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WINE OF THE YEAR 2013

WHISPERING ANGEL ROSE 2012 COTES DE PROVENCE FRANCE 



The five wines under consideration for WINE OF THE YEAR 2013 were Acrobat Oregon Pinot Gris; Masciarelli Montepulciano D'Abruzzo Marina Cvetic Vineyard, Italy; Kris Pinot Grigio, Italy; and Whispering Angel. All five wines were received enthusiastically by you, but none more so than the Whispering Angel. In all my years at Harney's, I have never received such enthusiastic feedback about a wine. Historically, Rose wines were syrupy sweet - spine-rattlingly sweet - which turned off most wine drinkers. The preferred Rose wine now is light in body; dry, not sweet; fruity. Whispering Angel is a blend of five red grapes: Grenache and Syrah (which is typical of the Cotes de Provence in the southeastern area of France), Rolle, Cinsault, and Mourvedre. The liquid is not allowed to remain for long with the skins, seeds, and stems; it doesn't touch wood. It was fermented in stainless steel vats without barrel fermentation to ensure freshness of aroma and flavor. This wine is pale-salmon in color, medium-bodied, with the taste of fresh strawberry fruit, and with a long clean finish. One reviewer said that there is an aroma of dried rose petal, and I agree. Elegant, so elegant! Once we have crossed a threshold of taste, there is no going back. Whispering Angel is a Rose to which you will compare future Roses.