2018 Reeve, Rosé of Pinot Noir, Bybee Vineyard, Sonoma Coast.
The Reeve Rosé is beauty, every vintage I try I love and this 2018 is bursting with energy and pure Pinot fruit, it is wonderfully refreshing, mineral driven stuff that is flexible, it can be happy as a poolside sipper and or just as good with a serious meal. In this vintage, Noah Dorrance and his team sourced the Rosé fruit from the Sonoma Coast instead of the Anderson Valley or Mendocino area per normal as they were a touch fearful that there might be some smoke taint from fires that affected certain areas, having that flexibility and passion to make the best wine possible is what makes Reeve standout, and these new releases are stunning wines. Making a great 100% Pinot Noir Rosé takes commitment as there are not quality Pinot grapes available on the cheap, and to craft a beauty like this, that rivals top Sancerre Rosé and Marsannay Rosé is pretty damn good. Dorrance notes, that the Bybee Vineyard, located within the Sonoma Coast AVA, is farmed in an extremely hands-on fashion, “beyond-organic” as he puts it, in a way that puts purity and vibrancy into the bottle. The twist top Reeve Pinot Noir Rosé, as noted by Dorrance, has a fanfic following already and like Arnot-Roberts Rosé of Touriga Nacional sells out fast, so be sure to act quick to get it.
The 2018, was as per normal with this Rosé, which is delicately pale with a very light salmon/pink hue didn’t get a long soak on the skins, in fact it was pretty much straight to press and aged in stainless steel with just a few months of lees contact before bottling, all done to retain its freshness and vitality, it is a tangy and mouthwatering dry wine. Endowed with vigorous form, the 2018 Reeve Rosé delivers crisp punch on the lighter framed palate with spring flowers, racy grapefruit, watermelon, sour cherry, liquid plum and strawberry fruits along with a hint of zesty herb, saline and wet stones all wrapped in a steely and zingy package. Reeve’s latest set of wines, all handcrafted by Dorrance with expert consultants, Ross Cobb, ex Flowers, Hirsch and who makes some of California’s best Pinots under his own Cobb Wines label, and Katy Wilson, long time Cobb friend and assistant in projects as well as making lovely wines under her LaRue label add firepower to Reeve’s efforts that include a few select Pinot Noirs, a dry Riesling and some Italian inspired Sangiovese bottlings, all of which are fabulously delicious. Happy #internationalroséday Celebrations!
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive