This is based on samples supplied by the winery or another organization on their behalf.

 

 

2012 McCay Cellars Rosé

2012 Heritage Oak Grenache Rosé

2012 Onesta Cinsault Rosé

2012 Sorelle Winery Bella e Rosa

 

The lineup:

 

 

I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality and diversity of these wines.  Every one of them would be a welcome addition to my dinner table with some lighter warm weather food.  These were all well made and unique wines.  Even the wine I liked the least was still very enjoyable.  Don’t do as I have done in the past and discount Lodi wines as being big, ripe, and fairly one dimensional.  These rosés were a revelation.  I highly recommend grabbing one and enjoying it on your deck or patio on a warm afternoon or evening.

 

 

2012 McCay Cellars Rosé – SRP $18.00

This is Carignane from 102 year old vines blended with some Grenache.  There were 211 cases of this dry Rosé produced by Winemaker Michael J. McCay.  The final alcohol level is 12.4%.

 

To learn more about McCay Cellars, visit this link here.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light salmon to pink color.  The fresh smelling nose had strawberries, white peach, spice, minerals, ruby red grapefruit, and lemon zest.  This has a fairly light body, nice richness, and crisp acidity.  To me this seemed to have spent at least a short amount of time in oak since there was a slight smoky element and a touch of extra spice to it.  On the palate the fruit and spice grabbed center stage but minerals and a touch of ruby red grapefruit came in on the back end.  The finish had nice length.  This would pair nicely with some lighter Summer fare on a warm evening.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Heritage Oak Grenache Rosé – SRP $16.00

This is a blend of 75% Grenache, 12.5% Chardonnay, and 12.5% Sauvignon Blanc from the Silvaspoons Vineyard.  Total production was a meager 80 cases and the final alcohol level is 13.12%.

 

To read more about Heritage Oak Winery, visit this link here.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light salmon color.  The unusual nose has fresh cut grass, lemon zest, cherries, strawberries, minerals, spice, white pepper, and some tart apples.  This has medium body, a touch of sweetness, and crisp acidity.  Even though it only makes up 12.5% of the blend the grassy/herbal notes from the Sauvignon Blanc takes center stage with the red fruit, spice, minerals, and a touch of citrus coming in from the sides.  The finish has decent length and again seems to be dominated by the Sauvignon Blanc component.  This is something very different and unusual.  Not my favorite, but distinct enough to be enjoyable.  (87 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Onesta Cinsault Rosé

This Cinsault based Rosé is a blend of 50% saignée and 50% from grapes picked specifically for the Rosé.  Saignée is simply the process of draining some of the juice out of the tank after limited skin contact.  This method is utilized to increase the body and concentration of the remaining red wine in the tank.

 

There were 300 cases produced of this wine and the alcohol is 13.5%.

 

To read more about Onesta, visit this link here.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a pink to salmon color.  The outstanding nose has cherries, strawberries, candied ginger, minerals, spice, and a slight herbal note as well as a slight hint of toast.  This has medium body, nice richness, and crisp acidity.  On the palate the fresh, crisp fruit shares the spotlight with nice minerals, ginger, and a nice herbal note.  The finish is long and lingering with some nice spice and the herbal note hanging around.  It seems like at least some whole clusters were utilized to add the nice herbal note which didn’t come from under ripe fruit.  This was my favorite wine from the tasting by a fairly wide margin.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Sorelle Winery Bella e Rosa

This is a blend of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Barbera from the Sorelle Vineyard that was aged 6 months in neutral oak barrels.  There were 200 cases of the wine produced and its final alcohol level is 14%.

 

This was the wine I was most looking forward to sampling.

 

To learn more about Sorelle Winery, visit this link here.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a pinkish salmon color.  The very fresh and inviting nose was full of strawberries, cherries, minerals, and some subtle earthiness.  This has medium body, a touch of richness, and decent acidity.  On the palate this is full of cherries and strawberries with some minerals sprinkled on top.  The finish has very nice length with some subtle earthiness adding complexity.  The fairly big fruit, richness, and slightly softer acidity makes his a very easy sipper on a hot afternoon.  This would be a first class “patio pounder”.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion *****

 

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

 

 

 

Breaking news from Klout:

 

 

 

 

Remember to support your local wine store!

 

 

 

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines.  I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar.  I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com.  Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear.  There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

 

 

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase.  I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive.  I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount.  Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges.  None of the prices include the sales tax.

 

 

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.

 

 

 

Cheers!