The hardest thing about doing wine review tastings is that you usually have to taste pretty young wines.  These young wines are not bad – especially the ones I go out of my way to taste; life is too short for bad wine – but they’re not as good as they’re going to be.  And that can be a real problem, especially when you know that the wine that you’re drinking OUT OF YOUR OWN CELLAR is going to be sooo much better in just a couple of years.

One of the complaints I’ve received about my occasional tasting notes and/or videos is that I’m tasting wines that sometimes cannot be purchased anywhere any more.  I would like to say I’m sorry, but I’m really not.  At least not from my standpoint. I always enjoy doing tastings of wines that I like and that I know I’m going to be finishing once the tasting notes or video are done.

Let me explain.

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2009 Hug Cellars xoxo Rosé

I was originally going to review a budget-priced French Rosé, but couldn’t do it.  Let’s just say that initially it had what you’d expect from a Rosé – beautiful rosy pink color and fragrances of berries and watermelon.  The flavor on the other hand, while it would appeal to those who think White Zin is da bomb, was somewhat problematic. As expected of a Rosé, I found flavors of strawberries, watermelon, pink peppercorns, and – uncharacterically – a soupçon of Manischewitz.  Ew.  It tasted sugared, and it just didn’t appeal to my (admittedly snobbish) palate. But, to paraphrase the “it’s five o’clock somewhere” t-shirts, *someone* somewhere will like it.

That someone would not be me.  I needed a Rosé that acted like it was older than a high-school coed, with personality, charm, and strength. A grownup.

And since I was in the mood for a Rosé, I grabbed one of my bottles of 2009 Hug Cellars xoxo Rosé. Hugs and Kisses. Get it?

In word, Yum.  And not just from the taste.

Let’s go through this one point at a time.

First of all, the eyes are pleased with what they see in the glass.  A captivating deep fuchsia rather than a more everyday pink, the color is immediately arresting.  Unexpectedly, it almost lumbers (for a Rosé) around the glass, leaving beautiful legs on the sides. The legs telegraph the 14.5% alcohol level, which is hefty for a Rosé, but not unexpected in a wine with this much structure and body.

The nose is equally appealing, with the characteristic berries, rose petals, watermelon, strawberries, and interesting touches of green tea and minerals.  On the tongue, it is crisp, with good food-friendly acidity that adds to its character. The taste reflects the nose, with a long, dry, minerally finish.  This is most definitely a food Rosé.  As in red meat or mushrooms type of food.  You need more than a salad with this one.

Truly enjoyable, it is both complex and simply refreshing.  It can be a peruse wine, or it can be a quaffer, although I don’t recommend the latter.  Enjoy it, have it with food, or have it out on the patio – slightly chilled – on a sunny summer day.  Don’t drink this Rosé refrigerator-cold however; you’ll lose too much of its character.

Here comes the bad news – unless you’re a wine club member or visit the winery, it’s not available, not even online. However, I will strongly encourage you to contact the winery directly at info (at) hugcellars (dot) com.  Augie and Raquel are wonderful people, and I’ve found that begging will sometimes work wonders!

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Whatever characteristics different Pinot Noirs (or would that be Pinots Noir?) may have, there are a couple that I expect no matter what:  Black cherry and smoke.  And this Abiouness delivers to my happy Pinot Noir soul.

I first bought this 2005 Abiouness Pinot Noir Hudson Vineyard at Khoury’s several months ago – nearly a year.  Issa told me that the distributor had a case (or two … can’t recall), said that the winery was closing, and that it was his (the distributor’s) job to dump the wine at a clearance price.  Well, I hadn’t heard of the label before, so I bought three bottles on the spot.

What a mistake!  I should have purchased all that he had!  The first bottle was eye-opening because I was drinking a quality Pinot Noir that hadn’t required a Williams Selyem-level investment.  It was rich and earthy, almost Oregonian in nature but with more structure and fruit.

I opened another bottle about two months later (someone else had come in and wiped out Khoury’s entire inventory so I was stingy with my remaining bottles), and the experience was the same.

Well, the last bottle made me weep (not literally, but it sounds good and literary).

The characteristics I found in the first bottle doubled in this one.  Rich, sparkling garnet in the glass, it exploded with black cherries, smoke, earth, and dark fruit on the nose. The texture was a mouth delight – as rich and as silky as you’d expect from a quality Pinot Noir.  The front end showcased the fruit, with mineral earthiness and smoke making a long and delightful finish.

The first two bottles were great, don’t get me wrong.  This one (time to rest? bottle variation? planet alignment? full moon? sun spots?) was absolutely outstanding, and I stretched that bottle out over two nights.  It lost almost nothing the second evening.

I wish I could tell you to go out and buy all you can! Screw the house payment! Bribe whom you must! Unfortunately, this is not available anywhere, not even on Snooth.

The only regret I have is that I didn’t purchase more … like I need more wine!  But the one varietal I will drink at any time with hardly an excuse, is, of course, Pinot Noir.  And this Abiouness – although it may have taken a few years to get there – really showcased what the varietal is all about.  I enjoyed every drop and feel that it could be a benchmark for what a good, solid Pinot Noir should be.  I would compare it to the equivalent vintages of Kosta Browne and Williams Selyem, although this Abiouness had to age a bit longer before it could belly up to the bar with the big boys.

Oh yes! I don’t want to leave out the most important part of this review. Abiouness Wines is NOT out of business!  Nichole Abiouness contacted me shortly after my first review of this wine last year and was surprised at the story.  After several email conversations with her and a little investigation of my own, it appeared that there was some apparent distributor skulduggery afoot, and both Abiouness and Khoury’s ended up being the fall guys in this one.

And in case you didn’t already guess, this is a George Clooney wine. All the way.

Stay tuned for more!

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