Rose and Son is a collaboration between Bernard Rosenson, baker and hospitality entrepreneur, and his son Jonathan Rosenson, sommelier and hospitality entrepreneur. The ‘Queen to Kings’ name for this bottling is a reference to Bernard’s immigration journey with his family aboard the Queen Mary from war-torn France to Kings County, New York. It may not say so on the label, but this wine comes from the new-ish Los Olivos District AVA (2016), a sub-AVA of the Santa Ynez Valley that lies in between Happy Canyon to the east and Ballard Canyon to the west. The relative flatness and uniformity of its alluvial soils are the most significant differences compared to its neighboring AVAs, and, as would be expected, it gets slightly less cooling from the funneling effect of the transverse orientation of the Santa Rita Hills to the south and the Santa Ynez Mountains to the north than Ballard Canyon and slightly more than Happy Canyon. Similarly, it is a little warmer than Bordeaux but cooler than Napa Valley, so certainly well within the range of climates well suited to growing Bordeaux varietals, and with its well-drained, gravelly soils, it has more in common with Left Bank Bordeaux than the average Napa vineyard. All the fruit for this wine comes from the Rosenson’s Coquelicot Vineyard just outside Solvang, and the grapes are certified organic with many biodynamic practices. Winemaker Matt Roth (Low-Fi Wines) adds nothing but a minimal amount of sulfur and ages the wine in old french oak barrels to let the special terroir shine. Its full but smooth tannins and earthy spice make it an excellent accompaniment to Korean BBQ.
(Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon)