Roses that age well

[A_So]

@Matt Latuchie

Krug, Dom Perignon… are all good bets.

Cheating!

[Rich_Brown]

@Matt A u s t i n

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.

I’ve had Bedrock Rose’s up to 3 years old (2010 vintage), and I can comfortably say that I like them 1 year after release, and have been enjoying the hell out of my 2013’s so far this summer. They feel a little too tight for me directly after release, but open up just enough after 1 year of age while still maintaining the freshness that I enjoy in a Rose. The 2010 I had 3 years after release probably did gain some complexity (although I did not try it on release so have nothing to compare it to), but for my tastes, was lacking a bit in terms of fruit

All this begs the question though…how long should I wait to crack open my magnums??

[Bob_Hughes]

Pibarnon is another producer where I find the wines are able to hang around in the cellar for a while - the last time I tried a 2012, it was still very interesting.

[Arv_R]

@Jorge Henriquez

Lopez de Heredia release their rosado with about 10 or so years on it (at least the 2000 was released as such). Fantastic wine.

Hmmm. I think I’ll be polite, and just say its controversial. Try it before you buy a bottle. Or have it at a Spanish offline or something.

[Bill_Mauger]

Clos Cibonne!

[lleichtman]

Does 2 months count.

[Pau1_M3nk3s]

@Mike Cohen

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.

I set aside a 2004 Tempier to test this out. Will report back in 2019.

I’ve had a few 4 and 5 year old Southern French rosés with plenty of interest, including, of course, Chateau Simone. But in the lowball league the only one that has excelled past age 3 has been Fonsainte.

[Anthony_Lombardi]

@Bill Mauger

Clos Cibonne!

+1

[Alain_M]

Domaine des Tours - Parisy (vin de France from E. Reynaud - Rayas etc.)
Terrasse d’Elise - le Rosé de Pradel (Languedoc)
Mas Jullien - Rosé (Languedoc)
La Bastide Blanche (Bandol)
Gourt de Mautens (Rasteau)

Alain

[g.colangelo]

@Kevin M L

@carl klapper

Valentini Cerasuolo

+1 these can last 7-10 years (possibly longer, but that is the longest I’ve pushed it)

+2

[Jay_Miller]

From my experience LdH and Cotat both age very well.

Last year I tried a Brooks Rose for the first time which impressed me and seemed as though it would age well. I’ve put one bottle down to experiment and if I can keep my hands off it will find out in due course.

[Tvrtko_C]

Musar, obviously.

[Tvrtko_C]

Nebbiolo-based rose’ can often evolve very beautifully for at least 3 or 4 years, possibly more (I never keep them longer than that, so I wouldn’t really know). I tend to try and keep my Cantalupo, Burlotto and Sella for at least an extra year before I start drinking: all of the freshness is still there and more complexity tends to emerge. Fabulous wines!

[Jeff_Vaughan]

I only drink about a dozen roses a year. Mostly Boulay, Montenidoli Canaiolo, and Schafer Frohlich Blanc de Noir Trocken which might not technically be a rose. I love the dry, high acid and very pale roses and drink them young when they are fresh.

What’s the point in aging them? Are they going to gain enough complexity to make it worth aging and taking up space in the cellar or just lose the freshness that make them attractive to me? I don’t have the experience to tell, but I’d love to try a Tempier with some age on it. Maybe then I’d get the point.

[Markus_S]

@Bill Mauger

Clos Cibonne!

Ah yes, about time someone mentioned this, esp. their reserve bottling (the “Vignettes”), complexity in a glass and not unlike LdH’s roses.

[Tvrtko_C]

@Jeff Vaughan

I only drink about a dozen roses a year. Mostly Boulay, Montenidoli Canaiolo, and Schafer Frohlich Blanc de Noir Trocken which might not technically be a rose. I love the dry, high acid and very pale roses and drink them young when they are fresh.

What’s the point in aging them? Are they going to gain enough complexity to make it worth aging and taking up space in the cellar or just lose the freshness that make them attractive to me? I don’t have the experience to tell, but I’d love to try a Tempier with some age on it. Maybe then I’d get the point.

We seem to have similar tastes . As for ageing the Schaefer-Froehlich BdN, I’ve tried holding it for a year or two, and I have to say that, while I really like that wine when it’s fresh, I actively dislike the way it evolves (just had an almost unpleasant bottle of the 2013 the other day). Montenidoli Canaiolo (one of my five favourite roses in the world): I have had four and five-year old bottles of this and, while it doesn’t fall off a cliff and remains interesting and enjoyable, it loses a lot of the freshness, so what’s the point? As for Boulay, I actually like it best two or three years out, but I wouldn’t necessarily keep it any longer than that.

[Jorge_Henriquez]

@Arv R

@Jorge Henriquez

Lopez de Heredia release their rosado with about 10 or so years on it (at least the 2000 was released as such). Fantastic wine.

Hmmm. I think I’ll be polite, and just say its controversial. Try it before you buy a bottle. Or have it at a Spanish offline or something.

Arv, needless to say. the “fantastic” part is my personal opinion. Or are you simply saying that you don’t think they age well?

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

Domaine Brana Harri Gorri from Irouleguy. Not only holds, but improves over 5 years+. We are drinking '09s with pleasure.

[willjschmidt]

Here’s a recent article from Asimov on aging roses: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/dining/rose-wine-provence-chateau-sainte-anne.html?referrer=

[GregT]

I think Larry said it - if the wine has sufficient acidity, it may age. Whether it will be better is a different question. The wines from LdH weren’t intended to be kept for years initially. It’s just that they didn’t sell them and then figured WTH, let’s call them gran reserva since they meet all the qualifications and they’re still interesting wines. It turned out to be a good move. But those wines are like their others - they get the long micro-oxidation from the barrels and you may have some VA as well. So some people aren’t fans. BTW - until fairly recently, the practice in Rioja was to add white grapes. That’s no longer legal but I think it was a dumb idea to change.

I’ve had some from other producers in Spain and they’re all over the map. Some people start out with the intention of making a rosado and that’s how they make their vineyard and picking decisions. Those do age, and well. The grape doesn’t seem to matter as much as the approach. Others make a bleed wine and some of those are OK but they fade within two years. I kept some from Toro for example, and they were brown within a year.

A lot also depends on what you mean by age because even the cheapie from Guigal will go four or five years. But if you’re talking fifteen or so, that’s a different story. Just like with most white wines, I think it would be more luck than intention if you got very many to go over fifteen years. It makes sense that some from Italy could do it although other than the occasional Cerasuolo I haven’t had any with substantial age.