The Heartleaf California Rosé 2020 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced by a private brand winery located in Napa. The last few Trader Joe’s wines we reviewed were also sold at retail wine shops in New York, and Trader Joe’s prices are 40% to 50% than the same wines at the retail shop. While not every wine will show the same discount at Trader Joe’s, it is probably a decent ballpark figure.
There is not any production information available, and the back label talks about the beauty of nature. So we have little hard data to tell; there is no mention of the grape or the grape blend. Rosé wines are Red grapes made into wine with production methods closer to White wine than Red.
Red wine gets much of its structure, and chemical make-up from the grape skins, crushed grape skins, and the grape juice are kept together for some time. White wine typically has no skin contact, and Rosé wine has only enough skin contact for the wine to achieve that pick/amber color.
Tannins are in the grape skin, so Red wine shows tannins, while White wine and Rosé wine have none. The lack of tannins allows flavors that the tannins would mask in more full-bodied red wine to shine through. A Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon is the flipside of a regular Cabernet since hidden flavors are now exposed.
We are talking about a Rosé wine a week before Thanksgiving because a Rosé would pair well with roast turkey. A light, crisp wine will not overpower the mils turkey flavor, and the acidity will help cleanse the palate, and the Red grapes will add soft fruit flavors that would add to the harvest nature of the Thanksgiving feast. The Heartleaf California Rosé 2020 has an alcohol content of 13.5%.
The Heartleaf California Rosé 2020 Tasting Notes
The color is an extremely pale cherry red. The nose is cherry, melon, lemon, a hint of vanilla, peach, and soft flowers. The Heartleaf California Rosé 2020 has solid acidity and an exciting flavor profile; this is an adult Rosé.
This wine tastes like pink grapefruit mixed with salty cashew, tart cherry, Anjou pear and, hard lemon candy (not sweet). The mid-palate mirrors the body of this Rosé but adds tart apple and stone fruit. The acidity allows this Rosé to be an excellent food wine, and I think it would be at its best when paired with food.
The Summary
- The Heartleaf California Rosé 2020 is a $5.99 food wine.
- It has terrific structure and excellent acidity.
