The Lazy Creek Vineyards Rose Of Pinot Noir 2014 is sourced from sustainably grown grapes farmed in the Anderson Valley AVA inside the Sonoma AVA in Northern California. Lazy Creek Vineyards have been around for about 100 years and are currently own by Don and Rhonda Carano, they are the Carano in the Ferrari-Carano Winery. This is a limited production wine, so if you see it on the store shelf don’t think you will grab a bottle next time because it will be gone and you will have to wait until the 2017 vintage. This is a young wine meant to be consumed within the first year or two of bottling, the sooner the better. The grape skins are kept with the juice for 4 to 6 hours, hence the pale salmon color. Note: with Red wine how long it was in oak barrels is important, with Rose’ the hours the skin is left with the crushed grape juice is of interest. The alcohol content is a ripe 13.9%.
The color is a salmon pink, with just a hint of copper. The nose is elegant and refined, strawberry, pear, cherry cough drops, roses, and black cherry. This is a dry Rose’, what strikes me about the Lazy Creek is how well the acidity is balanced with the body of the wine. Some Rose’ have a bit of an acid bite, they were meant to find their balance when paired with food. The Lazy Creek Vineyards Rose Of Pinot Noir 2014 will rock with food but sips smoothly. It tastes of dried strawberry, the vanilla from a creamsicle, tart cherry, peach flavored tea, and spice. The acidity gives the flavors plenty of room to unfold and the acidity also allows the finish to go on for about forever, yet the acidity never bites.
I think the Lazy Creek Vineyards Rose Of Pinot Noir 2014 is currently my favorite Rose’. That is both a good and a bad thing because at CheapWineFinder we are supposed to find killer Rose’ that sells for 6 bucks. And yeah there are some really good inexpensive Rose’ on the market. With that said, a no compromise wine that still only sells for somewhere in the 20 dollar range, is still a bargain.
