Medium salmon; strawberry, cherry on the nose; strawberry, watermelon, cherry, plum, redcurrant, green olive, light spice on the palate.
Dry; lilting on the palate with no tannins and no oak. Brilliant, fresh red fruit. Good, if not cutting, acidity—appropriate for what this rosé wants to be. Looks and drinks like a Provence rosé. 100% grenache. 12.5% ABV
Tussock Jumper is an interesting experiment. It is a French-based company with a portfolio of 24 wines from 11 wine-growing regions. It does not own a vineyard or a production facility. Wines come from Argentina (cabernet sauvignon), Australia (shiraz), Chile (carménère), France (chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir, gamay, and this grenache rosé), Italy (prosecco, pinot grigio), New Zealand (sauvignon blanc), Portugal (vinho verde, touriga nacional), Spain (moscato, monastrell [mourvèdre], South Africa (chenin blanc), and the US (zinfandel). Basically, they market the distinctive wines from wine regions around the world.
This is a new twist on the standard négociant model where a merchant buys grapes, bulk wine, or finished products and bottles under their own name. In this case, Tussock Jumper has the wineries in the various regions do the entire process, including bottling and labels. The name reflects the approach. Tussock is a turf grass found around the world, yet each species has unique qualities. “Jumper” refers to the 15 regional animals on the labels. The animals wear red or organic green “ambassadorial sweaters.” New Zealand has a sheep on the label. California zin has a bison. France has a wild boar—on this label. And so it goes.
The website notes: “Tussock Jumper is a premium wine brand created from the shared passion of wine specialists from eleven different countries. Our aim is to bring together the world’s very best wines under a single, distinctive, quality mark: the woolly red sweater of Tussock Jumper. So you can jump from wine to wine, jumper to jumper, all around the world. What makes us truly unique is that all our wines are bottled at source—in the same place where the grapes are grown. And, because our producers appreciate the love we have for wine, they’re happy to pass on their very best quality wines to us.” Visit the website (link below) to get the whole story.
Tussock Jumper Grenache Rosé 2020 is a very serviceable grenache rosé. Fruit forward. Easy drinker. Interesting wine business model. Works well as an aperitif; pair with salads; pizza; barbecue; lighter red meats; pasta. $12-13