Domaine de Nizas Rosé 2011 Languedoc AOC, France

Hello and Happy Wine Wednesday!  I hope your week has been exceptional....

My choice of reviewing rosé wines this month has helped me with the grey February skies Vancouver, B.C. gets this time of year... We have actually been blessed with a few sunny days and blue skies which makes me hopeful that Spring is around the corner and then Summer - where rosé drinking is mandatory!

My review this week is on Domaine de Nizas Rosé 2011.  This beauty comes form the gorgeous region of France called the Languedoc where I was fortunate to visit in 2009.  This area of France is quite well knows for its' rosé production and moderately priced rosé options.

Domaine de Nizas's Rosé is a stunning blush/pale salmon colour in the glass.  On the nose, it had a medium intensity and aromas full of freshly picked strawberry, raspberry, red cherry along with a slight violet note.

On the palate, this blush beauty was dry with medium acidity and was light bodied.  The flavours on the nose showed up again on the palate - absolutely freshly picked strawberries and red fruits but this time there was a hint of 'minerality' which was divine.  This rosé had a medium finish and tasted nicely balanced and bright in the mouth.

Rosé's from France tend to be made up of a blend of grape varieties.  Domaine de Nizas's has 40% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre.  Each variety adds a different component to the overall taste and flavour profile of the wine and these vines are all 15 years old. Syrah and Grenache are the two black grape varieties that do very well in hotter, southern France climates.  Mourvèdre can ONLY ripen in hot weather and is used as a blending grape to add colour, complexity and richness.  I love learning what different grape varieties contribute to a given wine for desired results...fascinating!

Rosé is made with black grapes but has a very short window of time with the skins - hence the lovely shades of pink and salmon.  This rosé had skin contact between 6 and 12 hours only and was fermented in stainless steel tanks to keep the fruit flavour bright and noticeable.

So, my lovely readers - Domaine de Nizas Rosé is a "Hell Yes" for me.  I picked up this bottle at Everything Wine for $22.99.  I am giving it 8 grapes out of 10.

• A fantastic summer sipping wine!
• Great value and great colour!
• Wonderful to pair with any Mediterranean or Asian food.
• Tastes exceptionally bright and crisp in the mouth.

Thanks you again, and as always, for reading!

Enjoy!

XO

C