Rosé, 2024 Midnite Négoce Cabernet Franc Rosé

Beautiful colour obtained from 12 hours of maceration of wine on skins. Pressed to a medium tint rosé colour. Wine was fermented in 90% steel and 10% neutral oak. Natural fermentation with pied de cuve from estate chardonnay. Full malo with natural bacteria. Unfined & unfiltered.

Review by Rick Vansickle

The Last House Midnight Négoce Cabernet Franc Rosé 2024 ($28, tank sample so no score attributed) — This is the second wine made under the stylish Négoce label, following in the footsteps of the 2023 Pinot Gris. The Cabernet Franc was sourced from Kevin Watson in Niagara’s Four Mile Creek sub-appellation. It spent 12 hours on skins and was wild fermented with no added nutrients for the primary ferment, which was done in 90% steel and 10% oak. The oak barrel was the second one acquired by Last House and was used in 2019 to ferment the first Danial Block Pinot Noir. There was no fining or filtering, and it was bottled by hand. 110 cases made. It shows a bright pink colour in the glass and a buffet of red fruits led by fresh-picked strawberries, wild herbs and a touch of lemon citrus. It has lovely texture on the creamy palate where the strawberries, raspberries, plums, mulled herbs and pinch of spice all lead to a mouth-watering finish. There’s a bit of structure here and cellaring this for a couple of years is not out of the question.