A bottle of the delightfully drinkable Rollier de la Martinette Rosé.
2015 Château La Martinette “Rollier de la Martinette Rosé” Côtes De Provence, France (Alcohol 13.5%) Vintages $19.95
Whilst the Tavelites may get a bit sniffy about their market being eaten into by the “salmon-coloured aperitif wines” of Eastern Provence, it has to be said that many of today’s Provençal rosés simply knock it right out of the park… and this is one of them.
To be honest, it had me at its alluring pale salmon, bordering-on-onion-skin hue. This is bang-on traditional Provençal rosé right here, everything you could wish for in a Grenache/Cinsault/Syrah wine that truly sweeps winter’s dusty cobwebs asunder.
The nose is all peachy, with a touch of white flower, white pepper, and there’s a mild herbal note in there too. Nothing too complex, but bloody lovely all the same. The palate is actually pretty damn saline… wonderfully crisp and bone dry, with a nice bitter tannic component on the back of the palate, and little squeeze of lemon to top it off. Yes, it’s one of those elusive, structured, gastronomic rosés that I crave so much.
Please don’t go out and buy all of this up, as I’d like a brigade of these bottles for my own personal use over the next few months.
Four apples (out of a potential five)
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And yes… this one is a winner.
