2009 Le Fraghe Bardolino Chiaretto Rodòn

So, it's not technically rose season. Not that wines really have a season, but I always think of rose as a hot weather thing. But this one called my name, and I thought it would pair delicously with the chicken and olive vinaigrette I'm planning for dinner tonight. I must begin by emphasizing the fact that not all rose is a blush wine, a la Beringer or Riunite. It doesn't have to be sweet, and it doesn't have to be...nasty.  In fact, I love rose.  Roses just have a bad reputation, much like pitbulls, as a result of people mistreating them.

I'm not entirely sure what the blend of grapes is in this particular wine. Bardolino is the appellation, and also the type of wine (called Bardolino Chiaretto in the case of roses), but the grapes can be a blend of several, such as corvina, rondinella, and molinara. They are the same grapes used in Valpolicella, a wine that became one of my favorites after a trip to Venice a couple of years ago.

This wine is absolutely beautiful in the glass. One of the things I love about rose wines is the range of colors they can assume. This one is is salmon pink, weighted heavily on the orange side. The aromas aren't overly powerful - green apple and lime, with something weightier in the background, almost a smokiness.

Another thing I love about rose is its tendency towards creaminess with a hint of strawberries that comes after the acidity mellows out in the mouth. It doesn't always happen, but happily in this case it has.  The wine is bone dry, and the first impression is of bracing acidity and a hint of effervescence. The wine then evolves a slight astringency and bitterness (there is some skin contact in the wine-making processes, which gives the wine its color, and can also lend depth of flavor and structure), then comes that delicious strawberries and cream. I'd be happy to drink roses all winter long!

Vintage: 2009
Grape: Unknown
Region: Italy, Veneto
Price: $15
My rating: 91/100

2009 Pascal Granger Julienas Crus de Beaujolais

This wine smells like warm blueberries and cream. The universe should provide a choir of angels (or at least oblidge with someone playing Puccini with their windows open) whenever someone pops the cork on a bottle of this beaujolais. Beaujolais can have a bad reputation, often due to the grape popsicle fruitiness of the beaujolais you're likely to find on a supermarket shelf. This wine is the Stradivarius to Georges Dubeouf's plastic ukelele.

OK, perhaps I should taste the wine before I oversell it based on the aromas alone. It's also quite gorgeous in the mouth. Unlike most Beaujolais, I think this wine could actually benefit from another year or two in the bottle. It's quite delicious now, though, with tannins and acidity perfectly in harmony with the red berries, which are luscious, but not at all overpowering. I even get a little prickle on the tongue that could be a hint of pleasant effervescence. This wine is a superstar, and would be perfect - and I'm not just saying this because Thanksgiving is a week from tomorrow - with a big turkey dinner with cranberries and stuffing. Absolutely perfect. 91.

2008 Familia Zuccardi Malbec Mendoza Serie A

Violet violet violet. Just as a good malbec should be, this wine is opauely violet; when I swirl the glass, a noticeably purple sheen is left behind even when the wine settles back into the bowl. The nose is sensuous and striking with vanilla custard and raspberries, and - this sounds weird but - creamed corn. Big yum. (Good thing, because I swirled so vigorously, I sloshed it all over my pants.)

In the mouth, the wine is still silky and creamy (obviously a happy marriage between the grapes and the toasty barrel here). The acidity doesn't stand up and shout "hello!" but is very well balanced with the velvety tannins and tingly alochol. It has a medium-full body and some juicy concentrated blueberry pie and a hint of black pepper on the palette, and a finish that lingers for minutes. All around a delicious wine. I could drink this every day!

Argentina does it again! I give it a 91. A first, I think!