I so wanted to love this wine. We had been back to the wine store to buy more and more of the Fairy Bread White, and took the plunge on the Rose, hoping for it to excite us as much. I did really want to love it. But, sadly. No. Crapola.
The wine is not crap, don't get me wrong. I just wanted it to be all the things the white is. It is a blend of Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer, all co fermented together, but I reckon there is a fight going on early at the party. The nose, which promises much, is a bit dusty, with watermelon and strawberry notes. There is a hint of musk lollies, not unlike the white, which I attribute to the gewurtz, as well as some tropical suggestions of maybe guava. I was looking for a bit more, something with some depth but it was a bit light on.
There are more of those tropical notes on the palate, a little sweetness at the start, but then it lengthens out with an uncomfortable, almost tired skins grip and a tad of lacklustre acidity. I was hopping like a kid on candy when we opened it, and halfway in I was all, meh. There just wasn't enough interest in it. Insipid is an unkind word to describe a wine but it was. It didn't have the spark and spunk of the white or the red, and felt a little like it was thrown together.
There were redeeming qualities. Lovely colour and a reasonable finish but we look at one another and shrugged our shoulders. Maybe it was the day, maybe it was a shitty day in lockdown with ordinary weather or something. I am not sure we will go back but we do look forward to the '21 to see if it has that pep we are after.
RRP $28 at the groovy wine shops.
NZ | 2020 | Wellington | 12% ABV