Review: Licence IV Canned Blanc & Rose
Licence IV is making a push for its French-made white and rosé wines, packaged in two interesting formats. One-liter bottles are much appreciated, but canned wines remain off-putting to many. After all, most, like myself, simply enjoy drinking wine from a glass.
Still, one can always use a great beach and boat option, so lets venture into these canned wines, a “crisp white wine from the Loire Valley” and a “dry Rosé from Provence.” Both are nonvintage.
Licence IV Blanc sources wines from the coastal part of the Loire Valley, a region that makes a white wine called Muscadet. The grape is Melon de Bourgogne, and the wine is fermented in stainless steel, then aged on the lees over the winter in concrete tanks. (Lees are dead yeast cells and are used post fermentation to impart the wine with yeasty and doughy notes, along with a greater mouthfeel.) Pale lemon in color, this wine truly smells like dough. While there are some lemon and green fruits present on the nose, it is truly the yeast and dough that is mostly present. On the palate, green apple, hint of stone fruit, and pebble come through, along with a slight creamy texture from the lees. And of course there’s the dough. When the wine opens up, the doughy note blends in with the other flavors better, yet it is still dominant. Not the best iteration of a Muscadet, though a proper food pairing might help you enjoy this wine better. B- / $24 per 4-pack of 250ml cans
Licence IV Rosé includes wines from Provence and is made from 80% Grenache and 20% Merlot. Gently pressed and fermented under low temperatures, the wine develops color and flavors under control, and is then briefly aged, although there’s no use of oak. Pale pink in color, the wine lightly smells like red cherries, red currant, mild blossom, wet stone, and a touch of vanilla or baking soda. On the palate, with medium acid and medium body, it delivers light aromas of red cherries, red currant, and hints of blossom. It’s a little alcohol heavy on the finish after the two first sips, but that tapers down over time. The wine is indeed dry. This is not a complex wine, nor was it intended to be. However, it is balanced, sans the brief alcohol punch on the finish. We would not be offended if someone brought this to a boat party. B / $24 per 4-pack of 250ml cans
Licence IV Blanc
$24
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