We’ve said it many time, we don’t really like Rosé. It’s not that we dislike most Rosés, it’s just that they don’t get us very excited, we can almost always think of something else we’d rather be drinking, and the whole craze over the pink juice which has been going on for several years is sort of lost on us. Which just reminds us again of one of the beautiful things about wine, it is completely and utterly subjective.
Every now and then we run across a Rosé that almost changes our mind. Finally, we have run across one that actually does change it, at least mine. It is from Clif Family Winery in Napa Valley, made from Grenache grown a but further north, in Mendocino County, and just flat out delicious. It is also more substantial than most, which is probably what makes it so attractive to me. This is really delicious wine that just happens to be pink.
It is made by Laura Barrett, winemaker at Clif Family, and someone we have been following for years now. You can read our review of some of the last year’s Clif Family wines by clicking here. They were all excellent.
And now, our review of the wine at hand:
2018 Clif Family Rosé of Grenache – sourced from vineyards near McClure Creek in Mendocino County, this wine is hand 
harvested. The grapes are 60% whole cluster pressed, with the remaining 40% destemmed with 24 hours of skin contact. After combining, the juice is cold settled for 48 hours. It is then fermented using cultured yeast. The winemaker, Laura Barrett, always has an exact plan for what she is going for, and letting wild yeast determine how her wine develops is not part of this picture. Right after fermentation is over, the wine goes into stainless steel barrels for four months of aging, with no malolactic fermentation. As you can tell, there is a lot of winemaking that goes into this. Our thoughts?
This is a very light pink, but it is a vivid color and almost electric. On the nose you get lots of fruit, including watermelon, citrus, some lemon and peaches. There are also some berry fruit tones buried underneath. On the palate this is glorious with watermelon, raspberry and strawberry. It is bright, crisp and also very smooth. At 13.9% alcohol it is also a substantial wine, and not your average, everyday, summer sipper. $26, but less expensive if you are a club member.
So even though we don’t usually get very excited about Rosé, we are giving this a glowing review. It is delicious, complex and worthy of your time and attention.
You can see this wine, and all of the offerings from Clif Family, on their website at https://www.cliffamily.com/.
A votre santé!
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