Birichino - Vin Gris California Rosé - 2018

"Birichino does not endeavor to deceive wantonly. One can’t deny, however, that wines often reveal traits which seem strikingly at odds with their visual or aromatic plumage. Such is the case with the 2017 Vin Gris. Coral or pale salmon perhaps best describes the tint, suggesting a gentle, delicate, wispy rosé in keeping with the gentle, delicate sensibilities of the house’s founders. The initial scent, as well, might lead one down the primrose path of frivolous expectations, effusively perfumed as it is of flowers and Asian fruits. 2017 has proven, however, a rich, dynamic, but never fatiguing vintage, confounding the notion of a balanced, gulpable rosé as necessarily light and ethereal.