2011 Cardwell Hill Rose From Pinot Noir (90 Points)

DATE CONSUMED

Sunday, July 22, 2012

VINTAGE

2011

WINERY/PRODUCER

Cardwell Hill Cellars

WINE NAME

N/A

TYPE OF WINE

Rose

COMPOSITION

100% Pinot Noir

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

N/A

REGION/A.V.A.

Willamette Valley

ALCOHOL CONTENT

12.8%

PRICE PAID

Unknown

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED

Our good friend John from Corvallis, Oregon brought this bottle over to our house last time he visited us in Southern California (June 2012).

BOUQUET

This wine has a very fruity bouquet, with suggestions of sour fruits, spice, and earth.

TASTING NOTES

Being from California, we’re very partial to quality, delicious Pinot Noirs from The Golden State, along with roses of Pinot Noir (read: Lynmar Pinots and roses from the Russian River Valley, along with Pinots from Fess Parker (Santa Barbara) and Windward (Paso Robles)).  We had never had a rose of Pinot from Oregon before and had no idea what to expect from this wine.  Though we’ve had some wonderful Pinots from Oregon, we believe California produces higher quality Pinots than Oregon.  So we tried to keep an open mind when we opened this bottle.

Wow, do we LOVE a pleasant surprise.  This is a fabulous rose of Pinot.  Up front this wine exhibits bright, acidic, juicy red fruit (strawberries, raspberries, and sour cherries), along with earthy herbs like white pepper, sage, and rosemary.  This wine has a creaminess that, somehow, maintains incredibly bright, sharp acidity.  The aforementioned Lynmar Rose of Pinot is extremely rich and creamy (imagine fermented strawberries and cream!).  This Rose of Pinot is also slightly creamy but doesn’t impart dairy characteristics in its flavor profile.

We didn’t know what to expect before we tasted this wine but once we opened the bottle and began sipping, we were blown away at the quality of this wonderful rose.  In addition to the fruits and spices, the wine exhibits fantastic balance and a depth-of-flavor that most roses would envy.  Needless to say, this rose is about as perfect as a summer-time wine gets.  When the temperature flirts with 100 degrees, the last thing anybody needs is rich, heavy, high-in-alcohol reds; what EVERYBODY needs at 100 degrees is a juicy, bright, perfectly-balanced, delicious, and FANTASTIC food-friendly rose from Cardwell Hill Cellars!

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

We paired this wine with frozen wild salmon filets bought at CostCo, marinated in a white miso glaze.  An aunt told us how fabulous these salmon filets are; we can get MUCH better salmon steaks at our local Korean supermarket (they sell fresh Scottish salmon steaks that are absolutely to die for!).  This rose went quite well with the salmon.  After years of experience, I’ve decided that salmon is the PEFECT food to pair with roses (either Rose of Pinot Noir or even Southern Rhone-style roses, such as one from Tablas Creek). 

I would imagine this rose would also pair well with most other seafoods (such as most fresh fish (whole or filets), along with shrimp and scallop dishes), along with quiche, pork, chicken, and because of the rose’s spiciness, maybe even BBQ ribs/chicken/sausages?!?!

AGING POTENTIAL

Most roses are meant to be drunk young, so once your bottle has recovered from Travel Shock, put this bottle in the fridge and drink it before the end of 2013 (though the sooner the better; this wine is drinking BEAUTIFULLY right this moment).

SCORE

90

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

Since we didn’t buy this wine, I would assume that it coast around $20-ish.  If this wine costs $20 to $30, I would give this wine a GOOD Q.P.R score.  If this wine cost $15 to $19.99, I would give it a GOOD-EXCELLENT rating.  If this wine cost under $15, I would give it an EXCELLENT Q.P.R rating.

WINERY WEBSITE

www.cardwellhillwine.com