I Love Australian Wine - A Victoria Pinot Noir Rose

Once again we find ourselves in Australia this time tasting a rose wine made from the famous Pinot Noir grape. Many wine lovers consider the Yarra Valley to be Australia's answer to Burgundy. It has a cool climate, a long growing season, relatively low yields, some fine winemakers. They started producing wine here over 150 years ago but the area has had its ups and downs. The last surviving winery shut down in the 1920s and things didn't really pick up until the late 1960s. The Yering Station winery was the first in Victoria. Their website provides extensive details about their wines. For example, I learned that today's wine was fermented by the whole bunch carbonic maceration process, the one used in producing Beaujolais Nouveau. Among the other things that I learned was to drink this particular 2006 young. On the other hand, the 2006 (non-rose) Pinot Noir may be enjoyed until 2015. The next time I'm in the neighborhood I'll visit their tasting room in a 150 year-old winery building and their art gallery. I'll try to make it for the third Sunday of the month when there's a local Farmer's Market. Today's companion wine is a Moscato rose from the neighboring region of South Australia with a very low alcohol content.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Yering Station E. D. Pinot Noir Rose 2006 13.5% alcohol about $17

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. E. D. stands for "extra dry" in this 100% Pinot Noir rose. Twelve to twenty-four hours of skin contact in an open fermenter gives this elegant wine a soft pink, salmon color. The wine also spends a few weeks in older oak barrels to give richness and a hint of spice on the palate. Packed with cherry, red currant and strawberry fruit flavors, this refreshing rose is perfect for a patio lunch featuring grilled fish and summer salads. And now for my review.

At the first sips I found that the wine tasted earthy with pleasant acidity. It was fairly long. The first meal started with barbecued chicken wings in a simple tomato sauce. I tasted earth and steel, something tasted burnt. With a barbecued chicken leg in Thai sauce, the Pinot Noir tasted of dark plums and smoke with a touch of acidity. When paired with potatoes roasted in chicken fat, the Rose was almost chewy and tasted of burnt cherries. A fresh tomato brought out the wine's strawberries, overripe strawberries.

My next meal was a broiled Atlantic salmon filet marinated and basted in an agave nectar sauce. The wine was earthy and smoky with some sourness. The earthy taste of cold beets fused with the earthy taste of the Pinot Noir. Dessert was fruit juice candy that intensified the rose's smokiness.

My final meal centered on an omelet with chilies. The wine was earthy but was not very present. Palm hearts rendered the wine forceful but short. When paired with grilled eggplant brimming in garlic, smokiness prevailed coming, in fact, from two sources. rendered it almost tasteless. In the presence of fresh cherries the Pinot Noir darkened. It was round but not very fruity. When it met a French-style lemon pie in a buttery crust the rose remained in the background, but it was pleasant.

The first cheese was a slightly sweet whipped cream cheese. In response the wine's smokiness was subtle. When paired with white cheddar cheese the rose's smokiness came to the fore, as did the taste of burnt cherries.

Final verdict. While it came close, this wine was not really solid enough for me to purchase it again. The doubt remains, had I consumed it young the results might have been better. For example, the burnt taste that appeared on a few occasions might not have been there two years ago. So in all fairness, I should give this producer another chance. But it may be quite a while.