For an aperitif, we opened a NV Graham Beck Rose from South Africa. When the discussion of Graham Beck's sparklers came up several weeks ago, a quick internet check didn't discover their rose available in the U.S., so it was a pleasant surprise to run into this at Whole Foods Market in Seattle a few weeks ago at $20ish. Like the white, it has robust fruit, a fine and persistent bubble, creamy mousse and dry finish. But it distinguishes itself from it's sister with a more pronounced pinot noir character. Excellent for the price.
To go with our dinner of honey-drizzled ham baked on the barbecue, we opened a 2004 Loring Rosella's pinot noir. I've not had this wine before, but I'm a big fan of the August West Rosella's pinots and hoped this wine would have similar qualities. It does! It's in a GREAT place right now. First of all, the color's worth noting: it's a pretty garnet color with orange edges, almost an aged Rioja kind of color. On the nose and palate, it's very pinotish but with a lot more strawberry than you typically find in California fruit with an iron-vitamin kind of minerality and good spice. In texture, the wine's incredibly silky though when you force yourself to think about it, the acid and tannins are there they're just under more layers of silk than you're used to. Also notable, it's surprisingly sweet, more in the attack and mid palate than the finish; and where I'd prefer less of that normally, with the ham and roasted yams it was a very good fit even if not one I planned for. And though it drinks perfectly right now, it's picking up some fine secondary nuances and even more interesting days could be ahead.
This one did that.
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