Wattle Creek Winery

I’ll spare you the lectures on why Americans really should drink more rosé, and I won’t waste a minute on vogueing you into it just so you can be almost-but-not-quite-as cool as the achingly hip sommeliers and winemakers who gush about it. (Ever notice how many of those self-styled trend-setters also have tanks full of pink they need you to drink?) So if you don’t like rosé or don’t care about it, click on over to some other wine. If you do like rosé, see if you can find some of this. It’s one of the best blends of European and California styles I can remember – and I drink a lotta pink.

Take the aromas: the plums are so ripe you can almost feel the warmth of the California sun on the skin of the fruit, yet there are also savory herbs and a complex leesy quality that most American rosé makers would never dare to include (Wattle Creek winemaker Michael Scholz is Australian). In your mouth, you get all the aromas and even more, yet the wine’s a very Euro-like 12.4% alcohol. But my favorite thing about this wine is the sweet late fruit-kiss you get – the kind that Tavel or Lirac (Provencal rosé) give you before their aftertaste takes you back to the aromas. If you do find this at retail, let me know where.

This wine was also selected as an Appellation Signature Wine by a panel of Yorkville Highlands winemakers in an Appellation Discovery tasting on April 11, 2006.

Reviewed September 19, 2006 by Thom Elkjer.

Other Awards & Accolades

AppellationAmerica - "Appellation Signature" selection

Pretty color, fruity flavors, palate-pleasing balance, and a refreshing finish – plus some welcomed palate weight and plush ripeness. (Yorkville Highlands Discovery Tasting: April 11, 2006)