Chateau Kefraya
La Rosée du Château Bekaa Valley
2006
More serious than Las Rocas, this rosé has subtlety and nuance, plus a little earthy funkiness. It's 100% Cinsault, a grape common in the Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhône regions of France, and once grown extensively in North Africa because it readily withstands heat. This wine's from Lebanon, grown in clay and limestone soils in an area that gets six or seven months of full sun with no precipitation. The result is a flinty, slightly austere, and highly acidic wine that easily cut through a rich chicken dish.
Still, it's well balanced, pale gold-pink—like liquid tourmaline—and redolent of apple blossom, plum, and violets. It's even more sophisticated when it warms up a bit (aren't we all?): fleshy and seductive.
Price: $15
