It’s Rose season and while enjoying a 2014 Bedrock Ode to Lulu I got to thinking about ageability and Roses. I’ve had some great older Lopez de Heredia and have heard that Tempier ages well (maybe sometime I will keep one past the first summer.) What other still Roses take well to some time in bottle? Any American ones?
I don’t know about American. Cotat comes to mind, as does Chateau Simone.
Terrebrune, Ott and Vannières
How long is “well?”
Plenty of rosé can go 4 or 5 year or even a little more past vintage. It’s just nobody lets it age that long.
Had a SQN queen of hearts the other day that was oth…used the rest in a sangria.
Based on my experience, you’re definitely correct about Tempier and, especially, about Lopez de Heredia.
Had a 2010 Tempier rose last weekend. The fruit was certainly less prominent than a few years ago, but that was much more than offset by the increase in complexity of flavors. At this point, going strong, with still a lot of life ahead of it. Ended up being a great pairing with my duck breast entree.
I"ve been conserving my remaining stash of RLdH roses, as they have become almost impossible to back-fill these days (if I remember correctly, their next vintage rose is due to release sometime in 2016). Of course, it’s a completely different take on rose - some love it, some don’t. However, for those of us who enjoy that style, I’m increasingly beginning to think the aging curve for their rose may not be that much shorter than for their reds or whites. Opened a 1995 earlier this year, and I think it was still basically in the same place as when I opened the previous bottle 3-4 years ago. No where near being over-the-hill at this point.
Michael
Last November, John Tilson, in The Underground Wineletter, wrote about aged roses:
http://www.undergroundwineletter.com/2014/11/who-says-french-roses-dont-age/
I guess the real question is what you TRIED to age to see what it does?
The assumption is that certain rises such as Tempier can age and domestic ones cannot.
My main data points are my own roses and I can tell you that they age beautifully for a few years at least, though they become something ‘different’ than on release. They loose some freshness in fruit, but I find that as long as there is good acid and fruit in the wine at bottling, they should hold up ikay.
Just my $.02,.,.,.
Valentini Ceresuolo
As Cliff said, Cotat. Specifically F. Cotat.
How about that Bedrock in your hand? It’s a tribute to Tempier afterall.
Yeah, I guess what I’m getting at is that most people assume that Roses peak at bottling or a few months afterward and then begin their rapid decline, becoming something much less enjoyable by the next year. I admittedly haven’t tried aging any Roses myself and have only had LdH aged because they tend to release it that way. I’m sure many Roses can “hold up” for a few years, but I’m looking for ones that people have found to perhaps improve or become more interesting or complex, in their opinion (and this is all very subjective.)
Larry, would you suggest that your customers hang onto some bottles to drink later based on your experience? Do you have a drinking window (I know that vintage tends to play a role in this, but on average?) I’m a fan of your wines in general and am certainly willing to put a few away and report back in a few years.
As for the Bedrock, I imagine that someone around here has has one with a couple of years on it. Any opinions?
I appreciate the suggestions received so far and will be picking a few up soon.
Mordoree Tavel
Just drank our last 2010 last week. Still bright and fresh.
Not a freak occurrence. Have been doing it for years.
Krug, Dom Perignon, Tempier, Lambrays, Arnot Roberts are all good bets.
I enjoy Tempier Rose…would like to try an aged version because while I think it’s often very good, it’s not my favorite Rose and not a good QPR IMHO. I wonder if aging it would make a difference.
If I can get a week out of a dozen I’m pretty happy.
I’ve wondered about this as well… Especially during the winter when I have a few bottles that didn’t get polished off over the summer.
I had a 2012 Goldeneye Vin Gris of Pinot over memorial weekend that was just unbelievably good. Considering I also have a '13 and '14 it definitely has some more age than I planned for it. I’ve had it in the past, but it was much better than I had remembered. Perhaps I was just lucky?
LOL. Me too. At least the last bottle has been aged (by 6 days)
Lopez de Heredia release their rosado with about 10 or so years on it (at least the 2000 was released as such). Fantastic wine.
+1 these can last 7-10 years (possibly longer, but that is the longest I’ve pushed it)