Taltarni Taché Sparkling Rosé Lights Up July

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July is a time for celebration around our house and we always look for a bottle of bubbles to match the festive mood.

We’re toasting this special month with a sparkling Australian Rosé known as Taltarni Taché (French for “stained”). In this case, it’s the stain of red wine added at disgorgement which results in a unique taste and an impressive salmon color.

Taltarni Taché 2011 is a classic blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. The winemaker credits the extraordinary growing season for “creating complex and distinct varietal characters along with succulent natural acidity.”

Taltarni says their wine has:

a lovely structure
a hint of bread on the nose … balanced with a creamy texture
beautiful complimentary strawberry and rose petal aromatics
a balance of acidity and sweetness

We agree with almost all of the above except the Chardonnay acidity was a bit too much for our taste. Our bottle listed: Chardonnay 55% Pinot Noir 38% Pinot Meunier 7%. Other reviewers listed a different blend percentage of varietals.

Here’s some of what they had to say:

[from: Taltarni Taché Sparkling Rosé 2011 (K&L Wines)]

(90 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate) "The Non-Vintage Brut Tache is a delightful, well-priced sparkling wine composed of 52% Chardonnay, 41% Pinot Noir, and 7% Pinot Meunier … The nose offers rose petal, peach, apricot, and wheat thin scents … red berry and nutty flavors. … dry and refreshing, with a long, clean finish."
(10/07) According to Wine & Spirits: "The bubbles look tiny but they power the strawberry and cherry fruit in this light pink sparkler, a brisk cut that leaves the finish clean. For rustic country pâté."
(10/07) According to the Wine Spectator: "Pale pink in color, this dry, creamy-textured sparkler shows pretty watermelon and toast flavors. Drink now."
(11/06) "Taché is a … fine rosé-colored sparkling wine … Crafted from a traditional blend of chardonnay (54%), pinot noir (36%) and pinot meunier (10%), Taltarni Brut Taché is bottle fermented and matured for a minimum of 18 months according to traditional ‘Mêthode Champenoise’ practices. Delicious!”