Drinking the 2005 Justin Mourvedre Rosé
My wife and I met a couple of old friends at Poco Wine Room last night. I wanted to go for a glass of the highly anticipated Justin Mourvedre Rosé, a wine that I tried to get last time but instead I received the excellent R. Stuart and Co. Rosé d’Or sparkler. I also wanted to introduce my wife to the molten chocolate lava cake at Poco, a dessert that I had not yet tried but that I had assumed would be good based on the high quality of the other food I have had there. The dessert turned out to be absolutely wonderful, with more of a molten center than many other so-called “chocolate lava” cakes that I have tried. I’m not entirely sure why the word “lava” became connected with a dessert since liquid hot magma isn’t something I associate with a good gastronomic experience, but I guess it makes for a catchy marketing concept.
Anyway, I didn’t go for the chocolate. I went for the 2005 Justin Mourvedre Rosé, a wine that costs $8 per glass at Poco. It’s worth purchasing there, though, because the winery is sold out of the 2005 vintage, which would retail at $22.50 if they had any to sell. You might be able to find a bottle or two on the Internet for $16.99 or so, but it’s debateable whether those stores actually have the wine in stock.
As a winery, Justin Vineyard is certainly building a good reputation. Their vineyards are located near Paso Robles in California and they produce quite a wide variety of wines, from Petit Verdot to Sauvignon Blanc to Orange Muscat dessert wine. Prices range from about $12 for their Sauvignon Blanc to $48 for Isosceles, their red blend par excellence. Certainly the good people at Justin are best known for their Isosceles release, a wine that has a potent pedigree of awards and high scores (95 from both Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator in the past). In fact, the 1997 Isosceles clocked in at #6 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2000. Impressive.
While many of their wines are red, Justin also makes something of a red-headed stepchild: their Mourvedre Rosé. Yes, bad pun, as usual. I believe 2002 was the first vintage for the Justin Mourvedre grapes, based mostly on this source. If the information at that source is still accurate, Justin has only 1 acre of Mourvedre grapes planted, although they may have more by now. However, this wine is “Very Limited Quantity!!” according to the Justin Web site, so 1 acre seems reasonable.
The Mourvedre grape is a bit of a California curiosity for those who are primarily familiar with the terrific Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines of Napa and Sonoma. Although there are some Paso Robles wineries that grow Mourvedre, such as Wild Horse and Tablas Creek, few seem to make a 100% Mourvedre rosé from their grapes. Happily, the Tablas Creek Web site has an excellent page describing the history of the Mourvedre grape in far greater detail that I want to go into here. Suffice it to say the Mourvedre grape has a storied history in the French winemaking industry, and that the grape is known for its powerful gamy/meaty aroma and tanned leather flavor. It’s an interesting grape and some wine pundits are predicting it will become the “next big thing.”
I was interested to try the Justin Mourvedre Rosé in part because it is sold out at the winery, but also because I like a good rosé and I have enjoyed a Grenache/Tempranillo Rosé wine in the past. Plus, I have a soft spot for strange wines with limited production, so this wine really fits the bill. But how does it taste?
- Aroma: Some red cherry and strawberry notes, along with pomegranate and possibly a Meyer lemon citrus flourish. The wine itself looks like cranberry juice or some intermediate color between a rosé and a red.
- Flavor: Definitely everything that was promised in the aroma - cranberry, wild strawberry, sour cherry, secondary essence of red currant and pomegranate as anticipated. Nice, crisp acidity without being too strong.
- General impression: A good rosé! Very intriguing, nice sharp flavors without being overwhelmed by sour fruit or acid. A classy, elegant rosé that embodies the texture and mouthfeel of a quality summer wine. Goes great with warm dark chocolate cake.
Overall, I think I’d buy a few bottles of Justin Mourvedre Rosé for the fridge or the cellar. I’d like to see how this wine tastes after 2-3 years in storage, although I doubt I could keep my hands off it for that long. In fact, I’m sure I would drink it at the first sign of warm weather, particularly if I were grilling lamb or beef on the barbecue! Very nice indeed.