I don’t really drink a lot of rosé. It’s only in contact with the skins for a few days so it has virtually no tannin to strengthen it’s flavor. Still, it lacks the crisp bite of a chardonnay or the sweetness of a chenin blanc. In general, this makes most rosé wines bland, with very light and sometimes indistinguishable scents and flavors.

The Elizabeth Spencer Pinot Noir Rosé was a different story.

The scent was light, but only because the predominant fruit I picked up on was the watermelon. Take a sip and another strong whiff and you’ll catch a light trace of strawberry and peach, not far off from the winemaker’s notes.

About mid-palate you can pick up on the grapefruit, and it finished off short and dry, like a lot of Rosé do. It would make a fantastic warm-weather wine and would go great with an antipasto platter, cold cuts or a salad (recommended recipe below). I’d score it at 89 points easily. [Read more...]

Deep Purple Wines as a company does a very nice job at promoting the pop culture of wine. They’re fun, unique and definitely passionate about what they do. The label is very cool, and their website has some cool features such as their Deep Purple Brownie recipe.

As for the wine itself, it’s okay. It’s not nearly as complex as I expected, but has a strong fruity scent and taste, all the way to the mid-palate. It had a long finish, but was more dusty road than the “dusting of cocoa” from the winemaker’s notes. I haven’t seen any official scores on this vintage, but if I were important enough to score wines and be taken seriously, I’d give it 86 points.

I wouldn’t abandon the wine at the score, though. I find that a lot of under 90 point wines are not stand-alone drinkers, but still pair well enough with certain foods that they taste a heck of a lot better.

Pair it with a meat lovers pizza or spaghetti and meatballs, and you’ve gotten your $10 worth of wine and then some.

Winemaker’s notes:

“Scents of blackberry, black cherry, and plum with a touch of black pepper and clove. Jammy fruit from entry through mid-palate, finishing with wild berries and a dusting of cocoa.”

$10-12, available at Target and Wine.com.