Think Pink: 2007 Montes Cherub Rosé of Syrah

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All this week, we'll be reviewing rosés in honor of Valentine's
Day. I consider rosé a misunderstood wine that can be excellent. Sadly,
too many rosés are still sugary sweet. Rosé is more than white zinfandel or cheap blush, but a full-fledged wine style in itself. This week, we'll explore dry rosé, one of my favorite types of wine. All the wines in this series are under $15, most are under $10.

Without a doubt, I saved the best rosé for last. It just sort of worked out that way. This one is over and above my favorite rosé. It's also the most expensive, coming in at a whopping $13.49 from Liquor Direct.

I actually saved it for last because I thought the label was the most evocative of Valentine's Day, with the little cherub named Alfredo. The cherub is actually a cartoon rendering by Ralph Steadman of Alfredo Vidaurre, a founding partner of the Montes winery.

Montes is a Chilean winery and this wine comes from their Archangel estate in the Colchagua Valley, close to the Pacific Ocean. Most of the rosés I've tried this week have been blends of white and red grapes. This one is 100% syrah. The color is a ruby red, but still obviously a rosé. The particular color comes from the juice and the skins having a one night stand. I'm not kidding. It's called a vin de nuit – the wine spends one night only in contact with the red-grape skins.

On the nose I got, as yesterday, roses. I still hate the cliche of roses on a rosé, but sometimes it happens. (A rose is rosé by any other name?) Of course, the scent wasn't just floral, there was some undefinably red fruits on there too.

The taste and texture are what won me over. It's a rich, ripe wine, filled with crisp cherries and raspberries. It's also a wine with heft, dry without tannins. There's a lot of structure and balance and it completely fills up your mouth. There's a long, pleasing aftertaste that still manages to be gentle. I would go so far as to say this rosé is sophisticated.

Again, it's my favorite wine of the week, and at under $15, it's also a great deal. Montes makes some great wines, including the equally affordable Montes Folly and the not-so-affordable but excellent Purple Angel.

The real endorsement? Even Kevin likes this wine, and as he likes to say, he's still looking for his inner pink.

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