Rosé Claire

Unbelievable. I am tasting (as we speak) a Spudders Crest, 2003 Rosé Claire, and it is fantastic. A 7-year-old rosé? Still fresh? Still tasty? No way, you're crying. I'm with you...except, it's true.

So where can I buy this awesome, incredible, death-defying wine? Sorry, dudes and dudettes, you can't.

Turns out, my ole buddy and partner in crime, DeWayne-O, had stashed away this wine we made, lo so many years ago, and not himself being much of a rosé drinker, had forgotten about. Until a night when the Ducks came from behind and kicked butt over Stanford (sorry, Mary). DeWayne-O, having recently discovered, or uncovered, this rosé, poured me some, and...yowser, great stuff.

2003 was, as you may well remember (especially in contradistinction to this year -2010), a very warm year, and we made some very good Pinot Noir from Sunnyside Vineyards. In doing so, I had taken off enough juice to make 6 gallons of rosé. Not a lot, especially when split between 3 partners. I think my stash was gone before vintage '04 was even ripe. But DeWayne-O, as mentioned, is not much into rosé, and he pretty much buried and forgot his allotment. Until now.

Being myself a rosé fan (why else would I make it?), I have done extensive tastings and it's almost universally true that rosés simply do not age well. At most 3 years from vintage. That's why it's so amazing to taste a 7-year-old rosé that's fantastic. Made even more fantastic that we made it.

As it is, looking at grapes fighting for maturity right now, I might be making a lot of rosé this year. And if it's this good, why not.