2008 Robert Oatley Rosé of Sangiovese – Mudgee, Australia – 13%abv
$14.99  Vin Bin Marlboro, MA

Closure: screwcap - stelvin    Tasting: single bottle     

Mood:     Date: June 17, 2009 3pm – sunny 67˚F

Sometimes I chuckle when I read published tasting notes.  This tasting note is nearly identical to the wine you wrote about yesterday.  What makes this one noteworthy?!?   That sounds pretty grumpy for a sunny day but I am sure a few of you have muttered the same thing! I take tasting notes for all of the wines I taste – ok sometimes it’s a mental note - but I only take the time to write about the wines I find interesting – good, bad, or ugly.  The 2008 Rober Oatley Rosé of Sangiovese – Mudgee Australia is well made and deserving of a mention for a number of reasons not the least of which is its distinctive place in the market.

This wine deserves some context, so please allow me to back up a bit.  Today on the East Coast we saw sun and seasonable temperatures for the first time in what seems like a LONG time!  I also happened to be filming a segment on “wines for the great outdoors” for a local cable access show.  Finding an interesting rosé was a must.  I love rosé wines and they often offer a good value.  While many rosé wines fit the bill for a warm day on the patio I don’t always find them interesting enough to write home about.  They often lack acidity and aroma in favor of juicy fruit and residual sugar. 

                                I have to admit that when Rick at the Vin Bin recommended this wine I balked.  It may sound snobby to say that when it comes to rosé I am very particular and tend to stick with the classic grenache and syrah rosés from southern France.  However, recently I have become more adventurous and have found some very good NY Finger Lakes rosé but sangiovese from Mudgee?  Huh Wah?   I trust Rick’s expertise immensely and upon further reflection I was intrigued.  I knew either way it was going to be an interesting wine.   I had never had rosé of sangiovese and I had never had a sangiovese from Mudgee (one of the oldest wine regions in New South Wales, south eastern Australia.)  In addition to its unique character it was made by a very reputable producer.  Robert Oatley is known worldwide for having put Rosemount and some would argue Australian Shiraz on the wine map.   I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, hence the tasting note.

Made with the saignée method the wine is bled off the red skins for further fermentation after a short maceration.  This leaves the finished wine a moderately concentrated watermelon red– Nantucket red, for those familiar with the fancy pants!   The nose is very aromatic.  Fresh red fruit aromas emerge and evolve as the wine warms in the glass wavering between cherry, strawberry and cranberry aromas with a subtle leafy herbal undertone.  Medium body well balanced with bright, vibrant, mouthwatering acidity and a touch of tannin gives this dry wine excellent structure.  Lingering layers of tangy, ripe but disciplined strawberry/cranberry fruit leave a lasting impression on the palate. Simple, well balanced, refreshing and delightful.  Serve at cellar temperature (55˚) and take note of the evolving aromas as the wine warms in the glass.  I highly recommend this wine for its distinctiveness, quality, versatile appeal and price.

I have been out of commission and very distracted for a few weeks.  I have a couple of excu…reasons for that.

I coach a girl’s softball team (8-12yo) every spring.  Softball is like wine for me; sometimes I take it far more seriously than I should.  However, good game or bad game – good wine or not so good I usually walk away having learned something.   Usually it’s not too hard to find a bit of fun in there as well.

I have also been preparing my lessons for the BU level II wine studies class.  This has really fired me up!   The outgoing instructor, Alex Murray, taught the first class this semester.  He is an incredible educator to whom I owe a great deal and learned volumes from!  Charming and challenging he was able to push the right buttons and get the students engaged – exposing them as a really strong, knowledgeable group of students.  I have my work cut out for me.  I am teaching my first class next week.  France (history/rules/regs/maps) Champagne and Burgundy.  Piece of cake right?  It’s a 3 hr class.  I have been tirelessly typing up slides in PowerPoint.  My backside is starting to resemble a pancake – I think my PPT presentation is currently at 80 slides – I think I might be getting a bit bogged down.  I will practice it on my children on Sunday night J Awww mom do we gotta?

The thing that has been eating up huge chunks of my time (3 or more hours a day) is studying for the MW.  Yesterday, I finished my First Year Assessment (FYA).  Two questions must be answered in 1 hour allotments for each question under exam conditions.  I wonder how many actually do this, but for the record I did.  At the same time I was stressing out over my two questions - hundreds of candidates were sweating out the actual exam.  Kudos, wishes and prayers to all of them!  Frankly, I need the practice.  I suck at exams, I freak out!  For those who might be curious here are the questions that were posed.

A: (Compulsory question) AAARGH - in MW terms this means panic, throw up, or fall over in your chair taking out the guy behind you!

I answered:  pest/disease resiliency, site compatibility (soil, nutrients, water, climate), summarized with impact of selection on grower objectives/bottom line (cost/benefit analysis)

B:  Choice (phew)

Did not pick:  Control of distribution is critical to success around the world – discuss in relation to both large and small wine producers?

I did not pick this one because having worked for a distributor and the scope of the question I knew I would run out of time!

I wanted to answer image, image, and image but I felt that would be boring for the examiners

-History of marketing the perception that the good life attainable by all – drink of choice for royalty

- supply/demand perception of scarcity /reflected in pricing

-image “champagne of beers, cars etc” there is no peer- top of the heap – new royals Hollywood elite.

It is an amazing feeling to get to the end of what is my first year of study (w/10+years of prep work) to look toward the future and still not see the horizon.  There is so much to learn and so many things to see.  It is humbling at best – overwhelming at worst.  Summer is here.  There was a time when summer meant that you put away the books and have fun!  How lucky am I that the knowledge and experience I seek is so steeped in pleasure that I cannot bear to tear myself away.