Wine Regions

Wine Review: 2019 Le Vieux Pin Vaїla

I was hemming and hawing over which wine to review tonight when I suddenly realized that I have yet to review any rosé wines! And with it being Galentine’s Day, I figured this was perfect timing. So today I want to share with you one of my top favourite pink drinks.

I’ve mentioned this in a previous review of Le Vieux Pin wines, but their bottle labels are beyond compare if you are a wine geek, so let’s start things off by noting all of the wonderfully nerdy info they have so graciously shared with us.

It’s made with 100% Pinot Noir and spent 23 hours with the skins to develop it’s stunning colour. They then used the “presse” method to extract the juice, before it spent five months in stainless steel. These Pinot Noir grapes were exclusively reserved for this rosé, and their yield was 3.8 tons per acre, producing 1033 cases. It’s bone dry. Don’t you just love it when a label tells you everything you need to know before you even taste it??

THE LOOK

In the bottle, this wine looks like a rather deep orange-pink, but once it hits the glass it looks much more light and elegant. The soft salmon hue is absolutely beautiful.

THE AROMAS

You don’t need to swirl much to get a whiff of this wine’s luscious aromas. I could smell it as soon as it left the bottle.

The fruit on the nose is rich and ripe. Strawberries, sweet cherries, a hint of rhubarb, and fresh roses all swirl together. It gives off a vibe of sticky sweetness and perfume amplified by the heat of summer, but we already know this wine is dry, so it’s deceptive.

THE PALATE

What strikes me first on the palate is the intriguing back and forth between the crisp acidity and the thick fruit flavours. It’s actually so fruity that I imagine it confuses a lot of palates into thinking that there is residual sugar left behind, but there’s not.

Want to test it for yourself? Dip just the tip of your tongue into the wine. The tip of your tongue is the spot most sensitive to sugar. I just tried it with this wine and couldn’t detect any sweetness, just pure juicy flavour.

The powerful behind the flavours definitely makes it feel fuller in body for rosé, but that acidity keeps everything in perfect balance and leaves you feeling refreshed. I can’t help but remember days of sitting on a hot patio and downing a bottle with girlfriends back in the Okanagan.

CONCLUSIONS

This may be the first time I’ve tasted a bottle of this wine in the dead of winter (it’s been -25 degress Celsius, or colder, every day this week), but it definitely hasn’t lost it’s appeal. For me, this will always be a staple in my wine rack.

It’s very well-balanced in it’s composition and is absolutely bursting with intensity of aromas and flavours. The length was a real highlight, lasting just shy of a fully minute before the flavours faded.

It has distinctly identifiable characteristics that give it a surprising amount of complexity for a rosé, while still staying true to what everyone is looking for when they pop a bottle on the patio.

I can honestly say I would not change a single thing about this wine. It is outstanding. I can only hope that you are lucky enough to get your hands on a few bottles. The 2019 is sold out now, but maybe order a few this summer and tuck one away for next Galentine’s Day!

To order, check out their website at www.levieuxpin.ca

To learn more about Pinot Noir, check this out.

Will you be drinking rosé for Galentine’s Day? Tell me about your favourite in the comments!