Pulling The Cork

Taste & Talk 2008 Red Côte Rosé Artisan Family of Wines

We launched our Taste & Talk series by sharing parts of our conversation with Jeff Miller, Partner Owner and Head of Winemaking Operations for Artisan Family of Wines. 

In Part 1 Jeff shared some background on Artisan Family of Wines, the origins of the name and how he got started in wine making.  Jeff then talked about his winemaking philosophy, vineyard management approach and whether or not being a small boutique winery allows him to take more risks or forces him to play it a bit more safely in Part 2 of our conversation.

Today we are going to break into our conversation with Jeff to taste and talk about the first of four wines from Artisan - the 2008 Red Côte Rosé.  The Rosé is 65% Rosé of Merlot and 35% Rosé of Syrah, 12.5% alcohol by volume and the suggested retail is $12.99. 

I am not a big Rosé fan but after our chat with Jeff it seemed he was trying to do some things a bit different with this so, at the very least, I was intrigued to give it a go.  Here is the video tasting note(written notes are below) and it includes Jeff sharing some information on how he made this Rosé.

Please note:  Pulling The Cork received this wine as a sample from Artisan Family of Wines.

2008 Red Côte Rosé Artisan Family of Wines - USA, California, North Coast, Suisun Valley
Clear and bright the wine in the glass was a pale cranberry/strawberry in color.  The nose was moderately strong aromas of strawberry and orange blossoms with undertones of lime.  The bouquet showed some vanilla and a hint of spice.  The mouthfeel was light bodied with a good balance of acidity and sugar.  Much more lively acidity than other Rosé I have had but enough residual sugar to add depth.  The flavor profile was moderately complex with fresh strawberries, kiwi and a touch of tangerine with some minerality, vanilla and a very subtle touch of baking spice.  The vanilla and strawberry notes played off one another to give it a strawberry creme flavor. The finish is just a bit to the plus side of moderate with strawberry creme, kiwi and orange zest as it lingered. There is a little more complexity to this Rosé than many others I have had but I have to stop just short of calling it complex.  It is a very good wine for the price and a really nice summer wine. By far the best Rosé I have ever had!  Recommend this highly and drink it now! 50+5+12+16+5=88 pts (click here to learn more about what these number mean)

PTC on 2005 Martinelli Jackass Vineyard Zinfandel

Since Pulling The Cork is new I wanted to pick a wine I had recently discovered and was surprised to find out I liked so much.  A new blog, a newly discovered wine etc.  Sort of makes sense I guess.  I chose Martinelli's Jackass Vineyard 2005 Zinfandel.  It is also sort of fun saying Jackass frequently.  I am late to the party when it comes to this wine by the way.   

The Discovery

On my trip to Las Vegas (my first trip to Vegas) in February of 2008 with my wife Jodie we made dinner reservations at Todd English's Olives at Bellagio.  Since we are here to talk about wine I won't digress on the restaurant but suffice to say it was impressive.  We had an absolutely wonderful meal and whoever is responsible for hiring the host and serving talent here should win a recruiting excellence award.  Clearly they are doing things right when it comes to hiring talent.   

The Sommelier is Tammy Ruesenberg and she recommended this wine.  Tammy was exceptional!  She lacked the pretentiousness of many sommelier's I have experienced and her knowledge and expertise were clearly evident.  If you eat at Olive's (which you should) and you are looking for a great wine to pair with your meal be sure to ask for Tammy and let her know Michael Homula recommended her.  Not that she will know who I am or really care but it was fun to say and made me seem important.

Winery and Vineyard Background

Here is a link to all you need to know about the actual Jackass Vineyard at Martinelli which produces this amazing Zin and is consistently producing great Zins.  I chose the 2005 because it just happens to be one of my recent favorites.  I have had other vintages (years) of this great wine and find the consistency between the vintages to be quite extraordinary.  The vineyard was planted over 100 years ago and sits on a very steep hillside (so steep only a Jackass would tend to it...get it?).  The vines produce a nice crop for 100+ year old vines and they are farmed the same way they were a century ago.  This means no pesticides etc.  The wine maker is none other than THE Helen Turley, a real genius.  You might call her the John Sullivan of wine making. If you want to know more about her read this.  (more after the jump)