Well, Mr. Asimov, It's about time! C, J June 7, 2010 Ros�s, With All Due Respect By ERIC ASIMOV FEW wines are both as beloved and belittled as ros�. Since its return to fashion in the last five years or so, the public has embraced it as a wine of summer. Yet bottles of ros� seem to come with neon-red warning signs admonishing consumers that they run the risk of pomposity if they dare to critically assess the wines. Why is this? Part of the great appeal of ros� is that it.s not considered a serious wine. Everyone can let down their guard and feel free of any demands to demonstrate sophistication by issuing trenchant analyses of what.s in the glass. We can relax and enjoy, like swapping office wear for shorts and huaraches. By all means, breathe easy and enjoy . all wines, not just ros�s. Yet this call to abandon critical faculties is an insult, both to ros� and to us, the consumers. If we.ve learned nothing else over the four decades since the beginning of the American food revolution, we have learned to pay attention to small, seemingly insignificant things. The quality of ingredients, no matter how humble, is crucial to the perception and enjoyment of a meal. The critical spotlight shines not only on ambitious high-end restaurants but also on street food, on burgers and noodles, tacos and dumplings. Even in the most modest surroundings, quality is never insignificant. Why should ros� be different? Why should any wine get a free pass, no matter how cheap, or seemingly unserious? Consider the lesson of Beaujolais nouveau: It was embraced uncritically as a seasonal joy until the novelty wore off and the public realized that so much nouveau was confected and banal. Good nouveau is out there, but its poor reputation is a big obstacle to overcome. Good ros� is out there, too, and few wines are as transporting. You really don.t need to see the seaside shimmering in the heat to enjoy a bottle, or smell the lavender, garlic, anise and saffron. It.s all there in the glass, along with the blues, pinks and yellows of a pastel sky, and the sounds of the motor scooters chugging over the cobblestones. Those are my images, at least. Good ros�s call forth from each of us their own. Bad ros�s are out there, too . lifeless, unbalanced wines that you.re supposed to like anyway because, after all, they.re just ros�s. When I hear people say that, I think of somebody trying to dump a boatload of bad wine for a profit. Here at the wine panel, we take ros� seriously, though we try not to be overbearing about it (or anything else). We.ve had great ros�s from all over the world, but this year we decided to go back to Provence, ros�.s fantasy heartland, for a tasting of 20 bottles. Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two guests, Bernard Sun, beverage director for Jean-Georges Management, and Emilie Garvey, wine director at SHO Shaun Hergatt, a restaurant in the financial district. What are we looking for in good ros�s? First of all, they ought to be fresh and lively. With rare exceptions, they ought to be dry, free of noticeable residual sugar. Ideally, good Proven�al ros�s offer a chalky minerality that can be both tremendously refreshing and intriguingly textured, compelling repeated trips back to the glass because it simply feels so good to drink. These wines, generally made of the region.s usual grapes like mourv�dre, grenache, cinsault, carignan and occasionally syrah, are more about texture and mineral flavors than ripe fruit, though light berry and citrus elements can add to their appeal. Yet, we sell ros� short to think it must be young and carefree. Bandol ros�s from estates like Tempier and Pradeaux, neither of which was in our tasting, are deep and complex, and can improve for years. Ch�teau Simone.s 2008 ros�, from the tiny Proven�al appellation of Palette, was in our tasting, and it stood out for its richness, fruitiness and complexity, yet it was bone dry and balanced as well. It was the most serious wine in the tasting, and I think in the context of the lighter wines, we may have undervalued it at No. 6. That is not meant to demean the other wines in the tasting, which simply are not as ambitious, or expensive, as the Simone. Our No. 1 wine, for example, the 2009 Corail from Ch�teau du Roquefort, is simply delicious . light and refreshing yet not at all stinting on texture or flavor. What.s more, it was just $14, a terrific value. In fact, it was our best value. I SAY it.s not an ambitious wine, which is perhaps an unfair categorization, yet very much the crux of the issue. Ros� is demeaned partly because most producers choose to make wines that are fresh, refreshing and intended to be drunk young. But is that not a worthy goal? Ambition alone has killed as many good wines as indifference. While ros�s like the Simone, along with the Tempier and the Pradeaux, can be awfully good, my guess is that few people would trade the easygoing style of ros� for a slew of wines aged in oak and ultra-concentrated. Not with such inviting wines around, like our No. 2, the 2009 Domaine du Jas d.Esclans, a deliciously savory bottle, or the 2009 Ch�teau de Peyrassol from Commanderie de Peyrassol, an earthy, slightly tannic wine and our No. 3 bottle. Let.s not forget richer ros�s, like the 2009 Ch�teau Miraval, called Pink Floyd after the band that once held a recording session at the chateau, or the Ch�teau Marg�i, with its lingering floral, mineral and berry flavors, which achieve a pleasant complexity. Lighter bottles like the Roquefort or the 2009 Domaine Sainte Lucie are perfect daytime wines, just right for a summer lunch under a sparkling sun. We were all pleased with the quality of almost all the wines in the tasting. None were too oaky or too sweet. The less impressive wines were simply innocuous. I say .all,. but perhaps Emilie was not quite as happy as the rest of us. She did say that she wished she had tasted more evidence of terroir, more of what she called limestone and chalk. Standards, even for ros�. Now that.s what I.m talking about. Tasting Report: Seriously Refreshing and Lively BEST VALUE Ch�teau du Roquefort $14 ... (Three Stars) C�tes de Provence Corail 2009 Well textured, juicy and refreshing with lingering flavors of flowers, minerals and earth. (V.O.S. Selections, New York) Domaine du Jas d.Esclans $19 ... (Three Stars) C�tes de Provence 2009 Dry with an inviting texture and savory mineral and berry flavors. (Savio Soares Selections/Metropolis Wine Merchants, New York) Commanderie de Peyrassol $23 .. � (Two and a Half Stars) Ch�teau de Peyrassol C�tes de Provence 2009 Earthy and expressive with tannic grip and briny fruit flavors. (Rosenthal Wine Merchants, New York) Ch�teau Miraval C�tes de Provence $22 .. � (Two and a Half Stars) Pink Floyd 2009 Rich yet balanced style with lingering floral, mineral and berry flavors. (Philippe Chiv�e Selection/Integrity Wines, New York) Domaine de la Fouquette $14 .. � (Two and a Half Stars) C�tes de Provence Ros�e d.Aurore 2009 Dry and savory with refreshing earth and mineral flavors. (Jeff Welburn Selections, Van Nuys, Calif.) Ch�teau Simone Palette 2008 $55 .. � (Two and a Half Stars) Serious, balanced and substantial, with complex herbal and fruit aromas and flavors. (Rosenthal Wine Merchants) Ch�teau Marg�i $20 (Two and a Half Stars) Coteaux-du-Varois-en-Provence 2009 Rich yet balanced with lingering floral, mineral and berry flavors. (Bradley Alan Imports, New York) Domaine Sainte Lucie $14 .. (Two Stars) C�tes de Provence 2009 Pale, pleasant, dry and refreshing. (Savio Soares Selections, Manhasset, N.Y.) Domaine du Bagnol Cassis 2009 $23 .. (Two Stars) Dry and textured with floral and berry aromas. (Rosenthal Wine Merchants) Ch�teau Coussin C�tes de Provence $17 .. (Two Stars) La Croix du Prieur 2009 Crisp and tangy with berry and citrus flavors. (T. Edward Wines, New York) -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *