McPherson Les Copains Dry Rosé 2014: Lovely light ruby-cherry-pink color; watermelon, strawberry nose; fruits repeat on the palate with some light plum and bing cherry joining the symphony;
superb acidity (3.43 pH), nicely long finish, admirable complexity; 74% cinsault, 14% rolle (vermentino), 12% carignan. The rosé cliché is pink is only for summer sipping on the patio, and this effort certainly will fulfill that role, but look outside that box. Rosé can be food friendly, especially with good acidity as Les Copains delivers, and it often is beautiful to look at in the glass, as Les Copains delivers, so why not consider rosé—and Les Copains—as a year-round wine option, especially as an apéritif or paired with first course or light fish/salad? The name itself suggests its food friendliness, “les copains” is Spanish for “the friends.” Winemaker Kim McPherson is the son of Dr. Clinton “Doc” McPherson, one of the founders of the Texas wine industry. In 1976, Doc—a chemistry professor at Texas Tech—and Bob Reed founded the Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock, one the first post-Prohibition wineries in Texas. Kim graduated from Texas Tech with a food science degree, then the enology and viticulture program at Cal-Davis. He worked at Llano Estacado, then Cap*Rock until starting his own label in 2000. Kim converted a 1930s-era Coca Cola bottling plant into a winery in downtown Lubbock in 2008; that is where this wine is made using Texas-grown grapes. Les Copains—delectable rosé well worth a sip. $15-17
McPherson website
Second photo: Kim McPherson
