And We Have A Winner

So as the house French wine specialist it falls to me to bring in the majority of the Roses that we have to offer at The Wine Country. This is not only my pleasure it is, thanks to the overwhelming response from all of our customers, my honor to take charge of the wall of “Pink” that greets them as they walk through the front door of the store. I assure you, for just as many wines as they see there just as many were rejected for being too simple, fruity, alcoholic or just plain weird and while I am sure I will find no sympathy I promise you, it is not so much fun to smell, taste and spit the wines that don’t make the cut. Even less fun having to explain to some bandwagoning supplier that their, just acquired....(because you know, everyone has to have a Rose now), Rose is flat, insipid and falls into the, "Are you stoned?!" pricing category compared to the wines we are already working with. Been in the Rose game far too long to be dazzled by some craptastic left behind. If the guys that "got it" before it was hip opted to leave it in France, well then chances are this buyer is going to let in get lost in your giant portfolio of just okay wines. Sorry....   

I am asked every year, “Which ones are good?” or “Which is your favorite?” and as any good mother would, “They are all good and it would be too hard to pick a favorite” is what you will hear by way of a response from me. The wines are all good, wouldn’t be at the store if I didn’t truly believe that but as to which is my favorite, well like that mother thing, I might be fibbing a little.

Last year a few of our Saturday tasters as well as a chunk of my blog readers were let in on my favorite Rose, the Francois Chidaine Touraine Rose and once they tasted it we blew through the last available eight cases on the west coast, in less than a day and a half. It was unreal and while I was a tad bummed that I had let my Rose cat of the proverbial bag and there was no more for me to sip away on, I was thrilled that I was able to share that wine, my most beloved wine, with those of you that got that opportunity to try it.

So as it turns out, I have already found the Rose that makes my toes curl, far earlier this year than last year but sadly, it is just as limited, in fact...far more limited. Don’t you just hate that?! I spilled my guts for The Wine Country newsletter first this time. Got a sizable amount of crap last year from customers that were annoyed that my blog readers got first crack at the Rose that made me tingle and they didn't have the chance to even try it, so I caved. Gave up the goods to them first. The newsletter was sent out over the weekend, (and I'm trying not to take the holiday and the fact that they may not have had the chance to see it into consideration) which gave them two whole days of a head start so I shan't listen to any whining about playing favorites.

So last year the Chidaine was simply charming. A delightful little Rose that drank like it should have been far more expensive....even tasted it along side some wines twice its price and still preferred the Chidaine. Stoopid value that was simply delicious. This year however, it isn't a charmer that has stolen my heart...no, this wine reaches beyond the constraints of Rose and lands squarely in that seductive, contemplative and haunting category. 

I had tasted the wine with my sales rep and ordered three cases for the store. I thought it was delightful and knew that it stood out from the others we had stacked in the front of the shop but....it wasn't until taking a bottle home, spending the night with it, letting it spill, splash and stain my palate that I could see just how serious a wine it was. Called my rep the "morning after" and secured five more cases. Didn't even care if they were going to be just for me. This wine had slipped beneath my skin and now every Rose I tasted after it, even my adored Tempier, tasted simple and like some of its parts were missing.

I've tried to restrain myself, tried to leave some for the rest of you and tried to give equal time to the other Roses I've brought in but, damn. Each sip of another just reminds me of what I'm missing and has me walking through the front doors of The Wine Country once again wrapping my fingers around the neck of the wine that won't let me be.....

The 2010 Clos Marie Pic Saint Loup Rose is one sexy beast of a wine that I shall covet until the last of the 25 cases that were imported to the west coast have vanished. At $17.99 a bottle I'm guessing that it won't fly like the Chidiane did last year. Guessing is the same as hoping right? A very serious wine that drinks even better, if you can stand it, on day two than it does upon opening it. I've twice resisted polishing off the bottle and been greatly rewarded for it but in the interest of true confessions, I greedily devour the saturated fruit, wet stones, striations of spice, curvy mouth filling weight in one gloriously satisfying sitting most times. Too serious to just suck back, too sexy to ignore, this is a wine that works both your palate and your head and I am deeply in love with it. But by all means, feel free to just ignore it, deem it too pricy or just another pink wine. It has a place to go, a palate that is waiting, wanting and ready......