Tertulia Cellars Lonesome Spring Vineyard Rosé

You won't be lonesome with this bottle of rosé from Tertulia Cellars in Walla Walla.  

Winemaker Ryan Raber, a self described hedonist and always thinking about his next meal, produced this rosé bend of 73% Mourvedre, 24% Counoise and 3% Grenache. 

It was with one sip, I soon discovered that Ryan no doubt produced this wine thinking it should be enjoyed with his next light summer meal, as well. In fact, everyone's next light summer meal of salads with organic greens and sliced strawberries, grilled chicken sandwiches, cold grilled salmon with a light cucumber and dill sauce, and even grilled fruit or cobblers.  

The nose presented itself of berries and rose petals. A girl sure could smell pretty with a splash behind the ear. A sip on the palate reminded me of apples - - like the glossy red spicy candy apples that you see at the county fair. And sure enough it ended with more apples, but this time with a crisp bite of green apples and ending with a creaminess like caramel apples.

Once again, Walla Walla isn't producing those rosés that your  grandma sipped during her bridge games - - and Tertulia Cellars Lonesome Spring Vineyard Rosé isn't any different. These traditional Rhone-style varieties sat 10 hours on their skins and fermented dry in neutral oak barrels.  

The grapes sourced for this 2011 vintage, that shows off its pretty pink color with shades of a new copper penny, are from The Lonesome Spring Ranch vineyard located in the warm Rattlesnake Mountain bench near Benton City, WA. Sitting at 1000 feet of elevation, the "old vines" established in 1996, enjoy a southern exposure while the silt loam soil shows through in the fruit with bright and crisp mineral notes. It's this character that gives the rosé its resemblance to the traditional and beautiful rosés of Provence. Well done Mr. Raber.