Drink Pink! Rosé of the Week; 2013 Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare

It’s April and for me that means, it’s the unofficial opening of Rosé season (truth be told it’s Rosé season for me pretty much year-round)!  With that in mind, I’m cranking up my annual series of weekly “Drink Pink!“ Rosé tastings.  This week’s Rosé is the 2013 Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare.

The Winery

Bonny Doon Vineyard, located in Santa Cruz, CA was established in 1983 by the inimitable Randall Grahm, a man of many interests, not the least of which is “thinking of fiendishly cunning stratagems for producing wines which express a sense of place and which actually make the world a more interesting burg“. He’s an interesting man. In fact, as I write this, based on what I know of him from his bio, and blogs about Bonny Doon, and social media, the first thing that popped into my head is that he could be the real life “Most Interesting Man in the World” (This from his Twitter profile – “Founder, Winemaker, Terroirist/Vinachrist and Prez-for Life @BonnyDoonVineyd, Defender of the Misunderstood and Underappreciated Doon-trodden Cépages of the Earth” – check out the bio here).  The wines Bonny Doon produces are a reflection of Grahm – they’re thoughtful, eclectic, often unique, and interesting wines. )  Sure, the packaging is clever with inventive names, and beautiful art work.  But don’t let the slick marketing fool you into thinking the wines aren’t serious. Nothing could be further from the truth. The wines are seriously good.

The Wine

I turned to a perennial favorite to kick off this year’s Rosé.  I picked this up at Whole Foods, and it was good to see it can still be had for under $20.  With the popularity of dry-style Rosés escalating, I’m seeing an unwelcome increase in pricing, especially on the domestic front.  It’s becoming more and more challenging to find dry, food friendly pink wines of this quality for under $20.

This an atypical Rosé in that the blend of 55% grenache, 23.5% mourvèdre, 10% roussanne, 2.5% carignane, 2% grenache blanc, 7% cinsaut includes both traditional red and white Rhône varieties.  A typical Rosé is composed of solely red grape varieties. Additionally, Bonny Doon employed the practice of bâtonnage–the stirring or re-suspension of lees after fermentation–to give the wine a creaminess of texture.

Drink Pink! Rose of the Week; 2013 Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris de Cigare
2013 Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris de Cigare

My tasting notes follow:

Pink color with orange hue with promising grapefruit, strawberry, and a hint of floral aromas. On the palate, it approaches medium-bodied, is dry and crisp with generous strawberry, citrus, and spice flavors, and very good length.  This wine newly released.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it tastes even better in June/July. 13% alcohol. SRP – $18

Rating:  B+: A perennial favorite that continues to deliver! Will buy more!

Pair with: Traditional Provençal fare including charcuterie, pâté, salade niçoise, and the aïoli platter. It’s an incredibly flexible partner at the table, complementing everything from international cuisine—curries, tagines, or chiles rellenos—to a vast array of seafoods, poultry, salads, and cheeses.

Sample purchased for review 

Ratings Key:

(A+) – 98-100/Extraordinary
(A) – 94-97/Outstanding
(A-) – 90-93/Excellent
(B+) – 86-89/Very good
(B) – 80-85/Good
(C) – 70-79/Bleh
(D) – 50-69/#Fail
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Martin Redmond is a Financial Executive by day, and a certified wine geek with latent foodie tendencies the rest of the time. In addition to the wine lifestyle and food he enjoys family, fitness and traveling. He likes to get thoughts of wine off his mind by sharing experiences on his ENOFYLZ Wine blog, which features wine reviews, wine country travel, and wine and food pairings.

Follow me on Twitter @martindredmond for all things wine, and since I’m a wino, with latent foodie tendencies, you’ll also find food and wine pairings, and food related stuff! Become a fan and join ENOFYLZ Wine Blog on Facebook. Cheers!

This article is original to ENOFYLZ Wine Blog.com. Copyright 2014 ENOFYLZ Wine Blog. All rights reserved.

4 Comments

  1. kerlund74 says:

    Thank you, I think it is time for rosé soon:) I’d like too try this one if I can get it here in Sweden. Else there is some other alternatives, I like, among other countries, wines from Provence, France.

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks for dropping by. I also enjoy the Rose from France (and other countries). I’ll be tasting those too. I hope you’ll follow along! Skål

  2. Jenny says:

    It was HOT in the Bay Area today. Perfect day for a glass of rose. Looking forward to more drink pink posts!

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks Jenny….so nice to meet you at the Rhone Rangers event!

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