Winemaker Notes
#49 wine in VinePair's Top 50 of 2018
The 2017 Malene Rosé is reminiscent of the fine Rosés of Provence, both mouth-filling and crisp, dry and complex. The Grenache supplies the backbone with copious honeydew melon and strawberry aromatics, as well as a delicious creamy texture on the palate. The Vermentino lifts the fragrance of the wine, adding notes of white flowers and lychee. Cinsault is exuberant and fresh with a fruity character similar to Grenache. The Mourvedre is very savory and imparts a slightly herbaceous character, intermingled with a flinty minerality. Lastly, the Syah fleshes out the texture and length on the palate.
With plenty of fruit intensity and a clean, long acid-driven finish, this wine will pair well with cuisine ranging from fresh oysters to pasta puttanesca.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
We have been tasting many styles within this trending category, but what makes this a standout is not only its flavor profile, but its texture and what I refer to as “alertness.” The tones are wideawake: fresh, clean, savory, and focused. Winemaker Fintan du Fresne’s new project, Malene, explores rosé with an elevated attention to its potential, specifically with Rhône varieties. This Bandol-style wine is ageworthy with a nose of mountain brush and raspberry. White plum and apricot brighten the palate and grassy, heather notes broaden it. Rose petals, paprika, and nutmeg stylize it even further.
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Wine Enthusiast
This rosé, by the team at Chamisal, is a superstar in the category, offering a little bit of everything for all palate preferences. Perfumed aromas of peach, strawberry and wet gravel combine fruit with minerality, while the palate is framed by a compelling texture. Flavors of red apple and plum sail into the finish. Editors' Choice
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.