Stuff the spineless, gutless, vapid bilge that masquerades as rose these days but….Steely Dan in the same paragraph as “yacht rock”? FFS, Walter Becker will be spinning, and Donald Fagen will just be pissed…
As a wine professional, a Steely Dan fan, and a guitarist who routinely plays this kind of stuff, I find this kind of vapid cr*p to be an insult to Fagen and Becker. Insipid wine does not belong in the same category as such timeless, well-crafted, and genre-straddling music.
Lichine is very good at marketing - but his most well-known wines don't begin to measure up to rosés I grew up with such as Domaines Ott.
Next time you're looking for heft, how about a Tavel? We're got a delicious one from Domaine Maby which hit's the spot and is the antithesis of Provencal yatch rosé!
Rosé neither red nor white or both with a bit of cheating. There are lots of decent ones on the market. Eg Vina Sõl in Wine Rack and Esprits de Buganay in Waitrose buy when on offer. LP Rosés' bottle was created by marketing bods to make it stand out and gain a style following. Now the price ranges from £50 to£60 plus a bottle. Likewise buy when on offer! Or just buy one expensive bottle of still wine and then decant your own favorite in to it afterwards. A bit naughty but fun!
It’s is getting to be rosé release season where I’m at (Washington State, USA). The local offerings certainly seem to trend away from the very pale styles. But most of them are decent and reasonably priced. And to my palette and pocketbook, a better option than the imported ones.
The thing about Garrus is I can't work out why on earth it's so expensive. 100 yr old vines, sure, but so are many other (better priced) wines. Ditto with the barrel fermentation. They claim it's the White Burgundy of Provence but at that price, I'd rather a decent bottle of Burg!
After 8 years of running a wine store and bar in the UK, I'm pretty much done with Provence rose. There's too much of it, most of it is what I dub "the volvo of the wine world" - boring but reliable.
Having said that, I'm all over a bottle by the swimming pool. But for me, that's as far as the appeal goes.
My wife loves Garrus - it’s a stunningly good wine and definitely lines up closer with a burgundy than a traditional rosé. Call it yacht rosé if you must, but there’s nothing better on a hot patio.
When sorting my cellar recently I found an old bottle of Miravel with the Pitt-Jolie labelling. That's definitely aged. Obviously different but of my favourites is Rose de Haut Bailly - sadly it seems to have become a bit harder to find in the UK these days. That definitely developed over time too. The best rose I've ever tasted however was a real blockbuster - Sine Qua Non's "The Pontiff". At a Roberson SQN tasting in around 2010 it was the star of the night for me. It was also the cheapest wine on the list at about £170. Flush with cash pre-kids in those days I nonetheless thought that being a rose it wouldn't age well and appreciate in value and so bought a more "sensible" bottle of Syrah. I still have that Syrah and whilst the price of it has increased I should have gone with my taste buds - I'd absolutely love to try The Pontiff again - sadly the last time I saw a bottle for sale it was over £700. I could buy a small cheap second-hand yacht for that.
Chateau de Berne rosé is in a square bottle so it doesn’t roll around on a yacht! UP (Ultimate Provence) is crisp and delicious, Miraval makes me heave (even on dry land)…
Ahh, Domaine OTT. I recall selling this to the casually rich whilst working at Jeroboams.Such vapid delights . Some people can’t buy a thrill ! Loving the yacht rock ….. Excellent post Henry.
Stuff the spineless, gutless, vapid bilge that masquerades as rose these days but….Steely Dan in the same paragraph as “yacht rock”? FFS, Walter Becker will be spinning, and Donald Fagen will just be pissed…
As a wine professional, a Steely Dan fan, and a guitarist who routinely plays this kind of stuff, I find this kind of vapid cr*p to be an insult to Fagen and Becker. Insipid wine does not belong in the same category as such timeless, well-crafted, and genre-straddling music.
Lichine is very good at marketing - but his most well-known wines don't begin to measure up to rosés I grew up with such as Domaines Ott.
Next time you're looking for heft, how about a Tavel? We're got a delicious one from Domaine Maby which hit's the spot and is the antithesis of Provencal yatch rosé!
https://wickhamwine.co.uk/domaine-maby-prima-donna-tavel/
Rosé neither red nor white or both with a bit of cheating. There are lots of decent ones on the market. Eg Vina Sõl in Wine Rack and Esprits de Buganay in Waitrose buy when on offer. LP Rosés' bottle was created by marketing bods to make it stand out and gain a style following. Now the price ranges from £50 to£60 plus a bottle. Likewise buy when on offer! Or just buy one expensive bottle of still wine and then decant your own favorite in to it afterwards. A bit naughty but fun!
It’s is getting to be rosé release season where I’m at (Washington State, USA). The local offerings certainly seem to trend away from the very pale styles. But most of them are decent and reasonably priced. And to my palette and pocketbook, a better option than the imported ones.
The thing about Garrus is I can't work out why on earth it's so expensive. 100 yr old vines, sure, but so are many other (better priced) wines. Ditto with the barrel fermentation. They claim it's the White Burgundy of Provence but at that price, I'd rather a decent bottle of Burg!
After 8 years of running a wine store and bar in the UK, I'm pretty much done with Provence rose. There's too much of it, most of it is what I dub "the volvo of the wine world" - boring but reliable.
Having said that, I'm all over a bottle by the swimming pool. But for me, that's as far as the appeal goes.
(Great article btw!)
My wife loves Garrus - it’s a stunningly good wine and definitely lines up closer with a burgundy than a traditional rosé. Call it yacht rosé if you must, but there’s nothing better on a hot patio.
When sorting my cellar recently I found an old bottle of Miravel with the Pitt-Jolie labelling. That's definitely aged. Obviously different but of my favourites is Rose de Haut Bailly - sadly it seems to have become a bit harder to find in the UK these days. That definitely developed over time too. The best rose I've ever tasted however was a real blockbuster - Sine Qua Non's "The Pontiff". At a Roberson SQN tasting in around 2010 it was the star of the night for me. It was also the cheapest wine on the list at about £170. Flush with cash pre-kids in those days I nonetheless thought that being a rose it wouldn't age well and appreciate in value and so bought a more "sensible" bottle of Syrah. I still have that Syrah and whilst the price of it has increased I should have gone with my taste buds - I'd absolutely love to try The Pontiff again - sadly the last time I saw a bottle for sale it was over £700. I could buy a small cheap second-hand yacht for that.
Chateau de Berne rosé is in a square bottle so it doesn’t roll around on a yacht! UP (Ultimate Provence) is crisp and delicious, Miraval makes me heave (even on dry land)…
Ahh, Domaine OTT. I recall selling this to the casually rich whilst working at Jeroboams.Such vapid delights . Some people can’t buy a thrill ! Loving the yacht rock ….. Excellent post Henry.