Think Pink / Recession Wine: 2007 La Vieille Ferme Rosé

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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.

I love a great rosé. I love one more when it's just an everyday, affordable table wine. La Vieille Ferme (translates to "the old farm") 2007 Rosé is just that. I paid $7.59 at Liqour Direct for this one. I always call it the "chicken wine" because of the chicken and rooster on the label. This isn't the first time I've tried this rosé, and liked it, but it is the first time for this vintage.

This rosé is has a nice color that reminds me of a watermelon. It's a combination of 40% grenache, 10% syrah, and 50% cinsault. Cinsault? It's a hardy, and popular red grape in France. It's often used in blends, as it is here. This particular wine is from the Côtes du Ventoux region of the Rhône Valley.

The nose is full of fun berries and flowers. In particular, I smelled roses. I hate when I smell roses in rosé, as it seems like a cliche. But they're in there, I swear.

I really liked this wine. It's well balanced and well structured. It actually takes up space in your mouth and announces it's arrival with an explosion of berries. Which ones? Well, it's like someone took a bunch of fun red berries – strawberries, definitely cranberries, cherries, and maybe a few raspberries – and then blended them all together in a food processor. But there's also a nice tartness and good acidity to cut through all that berry goodness. In fact, it's a rather crisp wine. I even got a bit of spice on the midpalate – I think it might have been black licorice. Finally, this wine has a nice, relaxing finish of melon.

If you're tentative about rosé, or you're convinced it's all sickeningly sweet or, heaven forbid, white zinfandel, then try this one. You'll be out less than $10 and you might just enjoy it. It's dry without the tannins and fruity without the sugar. You might be surprised that you, too, can think pink.

At less than $8, this is our recession wine of the week.

Rating:

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Think Pink Rosé Series

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Posted by Michelle at 8:33 am in Recession Wine, Tastings, Wine Notes | Permalink | Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Think Pink / Recession Wine: 2007 La Vieille Ferme Rosé”

Gopal says:

March 25, 2009 at 10:45 pm

I like their Cotes du Ventoux red wine. It generally goes for $6-7 in liquor stores and markets in San Francisco.
I’ve even seen eateries that serve it.
Tim Sullivan says:

February 4, 2010 at 11:25 am

I also love a good rose`
Have you ever tried
Chateau St. ‘Michelle’
Nellie’s Garden Dry Rose`?
It is wonderful with Brunch, Thannksgiving, or on its own. Strawberry, cranberry and very low (if any) R.S.
Love your site
Tim S
Wine Steward #1643