Rosé wines are a hot commodity. Recently we had a one-day Rosé wine festival held outdoors with beautiful sunny weather to complement the wine. Rose wines are made around the world. I picked two rosé wines that I have in my cellar. One is from BC, Stag’s Hollow Blanc de Noirs 2021, and the other hails from southern Italy, Tormaresca Calefuria IGT 2021. Let me tell you about them.
My Tasting Notes
Stag’s Hollow Blanc de Noirs 2021 (BC $25)
Winery notes, “A small lot of Pinot Noir was whole-cluster pressed immediately following harvesting; minimizing any maceration time. The pale Pinot Noir juice was blended and transferred into a stainless steel tank, where it was cold settled for 48 hours. It was then racked into 1 second-fill 500L French oak puncheon, and a stainless steel tank. The puncheon portion remained sur-lie, in barrel, with regular batonnage. After 5 months, once we were happy with the wine’s texture and richness it had developed, both lots were settled, racked and blended. The final wine was then stabilized, filtered and bottled.”
Appearance: Medium intensity, clear bright pear skin colour with a peach tinge.
Nose: Medium-intensity aromas of red fruit, along with touches of red cherries, flint and grape stem. No change to the aromas after decanting.
Palate: Dry, medium body, soft and silky smooth. Low acidity. Red fruit and a touch of smokiness/flint, and black currant leaf. A touch of pepperiness and some sausage with air. Light tannins. No change to the flavours after decanting.
Finish: Medium-plus length finishing with red fruit, smoke and peppery flavours. Sausage with some air. Light tannins. No changes to the finish after decanting.
Rating: 
Open and enjoy this wine. It has red fruit and some flintiness on the nose. It’s a dry, silky smooth wine with red fruit and smokiness/flint on the palate. Medium-plus length.
Tormaresca Calefuria IGT 2021 (BC $33.98)
This wine is made from Negroamaro grapes. Winery notes, “Immediately after harvesting, the grapes were destemmed and gently
pressed. The must was transferred into temperature controlled stainless steel vats at 12 °C (54 °F) to favour natural clarification of the must. Alcoholic fermentation took place at a temperature of 16 °C (61 °F) to preserve and enhance aromatic compounds. Calafuria was left to age on the lees in stainless steel tanks for a short period of time before it was bottled and released for sale.”
Appearance: A bright, medium-intensity wild rose orange colour.
Nose: Lighter aromas of red berries, touches of toastiness and some oranges with air. Less toasty aroma after decanting.
Palate: Dryish, medium-plus body and flavour intensity. A thick, round mouthfeel. Medium acidic prickle on your tongue. Red berries and red fruits, with a touch of grape stem and oranges. Medium tannins. No change to the flavours after decanting.
Finish: Medium-plus length finishing with red berries and tart red fruit. I also noted a hint of floral. Medium-intensity drying tannins. Slightly lighter tannins after decanting.
Rating: Another wine to open and enjoy. No need to decant. Red berries with touches of toast and oranges on the nose. Medium-plus body with a round thicker mouthfeel. Medium acidity. Red berries and red fruits with touches of grape stem and oranges. Medium-plus length.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can buy the Stag’s Hollow Blanc de Noirs online at the Stag’s Hollow website.
The BC Liquor stores only list a 1.5 litre size for the Tormaresca Calefuria. Regular 750 ml bottles are available at Everything Wine stores.
