Pale rose for summer

Summer is here and what better time for Provencal rose. Notice the color in the bottle and glass. Not light red. Not even pink. This kind salmon-hued rose is what I long for on a warm summer day.

So the 2009 La Galantin Bandol Rose. This producer I remember from years ago in my San Francisco days, when I'd discovered Bandol. Galantin wasn't and isn't revered with the likes of Tempier and Pibarnon and Pradeaux. It does has an impossiby period label, which period I do not know but the script and pastel and illustration transport me to the south of France. Perhaps in the 1980s.

The wine delivers, as I remember the unrefined reds I tried back in the 1990s. Crisp flavors, juicy with a refreshing quality that too many roses lack. I'm happy to have this wine in my fridge for several days. It stays fresh when open, so I don't have to rush through it. And though it's good enough to guzzle straightaway, prudence suggests going slow. Relaxing. Allowing yourself to be somewhere remote where things needn't be rushed. Such is summer, with good rose and someone you love.