Hot Day, Cold Rosé.

This last weekend in Los Angeles brought us a mini-heatwave.  It only lasted 4 days or so, but temperatures up in my Pasadena neck of the woods approached 100; it was blazing.  So I reached for a little hot-weather vino to cool me off.

The cold bottle felt good in my hand as I grabbed it from the fridge; condensation formed on the bottle almost immediately.  It was a bottle of 2007 Château de La Rivière ‘Rosé de Riviere’.  80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon made up the wine, and it hails from the Fronsac wine region of Bordeaux, along the Dordogne and l’Isle rivers, west of Saint Émilion.  This was a good Rose lesson for me; I have had Roses made from Pinot, Syrah and Grenache in the past, but this I believe was a first for me:  Cab and Merlot.

Bottom line:  This wine was just what I needed to cool down as I boiled in the 95 degree heat.  Crisp, clean, and fresh.  It has a light nose of red fruits and floral aromas. The palate is loaded with very light strawberry, raspberry flavors and a touch of watermelon. There is also a good fruit/acid balance and the wine finishes clean.

I had it with a herb salad topped with KRAB (that’s fake crab if ya don’t know)  and cilantro dressing, but you could drink this wine with anything light:  cheeses, vegetable based dishes, chicken, fish, and believe it or not, I like Rose with Chinese food.  Don’t ask me why, I just do.

This summer, if the thermometer looks like it did this weekend, there’s gonna be some Rose in my hand. And Maybe some Chinese food too.