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Rosé is something that France does very well. Generally, the further south you travel, and the warmer the climate, the darker the colour, the riper the fruit and the stronger the alcohol. Of course, any winemaker can make his rosé darker, just by leaving the skins in contact with the white juice for a few more hours, but in making a wine that tastes and feels balanced, grapes from a cooler climate give up less colour than those from a warmer one. There are exceptions, as you’ll see.
It’s quite difficult to pin down what makes a good rosé. If we normally quantify quality in wine by balance, length, intensity and complexity, we can immediately dispense with complexity because it just doesn’t figure in rosé. So, we’re looking for something with some intensity of flavour, with no elements being excessive, and with flavour that lasts well. In theory, yes, but the tasting of rosé is subjective and we all tend to go on gut feeling. We like it, or we don’t.
Our favourite wine was Marks & Spencer’s Grand Milord 2006, which is organic and a Vin de Pays de Gard. This region is in the south, and the wine is certainly a darker colour. It has a fruity, deep smell of fresh cherry and is pretty butch – nearer to a red wine than white. Quite nicely chewy. The flavour lasts well and we felt it was definitely worth its £5.99 price.
La Grille 2005, which is from the Loire, unfortunately puts my colour theory to shame. It’s from a cool climate and has pretty dark colour. It’s £5.49 in Waitrose and has an attractive aroma, which I would have guessed as Viognier, which is definitely isn’t. Again, it has a fuller, redder taste. I expect the deeper flavours of these two wines were what appealed to this panel, but you may like your rosé pale and delicate.
Laroche Vin de Pays d’Oc 2006 is £5.99 from Tesco and has a floral, rather pretty smell that Nikki described as like candy. The taste is dry, full and with fresh acidity. It has a raspberry taste on the finish, but not a fruity raspberry taste – more like this year’s home grown ones that are rather dilute and not particularly sweet. Quite a good taste for rosé.
Chateau L’Engarran, Coteaux de Languedoc is £6.99 from Oddbins. It doesn’t smell of much, even for rosé, which is often lacking in that area. It’s dry, clean and less fruity than others. Henry Pellé, Menetou Salon 2005 is £8.99 from Oddbins and has a beautiful label. If you close your eyes, you’d be hard pressed to tell that it’s not a white wine. It’s dry and savoury almost to the point of tasting and feeling slightly oaky.
Chasse du Pape Shiraz Rosé is £4.99 from Sainsbury’s and smells of cherry lips. It doesn’t have a beautiful taste and I wouldn’t recommend it. Renaissance, Vin de Table is £3.99 from Somerfield. It smells of cherry flavoured pie filling and is sweet and easy in the mouth. Not nasty, but doesn’t tick any of the quality boxes. The Co-op’s own Oc Shiraz Rose is £3.99 and is nastily astringent and best avoided.