In the past decade, from Alsace to the Southwest via the Center, from the Pays Nantais to Corsica via Bordeaux and the Rhône, the vineyards of France have made rosé a specialty in its own right. Beyond the pale candy-flavored rosé, too quickly associated exclusively with Provence, these regions have managed to renew the genre by relying on often different grape varieties, sometimes iconoclastic methods, and always enterprising winemakers. Here's a quick, eclectic, non-exhaustive, and disordered overview of rosés with strong personalities.
"Swiss" Rosés
They are light but not too light, structured but not too much so, fruity but not sun-drenched, citrusy but not amylaceous. They are graduates of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA, the conservative French Administration school) and are skilled at synthesis. Their weakness? Being ready to drink on any occasion. Click on name to go further.
Domaine Arnia – AOP Luberon – Rosé 2021
A true caress, this vinous rosé, without heaviness, is suave and finely zesty, delivering subtle aromas of flowers and peach that accompany the tasting. The finish, with good length, returns to grapefruit and leaves a refreshing sensation that calls for a second glass. Addictive, especially at this price, and substantial enough to accompany a meal.
Château de Chaintres – AOP Saumur – Les Hirondelles 2022
This Loire Cabernet Franc, meaning it's fresh, floral, and spicy, flirts with tannins without ever hardening the tasting. It is a real rosé, light and suitable for an aperitif, but can surprise you by pairing well with red meats. Clearly tasteful.
Château Salettes – AOP Bandol Rosé 2022
Everything is appropriate in this civilized and elegant Mourvèdre, which wonderfully reconciles power and joyfulness without excess. There is tact in this inspiring Bandol that is in tune with the times. A must-discover.
Natural Rosés
On the fringes of zesty flavors, these neo-rosés explore new sensations. Both fragile and tactile, often on the edge, they play with balance. Preferring flavors to scents, they enjoy risk and often give us chills.
Domaine Lafond – AOP Tavel – La Vau et Clos 2022
A "clairet" hue, stewed red fruits, and amaretto accompany a smooth and delightful tasting experience with aged flavors, all in natural wine. It's good, unique, and digestible. One would willingly have another glass.
Domaine Fondugues Pradugues – Vin de France – Eau de Source 2021
A fittingly named vintage with scents of grapefruit and pepper, ample, slightly sparkling, with a wavy flow, smoothly gliding with refreshing mentholated and slightly pastry-like notes. It feels like biting into fresh fruit and is very enjoyable. Lovely wine.
Domaine d’Éole – IGP Alpilles – Souffle d’Éole 2021
Superb in texture, delicate, substantial but never heavy, it's delicious (vine peach and honeysuckle) and juicy at the finish. More! Ideal with paella and friends.
Long-lasting Rosés
They are the aristocrats, those who have always known, certainly out of pride, but also because of a culture of timeless French drinking and dining. Age is their noble title. Regardless of the moment's agitations, they know that we always return to the "real" values – they are not wrong.
Château Pradeaux – AOP Bandol – Rosé 2022
One savors the unique bouquet of crushed strawberry, blood orange, and rosebud, so fresh and quaint simultaneously, before letting a dense and vinous, suave, and almost tannic substance satisfy the palate with minty and peppery fragrances. A superb rosé, combining delicacy and strength that one can enjoy now or forget in the cellar.
Domaine Alône – Vin de France – Rosé 2021
Fine and penetrating aromas, unique and complex (lime, strawberry, peach, and spices) infuse a velvety, dense, and balanced substance that coats the palate and extends in length with more saline and limestone notes. Remarkable for its density and finesse, this exceptional rosé, crafted by Christian Ott, nonetheless reveals the vineyard's exceptional location, rooted in the heart of Green Provence. A must-discover.
Château Mourgues du Grès – AOP Costières de Nîmes – Capitelles 2020
The bouquet delights (pastry, orange peel, strawberry, vine peach) and scents a vinous and velvety mouth, refreshing as needed, relying on zesty and spicy notes at the finish. Suitable for an aperitif or with delicate fish dishes.
The "red" rosés
After the nobles, the impenitent. Those who have always tilled the soil in the same direction. Against all odds, they persist, sign, and finally excel where no one has ever dared to dig. Idiosyncratic, sometimes not very flattering, they have this charm of the singular that eventually seduces. And if we are seduced, then we love madly.
Domaine de la Rectorie – AOP Collioure – Côté Mer 2019
A matured, creamy, and sunny rosé that we love for its vinous flesh diffusing very spicy notes, nuanced with currants and faded rose. The saline finish takes us back to the seaside. A unique rosé that will either unsettle or genuinely captivate but will leave no one indifferent. We really like it. Definitely a table wine.
Château Turcaud – AOP Bordeaux Clairet 2022
If there was a wine style to choose to (re)build the future of friendly Bordeaux wines, it would be this one! Both an aperitif and table wine, vinous and refreshing, this cabernet rosé (with a hint of merlot) has understood everything. As accessible and convivial as a beer can be, it remains refined and gastronomic as expected from a wine that you want to share at the table. A favorite.
Clos Triguedina – IGP Comté Tolosan – The New Pink Wine 2020
Here we have a colorful rosé with aromas of grenadine and small red fruits mixed with notes of blond tobacco. The palate is voluminous and round, making it a true gastronomic rosé.
The "gourmand" rosés
For them, the color is a consequence, not a cause. Here, rosé is made because it's the only way found to make a wine that's both delicious and refined. Apollonian and Dionysian at the same time, they reconcile the irreconcilable. We fall for them and ask for more.
Poulet & Fils – Vin de France – Divine Rosée NM
Crisp, raspberry-like, and delicately acidic, divine-rosée displays irresistible smooth curves, heightened at the end with a touch of grapefruit zest. A pet-nat with a touch of elegance!
Domaine des Bernardins – Muscat Beaumes de Venise rosé 2022
The unifying and soothing bouquet of this 2022 should be classified as a UNESCO world heritage: muscat, obviously, rose and apricot, vineyard peach and grapefruit; we let ourselves be enchanted and led to a delicate and creamy mouthfeel, flattering but without excess, where the sweetness and fortification fade in favor of the fruit in the finish. A genuine ode to delicacy and indulgence, this 2020 benefits from a friendlier profile than its predecessors, which is not a weakness, quite the opposite.
Cave Bailly Lapierre – Crémant de Bourgogne Extra-Brut – Baigoule
Faded rose and currant, the lively bouquet contrasts with a vinous and gourmand mouthfeel, with a soothing foam and well-chosen dosage, accompanying the sensed fruits in a smooth and flattering finish. Universal and cheeky, we love it.