While I was at Eastern Winery Exposition 2025 in Lancaster, i happened to be able to get a taste of the Auburn Road Dry Rose'. Julianne and Scott Donnini are the owners of Auburn Road Vineyard & Winery based in New Jersey. They opened in 2007 and I've been writing about the for more than a dozen years.
The wines from Auburn Road over the last tens years have evolved into small works of art. Evocative and floral noses. Delicate flavors. Artful blending. Tremendous complexity and balance. Each one is like a small piano concerto, or a lovely small painting full of nuance and color.
The Auburn Road team working on the 2024 blend - Courtesy of Auburn Road
Auburn Road 2023 was made, as per usual, normally contains some juices from the Sangiovese and Merlot estate grapes grown at ARV. They bleed from crushed red grapes (usually pumping off 10-20% of the juice from red Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes). All the wines are cold fermented separately (like white) wine in stainless steel tanks. They are then blended in January and February. The final wine has no residual sugar.
This is a Provencal styled rosé. The color is salmon and yellow. Super light. The nose is roses and pink grapefruit, tangerine, and fresh cut strawberries swimming in wine. The palate pulls the same flavors. And finishes with a lovely pucker. Perfect for summer, or any time of year! A work of art.