Wine Tasting: Bonny Doon

The folks from Bonny Doon Vineyard had sent us four wines not too long ago and we finally decided to bust ‘em open, invite a few friends over, and get down to tasting. The theme, as you will see, was Rose.

Here’s what we tasted through:

2013 Vin Gris Tuile (55% Grenache 23% Mourvedre 10% Rouussanne 7% Cinsaut 3% Carignane 2% Grenache Blanc)

2015 Vin Gris de Cigare (44% Grenache 20% Grenache Blanc 13% Carignane 10% Mourvedre 7% Cinsaut 6% Roussanne)

2015 A Proper Pink (69% Tannat 31% Cabernet Franc)

2015 Ciliegiolo (learn about this one here.

There were five of us tasting and the deal was that we would rate each one 0 to 10, 10 being best. The first wine, the 2013 Vin Gris Tuile, surprised all of us. As this was a “Rose tasting”, this wine wasn’t at all Rose to any of us. So we decided not to compare this one with any of the others. Here is a quote from Sandra Silfven from the Detroit News describing “brick wine”:

“In this case, to make a “brick” wine, a vin tuilé, like they do in the South of France that mellows and grows in complexity by being exposed to the sun and elements for nine months outside — in glass carboys. I suggest you serve it in small glasses and enjoy as an aperitif and conversation-starter. As Grahm said in an email to me: It’s for adventurous tasters.”

Here are the scores:

2013 Vin Gris Tuile – 27 points

2015 Vin Gris de Cigare – 38 points

2015 A Proper Pink – 35 points

2015 Ciliegiolo – 46 points

It was quite an interesting tasting. Anyone that knows of Randall Graham of Bonny Doon knows he is certainly an envelope pusher. I am very much of the thought that there is not only room for all kinds of winemakers but there is a need for it. We need traditional and we need the rogue pioneers in search of new things.

What are your thoughts and have you had any of the above mentioned wines?