I’m cheating a little today with my post. I’ve recently started another blog with a wine friend called ‘The Pink Tank’ – it’s a collective of wine bloggers sharing their favourite rosé wines from Canada and the USA. I wrote the post below for that site just a couple of weeks ago. But, it’s a great wine, and a new summer favourite for me, so I wanted to share it with you.

Visit and follow our site ‘The Pink Tank’ at http://www.rosewineexperts.com
Collestefano ‘Rosa di Elena’ Rosato

Marche, Italy

80% Sangiovese 20% Cabernet Sauvignon

Have you ever tasted a wine that you felt was sultry, or sexy, or flirtatious or even slightly shy? Perhaps you didn’t think of wine as having a personality, let alone to be ‘sexy’. Well I assure you, it does have a personality, and it definitely can be sexy! In fact, sometimes I choose wine to match the mood I’m in: spicy to warm me up; vivacious to match my energy; sweet and juicy so I can easily suck it back; and bold for when I’m feeling powerful. You get my point. So I thought, why not review a wine with a little sexy promotion behind it… (if Diana Krall can do it with Jazz, let’s give it a try!!) ;o)

This Italian wine – Collestefano ‘Rosa di Elena’ Rosato is like a sweetheart – with bottled up excitement just waiting to be freed. Perhaps visualize Daisy Duke in short shorts and a revealing top, with a devilish smile. The winemaker Fabio Marchionni specializes in Verdicchio and farms organically. His vineyards are found at the top of a hillside, just over 400 metres above the sea in the region of Marche in Italy. It’s cool, dry climate offers a diurnal temperature range which is ideal for growing specifically Verdicchio, which has been produced in this district (Matelica) since ancient times.  But apparently he leased a tiny parcel of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon on a very steep slope nearby in order to make this delightful rosato (he doesn’t produce any red wines of his own).

On the nose you can tell there’s excitement looming – with citrus notes mixed with almost ripe field strawberries. It’s luring me to take a sip. On the palate my first experience is a burst of lemon with acidity making it feel as though the wine is dripping from my lips. There is also a hint of pink grapefruit dancing around, adding an exciting twist. All of which is accented by those sweet field strawberries, that take me back to that summer someone delicious tickled the nape of my neck with one single strawberry (who knew a strawberry had so much power). Minerals add some balance to the delightful citrus energy this rosato has sparked, with a little dusty finish that lingers inside my mouth. A refreshingly dry rosato with a touch of sweetheart has left me wanting more…and more. That’s what I call sexy.