MARGERUM | RIVIERA ROSÉ 2016
(Santa Barbara County, California) $21 (750ml)
This might be the most sophisticated rosé you drink all spring and summer. A burst of spicy, minerally coolness, Margerum’s Riviera Rosé is the merest tint of pink, like a subtle watercolor. (No cherry popsicle-color here). It’s made from grenache, syrah, counoise and cinsault—the grapes often used in southern French rosés. Unlike so many French rosés, however, there’s a vividness and energy here. If you want to put winter behind you, this is the way. (12% abv)
89 points KM
Available at Margerum
One of the following Disney movies featured two legendary bottles of French wine: a 1947 Château Cheval Blanc and a 1961 Château Latour. Was it:
- A. Beauty and the Beast
- B. Lady and the Tramp
- C. The Parent Trap
- D. Ratatouille
Scroll down for the answer!
“Men are like wine—some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”
—Pope John XXIII
CRU?
If you’ve ever encountered any of France’s extensive wine classifications, you’ve heard the word cru. From Premier Cru to Grand Cru Classé to Premier Cru Supérieur Classé, there is no shortage of rankings a wine might have. And all of them share the term cru. Translated literally into English, cru means “growth.” It might seem like a strange word to describe wine. But cru is the past participle of the French verb croître, meaning “to grow.” It is, by extension, a reference to terroir—to the quality of the vines growing in a certain place.
OF SEVERITY AND BEAUTY—LITTORAI PINOT NOIR
It’s hard to see biodynamics. A vintner says his vineyards are biodynamic. But a casual look at the vineyards usually reveals little or nothing. You can’t easily see philosophy. You can’t see what isn’t done. But a visit to Littorai recently was, to continue the metaphor, eye-opening…Continue Reading
THIN
Used to describe a wine lacking character and flavor, possibly because it was made from grapes produced at a very high yield. An extremely thin wine tastes watery.
D.The animated movie Ratatouille (2007) follows the adventures of a French country rat named Remy as he pursues his passion for cooking gourmet cuisine in a Parisian kitchen. His dishes share the screen with a ’47 Cheval Blanc and a ’61 Latour, both considered “wines of the century.”
