Great Rosé / Bad Wax

I'm not the biggest fan of rosé.  Generally, I enjoy it when it's hot outside and my skin has turned pink.  To my taste, most rosés are simple, easy-to-drink sumer wines.

However, I took a chance (nearly twenty bucks for a rosé?!?) on Belle Glos' Oeil de Perdrix and was mightily surprised.

The Skinny
Belle Glos "Oeil de Perdrix" Pinot Noir Blanc, '04 ($18)

• Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara, California
• Dusty rose in color with an interesting copper undertone
• Surprisingly non-fruity scents to begin:  citrus rind, custard, cloves (it must have done a little dancin with oak).  Then the fruit:  strawberries and raspberries
• Medium-bodied, with a slightly viscous mouthfeel.  The wine is fresh and crisp, yet quite complex for a young rosé.  Flavors of berries give way to a citrus-y finish

**** (4 stars out of 5)

My only complaint (And I won't complain about the price - this is a very well-made wine):  The bottle is dipped in wax rather than the usual foil capsule & cork situation.  Said wax is light pink and looks lovely.  Yet it's a bit thick to slice off with the standard foil cutter blade on a corkscrew.  I nearly cut myself multiple times trying to get the wax off (curses were invoked.."#$%ing wax!  What the $%*!?").

This is a wine that will work with food, but sip it leisurely on a summer evening and you'll forget the food.

Comments

[beau]

Hi Jack,

I omitted the fact that I tried this trick first, but all I had handy was an old, slightly flimsy waiter's corkscrew. It kept sliding off the top of the bottle due to the slippery, thick wax. If I had had another type of corkscrew or a heftier one, perhaps this would've worked. But let me tell you, that wax is daaamnnnn thick! I think next time I'll go for the heavy duty hardware!

Cheers,
beau

[Lenn]

$18 for a rose...I've not paid that much...but I came close with a local one once. It was $17 and I almost bought it because their other wines are always interesting and unique...but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!

I only drink rose three months out of the year...and it's never my first choice...but it's nice on a hot summer day. Real men DO drink pink.

[beau]

Now that I think about it, there is really no reason rosé can't be fine, complex wine. I mean there are serious white wines and red wines, so why not complex/serious/epiphany-inducing rosé? The problem, as I see it, is that many of us are scarred for life from White Zin being THE rosé in this country..