Winetastic

This is the first of three wines from the family owned and run winery Yelland & Papps of the Barossa. So without further ado, I present the Yelland & Papps Grenache Rose 2008.

Strawberries! Plenty of them on the nose of this vibrant red Rose. The palate is certainly full flavoured when compared to its peers, presenting strawberry jam flavours up front and just enough acid to keep things in check for an off-dry finish.

I feel this is a wine that would be very popular with the average punter, however red bigots may find it a tad sweet. In short it’s a good, full flavoured Rose with the price tag you would expect.

Score: 87/100
Price: $17
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 13%
Would I buy this wine?
No, although well made, I prefer a dryer Rose

Released from the shackles of winter we are now free to enjoy a nice chilled glass of Rosé in the sun, and what better way to kick off this season than with the Turkey Flat Rosé 2008.

A hat-trick of strawberries: colour, aroma and flavour, howzat? Crisp and refreshing with some strawberry and raspberry fruit up front, a drying acid backbone and some nice minerality on the finish.

I always find it hard to score Rosé wines, however on a warm day in the sunshine I would drink this one over most full bodied red wines, so take the score in that context.

Score: 90/100
Price: $19
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 13%
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes, it is reasonably priced.

Turkey Flat is an historic estate in the Barossa Valley and is widely recognised in the wine world as one of the New World’s foremost rosé producers. Made from a unique blend of Grenache, Cab Sauv, Shiraz and Dolcetto, the Turkey Flat 2007 Rosé lives up to the high standards set by previous vintages.

A shocking pink in colour this rosé has a fragrant nose of fresh strawberries and raspberries. The palate is clean and crisp, with a hint of subtle strawberries balanced with a slight minerality which makes for a dry but surprisingly intense and full flavoured rosé. There is no real sweetness as you get with most examples of the variety, but instead there is a wonderful flavour concentration which makes for an appealing and very drinkable summer wine. My advice to anyone who has a bottle of this wine; chill sufficiently, pour into glass and drink.

Score: 87/100
Price: $18
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 13%
Would I buy this wine again? For sure, this is a great lunchtime or summer wine, always good to have a bottle on hand.

Here is a wine style you don’t see every day: An off-dry Rose made from Touriga grapes that originate from Portugal, where they are traditionally used to make vintage port. The wine in question? Old Mill Estate Rosé 2007.

Vibrant flamingo red/pink, this Rose exhibits subtle cranberry and strawberry aromas. Cranberry flavours continue onto the palate, which is initially dry and savoury but finishes with a hint of sweetness. Simple and refreshing.

Overall its a good little Rose, I feel it would show its best with appropriate food that would allow the savoury style of the wine to shine through.

Score: 87/100
Price: $18
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 12%
Other Opinions: Winorama, Wine Without Wank
Would I buy this wine?
I would probably pick up a bottle of Turkey Flat or Charles Melton Rose instead.

The Yering Station ED Pinot Rosé is a wine that I have been meaning to try for some time, this week it was finally available at my local bottle shop. The “ED” stands for extra dry, which is basically a requirement for any Rose that wishes to pass my lips.

There was some conjecture as to wether this wine was “red salmon” or “clam meat” in colour, either way it is a light and translucent red/pink. Unsurprisingly this rose smells like a restrained Pinot Noir with strawberry and cherry aromas. Although the wine is light in body, the delicate red fruit flavours hang around for an extremely long time, finishing dry with a slightly savoury note and a hint of soft tannin.

An excellent match for mildly spiced Singapore Noodles, I can see many delicate asian or chicken based dishes calling out for support from this wine.

Score: 7/10
Price: $17
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 13%
Other Opinions: Winorama, Appellation Australia
Would I buy this wine again?
Generally I prefer a fuller flavoured dry Rose, however for the right food, yes.

This Rose offering from Charles Melton Wines was a recomendation from Cam Wheeler and Gary Walsh, and what a fantastic recomendation it was! We had been told it was of a similar style to the Turkey Flat Rose and the Simon Gilbert Rose, sophisticated, crisp, dry, refreshing and not overly sweet. Neither of us were big Rose drinkers, to quote Murray he thought Rose was “an unholy union between red and white, overly sweet and to be avoided at all costs” - that was until we had our eyes opened to this alternative, less sweeter style.

This Barossa Rose is the lovely trademark vibrant pink. Particulalry fruity on the nose there is also a subtle hint of spice to balance the Grenache perfume. Initially soft in the mouth this wine is slightly sweet due to a very small amount of natural grape sugar being retained. There is a subtle tannin structure which eases into a refreshing, crisp finish. A perfect accompaniment to a variety of food styles this wine would be as happy paired with Thai as it would Italian. Drink it young, drink it cool.

Would i buy this wine again?
There’s half a case under the bed already! At around $18 a bottle this is an affordable wine, even if you’re not big on Rose you should consider giving this one a chance.

I’m a bit of a hippy at heart so organic wines really appeal to me. They’re free of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and other synthetic chemicals, and essential natural preservatives like sulfur dioxide tend to be kept to a minimum. Generally at organic wineries modern and traditional techniques are combined, producing high qulaity wines with the fewest detrimental effects to the environment. Grapes are often picked by hand and the wine made gently, with minimal handling and filtration, all good stuff in my opinion. My only experience of organic wines so far was at the Thistle Hill Vineyard in Mudgee, where i was literally blown away by the qulaity, and flavours of the wine, lets just say we came away with a few bottles. Ever since i’ve been keen to get into more organic wine and jumped at the chance to try this Rose offering from Organic Vignerons.

Maybe i’d built it up a bit too much, but it didn’t live up to my expectations i’m afraid to say. A soft, salmon pink in the glass this wine presents mixed berries, particularly strawberry on the nose. The initial impact on the palate is fruity, then it turns into something far too sweet for my liking, then there is a hint of some tanins in the aftertaste. I tend to prefer a Rose that is crisp, dry, slightly fruity and refreshing, with a tang of acidity. This wine is drinkable, but it’s more of a quaffer for me, not one i’m going to sit back and savour.

Would i buy this wine again? At around $14 a bottle it’s not a bad price, i just think there are better wines out there for the money, so i don’t see myself buying it in the near future. I’m certainly not going to let this put me off finding good value, yet high quality organic wines.

For a long time my views on Rosé were fairly simple: it was an unholy union between red and white, overly sweet and to be avoided at all costs. The recently reviewed Simon Gilbert opened my eyes to a more sophisticated style of Rosé, crisp, dry and refreshing with a dash of fruit, the ideal summer beverage. That is exactly how I would describe the Turkey Flat 2005 Rosé.

Delicious scents of strawberry on the nose, the wine has a soft berry fruit flavours and a clean acidic finish with subtle hints of spices. The official tasting note can be found at the Turkey Flat website.

This wine is best served slightly chilled, somewhere in between where you may generally drink a white and a red wine. Turkey Flat wines are well renown and widely available, even if you have not tried a Rosé you enjoy before, I recommend giving this one a shot. That being said, my preference in Rosé currently lies with the slightly cheaper Simon Gilbert number, I hope to do a side by side tasting in the near future.

Score: 8/10
Would I buy this wine again?
At around $18 a bottle this wine is affordable, I would buy it again.

This outstanding Rose from Simon Gilbert is one of the best offerings from their Card Collection range in my opinion.

Beautifully pink in colour, the aromas that tease the nose comprise of strawberry and blackcurrent. The initial impact on the palate is so subtle, it’s almost like a fruit based mineral water, but then you are eased into the fruity, and almost acidic strawberry flavours which trail off leaving a long, fresh and crisp aftertaste.

It’s an excellent drink now Rose that is not overly sweet, so even if you’re not a big Rose fan you should give this one a go, it’s in a league of it’s own.

Would I buy this wine again? At only $15 a bottle at the cellar door it’s a steal, this is a really high quality Rose for the money.