Winery/Vineyard: Lorenzi Estate
Product/Varietal: 100% Grenache
Vintage: 2019
AVA on Bottle: Temecula Valley
Winemaker: Don Lorenzi
Rating: 91
How They Describe It
We started the Rose’ by hand picking certain rows of our Grenache vineyard as the grapes are the perfect mix of acidity and sugars.
We hand sort the fruit and treat it gently all the way through the process.
We finish it with a 90 day, 37 degree chill to bring the flavors to the MAX.
The wine has an amazing nose of strawberries and pink grapefruit.
The color is an ethereal mix of silver and pink salmon. YUM!
How I Describe It
Appearance
The Lorenzi 2019 M Rosé is a beautiful, intensely colored clear, medium salmon.
Nose
Dominant aromas of watermelon and nectarine waft from the glass. A deeper breath captures essences of lemon zest and green apple. Hints of pineapple, raspberry, and blossom make up the finish.
Palate
Watermelon, lemon, and pineapple take prominence in the Lorenzi 2019 M Rosé flavor profile. Nectarine, green apple and raspberry layer on. And a subtle undertone of alcohol speaks to the 14.4% ABV.
This is a dry wine, following the trend for New World rosés. High alcohol adds viscosity while medium-plus alcohol cuts through with a crisp mouthfeel. These together give the wine a pleasant medium-plus body, with medium flavor intensity and a medium-plus finish.
Why is This Wine Special?
I’m not usually one to lean heavily on a wine’s appearance, but the way Lorenzi Estate bottled their 2019 M Rosé is absolutely gorgeous. While Grenache rosé normally casts a brilliant hue, and the bottles curvature adds a gradient makes the the coloring all the more interesting.
Lorenzi Estate’s M Rosé line is a few years old, but each vintage is markedly different from the next. In fact, the 2018 M Rosé was made from Cabernet Franc, an entirely different varietal.
The thing with Lorenzi Estate is they simply don’t make bad wine. This is the kind of small winery with hand-sorts grapes. While this practice normally jacks up the bottle’s price point, if this wine was a hand-sorted Chardonnay from Chablis, you’d be paying hundreds of dollars for it.
What I really enjoyed specifically about the Lorenzi 2019 M Rosé was how the flavors occupy a balance between the brightness of New World rosés and delicateness of their Old World counterparts. In short, it’s a pleasure to sip on warm afternoons.
When & How I Would Drink It
Above all, the Lorenzi 2019 M Rosé is an outstanding brunch wine. It has similar bright acidity that you’d find in mimosas, so feel free to pair with similar lightly flavored breakfast and lunch foods. For instance, think crêpes, bagels with cream cheese, or turkey BLT’s. The lack of oaky characteristics hints at tank fermentation, so with Grenache as the varietal it’ll probably play well with seafood like oysters, marinated shrimp, and smoked salmon.
That said, the high alcohol content also gives the 2019 M Rosé a thicker mouthfeel than your garden-variety mimosa. So this is a wine which could also pair with more intensely flavored dishes like hot pastrami sandwiches or well-stuffed breakfast omelettes.
How to Get It
Order Online: https://lorenziestatewines.com/product/2019-grenache-rose/
Bottle Price: $45.00 (discounts for wine club members
Cases Produced: unknown
Have you tried the Lorenzi 2019 M Rosé? How did the tasting notes compare with your experience? Leave a comment below.