Winery: Piper Heidsieck
Wine Name: Rosé Sauvage
Vintage: NV
Grapes: 50-55% Pinot Noir - 30-35% Meunier - 15-20% Chardonnay - 10-20% reserve wines
Location: Champgane, France
Avg Price: $55
Tasting Notes: This champagne delivers fine bubbles while being strong and elegant on the palate. Surprisingly on the nose theres a powerful presence of fresh strawberries.
Rating: 91 Points
Tasting a NV Champagne from France. Champagnes are very popular, specially during the holidays!
Wine Name: Champagne Taittinger Brut La Francaise
Vintage: NV
Grapes: 40% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier
Producer: Taittinger
Location: Reims, France
Avg Price: $50
Tasting Notes: Beautiful thin bubbles. Easy to drink and very consistent throughout the whole palette.
Rating: 93 Points
Oh Valentines day! What to drink. Something a little more relaxing like a good rose or something a little more serious like Champagne. Champagne sounded very good! Now which champagne to go with. The classic Veuve Cliquot or Moet? This year we wanted something different and new. I remembered someone talking to me about Henriot a few months ago so I decided to look into Henriot Champagne. When we were opening this bottle I was a little nervous about how much life it had left. Was it going to be flat? As soon as we opened the bottle your heard the "pop" which was a relief. However, I must say that if you didn't drink your glass within 5-10 mins, the Champagne would become pretty flat which I think is expected since the bottle is 17 years old. At the end we were really happy with this bottle. Take a look at our feedback below. If you haven't tried this Champagne I highly recommend you do!
Tasting Date: February 14, 2015
Wine Name: Henriot Cuvée des Enchanteleurs
Vintage: 1998
Producer: Henriot
Appelation: Champagne, Reims
Grapes: 50% Chardonnay & 50% Pinot noir
Purchased Price: $119 + $32 Shipping
Purchased Location: Online
Tasting Notes: The champagne was a darker but perfect golden hue and full of delicate bubbles. To the nose, pear and honey aromas were the strongest. Last, but not least, a sip. Ahhhh. A honey, sweet, smooth flavor. This perfection lingered in your mouth, allowing you in to indulge a while longer with each sip.
Would Buy Again: Heck yes!
Rating: 95 Points
A bientôt!
Second wine event in 9 days and this one was another amazing event! This time though we were in for a little surprise. Not only did we get to try some delicious rosés but we discovered new rosés from around the world.
To kick it off, we head straight to Italy. A brighter pink than we are use to, a label covered in fish - it definitely caught our attention. Enjoying a delish fish on a hot summer day? Then make Bardolino Chiaretto your pick! It's light, refreshing and has a unique citrus lingering taste.
Next destination: Morocco. Morocco makes rosé? Yes they do! It was news to us as well. Believe it or not it was pretty good. From sandy shales and sand gravel soil comes a full body, darker cotton candy pink unique Moroccan wine. Raspberry, rose petal and white cranberry on the nose, a subtle complexity once you taste it. If the intrigue is killing you, go ahead and try Ouled Thaleb's Moroccan Rosé.
Next destination: South Africa. A much darker hue, and higher on the sweet end Mulderbosch rosé is fresh and pure.
Prior to hitting our favorite country, we took a little break to get a quick bite. Oysters, ceviche, charcuterie were amongst the delicious options to choose from. Ready to continue tasting, we head back to the tasting room but not without indulging in a little sweet first!
Next destination: France. Chateau D'Esclans were representing their 4 different rosés. The first one, and very well known rosé is Whispering Angel - which I'm sure you know of. Then we moved on to tasting the more oaky rosés Chateau D'Esclans (oaky) , Chateau D'Esclan "Les Clans" (100% oak fermented) and Chateau D'Esclans "Garus" (80 year old grenache vines). All of the 4 rosés had their unique tastes ranging from a sweet dry rose to oaky. Their color palette also ranged from their beautiful coral to a brownish yellow.
Chateau de Brigue were introducing a new wine they recently launched 83 Rue de St Tropez. Beautiful light pink hue, made with 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 20% Tibouren, this rosé was light and refreshing.
Barton & Guestier had a couple of bottles. One of our favorites was their Barton & Guestier Côtes de Provence Rosé which was very smooth. Villa Barton Côtes de Provence Rosé is a more concentrated rosé which is also reflected in the taste. For a sweeter choice, I'd go with Barton & Guestier Rosé d'Anjou which contrary to the other 2 is made with 70% of grolleau. Fun little fact: Barton & Guestier was the 1st French wine to be imported by Thomas Jefferson.
Ackerman had the wonderful Remy Pannier Rosé d'Anjou from the Loire Valley. This rosé is much sweeter as strawberries are highly noted on the nose and palate. Easily found and at a good price point, this is a great choice on a hot sunny day!
We ended the day taking some great pictures at the photo booth, dancing to great music and tasting a lot more other rosés. It's time to stop reading, make your choice and open up a bottle of rosé! If you are in the New York or Los Angeles area, La Nuit en Rosé will be hosting there too. Interested in getting to know more about rosé? Intrigued by all the different flavors from fruity to oaky? Then be sure to check them out at www.nuitrose.com and buy your tickets! This is an event you don't want to miss!
A bientôt!
While going through Twitter today, I came across a new event that is being hosted in Miami from January 30 to February 1, 2015, located at the recently opened Miami Beach EDITION hotel. This event is all about Rosé & Champagne! Who doesn't love a nice fresh Rosé on a hot day? There are different packages for this event including a $350 Friday package which includes a 4-course meal dinner. Lower price point packages are also available ranging from $65 to $125.
Not in South Florida? Don't worry! Looks like they will host this event later this year in New York and Los Angeles.
We are thinking of attending the Saturday daytime session which includes 3 hours of unlimited access to more than 60 Rosé wines and Champagne, tantalizing food (VIP Admission only), DJ, dancing, lounge seating, photo booth, and more!
We will be sure to keep you posted and let you know which session we will be attending. And if you are attending, be sure to tweet us!
