Q wine is a relatively new project in the new wine region of New Zealand: the Waitaki Valley.
Owner Jules Stephan, from an investment banker background planted the first vineyards of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris there in 2005.
Ten years later, I got the opportunity to taste and review their newly released 2015 Rosé.
This wine is made with the saignée technique (bleeding off clear pink juice off a red wine tank instead of pressing) from 100% Pinot Noir.
What’s interesting is that 40% of the wine is matured for 2 months in New French Oak before being blended back in with the wine that staid in tank.
So How Good is this Pinot Noir Rosé wine?
The answer is in the Tasting Notes:
With a bright salmon-pink color of medium intensity, the wine is relatively pale for a New Zealand Rosé wine (that are commonly quite intensely pink). The hue feels like a Provence rosé would appear, though it is not as pale.
The nose is intensely aromatic, with punchy acidic fruit jumping out of the glass: citrus (grapefruit and lime), pomegranate, pear, with a touch a grassiness.
The palate is elegant, with a grippy acidity balanced by a touch of sweetness, though the wine feels quite dry overall. In the mouth, the wine literally explodes with bursting flavors of gooseberry, grass, the lime and pomegranate again.
Overall: an enjoyable exuberantly-frangrant rosé, crisp, fruity, and balanced, with a long finish. It’s very well made, lean and clean, in a Southern-French style, with the NZ fragrance kick. Both worlds combined in a way…
Food pairing & serving temperature: enjoy well-chilled an aperitif on Mediterranean appetizers: olives, prosciutto, tapenade, anchovies, and the likes.
Find out more about Q Wine at qwine.co.nz
Please let me know your thoughts