Rosé Wine Notes: Pink Criquet 2006

Pink Criquet 2006 Rosé Wine is 13% abv. and an Appellation Bordeaux Rosé from France. The slim and elegant silver label with a bright pink criquet on it, is set off by the metallic pink screw top. Don't make the mistake that this is an inferior wine because of the screw top, because it is anything but. Many great wine makers are switching to screw tops and plastic corks to prevent their wines from becoming "corked." This is where a wine has been bottled with a cork contaminated with TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole) which can ruin the taste and smell of the wine, giving it musty aromas and tastes. It is estimated that as many as 3% to 7% of all wines have TCA contamination, but you don't have to worry about that with the Pink Criquet.

Pink Criquet 2006 is made with 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Bordeaux. A percentage of the grapes are left to sit on their skins for a short time after crushing so that it picks up more flavor and color, in a process called saignée. This gives the wine its deep, solid, bright rosé color and complex flavors.

The aroma is that of deep red fruit. Berries of all kinds, apples, with a wisp of citrus. I was chopping some Buddha's Hand citrus the other day and caught faint notes in this wine. The taste is crisp and refreshingly dry with good fruit, sweet berries and tart citrus, and even a hint of cranberry. All with a medium light and smooth body. A bit of acid and tannins make this a nice sipping wine that works in the summer or winter. You can also serve it as a before dinner aperitif. Served well chilled it is crisper and lighter, but if you serve it a bit warmer it becomes deeper and fuller, almost like one of the light red wines.
Pink Criquet Rosé works well with any dish where you would serve a white wine, like fish or poultry, or some of the lighter meats like pork. I think it has enough body and character to pair well with spicy and Asian dishes, as well as soups and lighter stews. I was sipping a glass of the Pink Criquet as I made a Japanese style soup for dinner. It was made with a dashi containing a few tiny dried anchovies and shrimp; some Japanese konbu and slivers of local seaweed; thinly sliced, sauteed, locally wild foraged mushrooms, primarily a nice matsutake and a handful of black oyster mushrooms; thinly sliced, local, baby, purple topped turnips; and a bit of soy sauce and turbinado sugar. As I tasted the soup I realized it was lacking something, so I poured in half a glass of the Pink Criquet. This brought in acidity and fruit flavors that bound it all together. Finished with the addition of lots of fresh, frozen, soba noodles imported from Japan; it was quite tasty, and the wine went well with the complex, but light, soup.