I opened this the other night as a starter. A totally bizarre wine. It came under screw top so it should not have been corked but obviously still could be flawed. 61% Tibouren, 26% Cinsault, 13% Grenache. Color was a golden pink orange as I can best describe it. It was rich and creamy. I got some vanilla, caramel and even a little butterscotch on the palate which I would equate to it being flawed. The back label refers to Tibouren being earthy/woodsy ala garrigue. Definitely a unique texture as the back label indicates as well. I have no idea what to think of this. Anyone else had it? Any experience with Tibouren? I have another bottle left which I guess I’ll try again come spring.
cooked
Yeah, I know. I am just in denial hoping it’s something exotic. I have had corked wines but not a cooked wine in ages.
I’ve had plenty of Clos Cibonne Tibouren and they’ve never had any note like what you’re describing. New World vs Old but still
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I wanted something rosé-esque to start the night. I thought this would be a good pull. I think I’ll open the other bottle sooner than later to hopefully better grasp of what this blend should be. Say a prayer!
It’s possible that this is how they want the wine to be perceived, no?
Are folks saying ‘cooked’ because of butterscotch? How was the wine fermented and aged? Is Randall going for some oxidation?
Too many variables here.
Where did you purchase from?
Cheers
Gallo owns the brand, I’m quite confident they want the wines to be broadly approachable and I’m sure butterscotch rose doesn’t meet the criteria there.
Randall is an iconoclast and Gallo knows it - this brand is ‘not your dad’s Gallo’ so to speak . . .
Cheers
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I know Randall is not a fan of the norm, hence the majority varietal here. I should have tried this awhile back but somehow it fell off my radar. I purchased this online from the winery about a year ago. Great deal if I recall as shipping was waived on 6+ bottles. The other bottles of different blends were quite good. No way he was going for a crème brûlée wine. It’s cooked , only way to explain it.
I am not sure there is any way to know what RG is going for with any wine!
I have had all of his TLoY wines and they are very approachable, this one referenced above is not a core distribution SKU but given what the rest of the portfolio is I can say with confidence that is not what he was going for.
I’ll open my remaining bottle sooner rather than later and report back. It could be a good drink over the holidays if I get a good bottle.
As Joe says, the best known Tibouren producer is Clos Cibonne in Provence, making excellent roses and also some red Tibouren. While not similar to what you list here, I will say that Cibonne rose has some oxidative quality, with aging under flor. I don’t think that is a feature of the grape, but rather the winemaking. It is possible that Randall’s goal here was influenced by those wines and things may or may not have gone off the rails. The oxidative impact in Cibonne wines is mild in my experience and definitely does not veer into butterscotch.
Randall notes on the website that he ages part of the pink wine in smaller 5 gal carboys sur lees because he lives the power of said lees. He has been known to leave these carboys outside for extended periods of time, which may lead to some oxidation.
Just adding a little more context here.
Cheers