With all the Johnny-come-lately Roses in the market this year (yes, regrettably, Rose has definitely become a thing) it’s important, I think, to recognize the old timers- those producers who have long spent the time and effort necessary to make quality dry pink wine as important a part of their portfolio as any red or white.  How about famed Chinon producer Charles Jouget?  This is, according to Joguet’s importer Kermit Lynch, the forty-fifth vintage the Joguet Chinon Rose that has been available in the states.  Now that’s a track record of success!  Not much has changed over the past four decades, either.  Not the label, that’s for sure. It remains one of my so-bad-it’s-good favorite Rose packages, as Old School as it gets.  It’s not ‘retro’ if it’s never changed, right?  And the wine is delightfully Old School as well.  Made entirely from old vine Cabernet Franc grown expressly to produce dry, aromatic Rose, it’s pressed directly without skin contact into a tank and fermented long, slow and cool without any secondary malo-lactic in order to preserve its fruit.  The wine is freaking delicious.  A darker, more coppery pink than most of the other Roses on our shelf, it’s aromatic, brilliantly fresh and tantalizingly fruity.  Young, sprightly and really savory and delicious, this newly-arrived 2023 will be a lot fun to enjoy all summer long.  Remember, though, that wines like this age effortlessly and, frankly, at a year or two past the vintage, Joguet’s Rose will only be hitting its stride!   In fact, this will be even better later in the summer and maybe even hit its peak just in time for your Thanksgiving dinner.   **+ Hammocks, ***+ Arugulas on PRIMA’s scientific Rose scale.