2015 Saveurs du Temps Rose Costieres de Nimes 750 ml

"And to those of you who think rosé is just a summer beverage ... you gotta be kidding." — Kermit Lynch

When a Rosé wine wins a blind tasting with some of NYC’s finest sommeliers, it’s notable. When that same Rosé is also the least expensive of all the wines submitted, it’s time to stop the presses. Rarely do the planets align where the best wine is also the best value. With the 2015 Saveurs du Temps that’s what we’re dealing with today.

Like leaves turning in October, snow falling in January, and flowers blooming in May, the sommelier cycle is seasonal. Fall is the time when somms must ensure their red wine pantry is in full stock. As the snow falls in December, their Champagne game better be in check. And if they don’t have their Rosé program locked and loaded by tax day, they’ve missed out, as all of the best wines have already been snapped up by the other top restaurants.

Kermit Lynch, who from his Berkeley wine shop changed the way the world drinks wine, made the case as only he can: “And to those of you who think rosé is just a summer beverage ... you gotta be kidding. We wish you an early Enlightenment, because you’re stuck back in the Dark Age.”

Wine Enthusiast Sommelier of the Year Michael Madrigale was well aware of the red-hot NYC Rosé trend. Year after year, Rosé sales would go up nearly 10% at Daniel Boulud’s Upper West Side juggernaut, Bar Boulud. Demand was so high for chilled Rosé on the outside terrace along Broadway that, during the summer of 2015, Madrigale went from one Rosé offered by the glass to five. He told us he couldn’t keep them on the shelf, selling out earlier than he wanted. Once bitten, twice prepared. Madrigale knew that in order to have all of his ducks in a row for the 2016 summer season, he’d to have all of his Rosé choices purchased and stocked before the flood of demand arrived.

In April, Madrigale reached out to all of his suppliers to get samples of every 2015 Rosé they planned on offering. Rosés from every corner of the world. Samples arrived from wineries from the U.S., Greece, Canada, Israel, Lebanon, Germany, Italy, Spain, and of course France. He wanted to taste all of them blind with eight other top-notch NYC sommeliers. That way they could carve out who gets what before it evaporated on the open market — sort of like a vinous Yalta Conference.   

All in all, Madrigale received around 100 samples of 2015 Rosé from Bandol to Bordeaux, from Niagara to Nemea. It was a complete portfolio of 2015 Rosé, a vintage that has been heralded around the world. Most came from Europe. Antonio Galloni's Vinous called the 2015 Rosé vintage in Europe “a very warm one,” and that “fans of full-throttle, fleshy rosés are going to find a lot to like.”

At the end of the blind tasting, one wine was rated highest by all nine sommeliers. It wasn’t the high-priced wines of Domaines Ott or Whispering Angel — even though they were included. It wasn’t Brad and Angelina’s Château Miraval, which retails at $29 — even though it was included. The unanimous winner was a humble wine from west of the Rhône Valley in an area called Costières de Nîmes. It’s a wine that sells for just $12.99.

We didn't wait for Madrigale's tasting companions to beat us to the punch, not with a tip like this in hand. 100 cases today and today only. This will be our last Rosé offer until next year. It’s now or never.