rosé” drinker in the group said, “It’s the least bad rosé I’ve ever had, but I’d still pass.”

Everyone else said we’d be happy to have a glass of it on a hot summer day or to kick off an evening of tapas. The flavor profile would also have been really nice in a sparkling wine. If frosé is your thing, I suspect this would work well, with the tartness cutting through the cold nicely.

My target for rosé is typically in the $12-14/bottle range at Costco. This would hold its own against any of those. My suspicion (now confirmed) is that this will be closer to the $9-$10 range and at that price I’d happily split a case with someone nearby for consumption this summer.