Rosé above £6.00

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Winner Details

2017 Gold: 4 Silver: 6 Bronze: 5 Commended: 23
2016 Gold: 2 Silver: 9 Bronze: 8 Commended: 9

With apologies to those of a delicate disposition, but the expression ‘bugger’s muddle’ comes to mind here. We had good wines sub-£8, and awful wines at twice that; beautifully constructed elegant wines with oak and clumsy, tanky wood-free flab-monsters. And we had tasters who see rosé as a significant part of their list all year round, and others who barely sell a glass, even in summer.

Just take a look at that ‘commended’ count… it tells you that there’s a lot of OK winemaking going on, but not much to get excited about – although four Golds was our best-ever performance here.

On this evidence, if it’s quality pink stuff you’re after, you need to be in France (all four Golds were from the country) and definitely NOT in the New World. Not a single medal of any description for the first time ever…

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘Overall, it’s possible that people aren’t taking enough care – that these are sometimes an afterthought.’ Geoffray Bénat, Cépages Wine Bistro

‘I have two rosés on my list and they don’t sell. I think it’s a wine to have in a certain place – on a sunny terrace.’ Neil Tabraham, Paris House

‘Customers don’t spend money on top-end rosé.’ Laurent Richet MS, team leader

‘I see rosé selling all year round.’ Luciana Girotto-Beckett, Macellaio RC

‘A lot of the oaky styles tasted very engineered, they could be made from any grape variety anywhere in the world – and I don’t know many restaurants that could sell a rosé at £25 cost price.’ Matthieu Longuère MS, Le Cordon Bleu London

‘On a wine list, I don’t have a limit, it depends on the winery. But my guests wouldn’t pay too much for a rosé.’ Jacopo Armenio, Vinarius

‘The balance between acidity and fruit was good. Very summery, light, fragrant, delicate, seasonal. It’s never good value, but £10 is about what you expect to pay.’ Andrea Bricarello, team leader

‘People diss rosé but I think it can be a great wine in its own right.’ Charlie Young, Vinoteca

‘People expect a certain style. I’ve had some darker, more skin-contact styles sent back.’ Stefan Kobald, Jason Atherton Group

FOOTNOTE: Rosés under £6 can be entered into the House Rosé category.

Award winners

Found 37 wines

Rosé - > £5.50

Badet Clément, La Promenade, Rosé, Côtes de Provence 2016, Provence, France

This Gold Lister represented a classic style for team leader Jade Koch, with its ‘pale and pretty colour, refreshing strawberry and peach fruit, mineral touches on a clean palate and dry on the finish’. ‘Juicy and fresh, lovely fruit and a very long finish,’ added Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS. ‘One to serve very cold on a hot day at a barbecue,’ thought team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£6.48 Molson Coors

Château d'Esclans, Garrus Rosé, Côtes de Provence 2014, Provence, France

‘Perfectly structured, like Champagne for rosé,’ began Piotr Artur Tomaszewski of Buddha Bar in his description of this Gold winner, praising its ‘strawberry and cherry fruit with a touch of redcurrant, hints of smoke on a soft, well-built, refreshing palate that shows a touch of oak and lovely creamy texture’, recommending: ‘You can definitely drink this with salmon or any light food.’ ‘It’s a good, complex wine that really stands in a category of its own,’ added Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London.

£70.96 Bibendum

Château Roquefeuille, R, Rosé 2016, Provence, France

Its complex, fruit-forward style assured Château Roquefeuille of a spot on the Gold List. Stefan Kobald of Jason Atherton Group found ‘light extraction but pure fruit aromas and flavours of stone fruits, apple, pear and quince with fresh strawberry undertones and keen acidity’, while for Vinoteca’s Charlie Young this showed ‘good intensity on the nose, and a great balance of expressive, ripe and pure fruit with juicy acidity – quite a classy style’.

£12.58 Gassier SAS

Château du Donjon, Minervois Rosé 2016, Languedoc, France

Versatility, food-friendliness and vibrant fruit – this had all the hallmarks of a Gold-winning wine. Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall enjoyed its ‘fresh, wet stones and bright red cherry aromas, then raspberry, strawberry and slight tropical hints on the palate with refreshing acidity, juicy, vibrant fruit flavours and a fresh finish’, while Hakkasan Group’s Olivier Gasselin also picked up on its ‘orange peel, raspberry and violet notes, delicate and subtle, crisp, crunchy fruit character’. Sunaina Sethi of JKS Restaurants thought this was ‘great value, and a real food wine, great with salmon tartare’.

£8.27 Enotria&Coe

Mas de Cadenet, Rosé, Côtes de Provence Ste-Victoire 2016, Provence, France

Vinoteca’s Charlie Young found this to be a ‘clean and high-quality, fruit-driven style, with a balanced redcurrant nose and subtle palate with decent length’, while Sebastian Agnello of The Don Restaurant picked up ‘medium intensity of rose petal, white flowers and a hint of cherry’, rating it ‘ideal for summer’.

£7.99 ABS Wine Agencies

A Mano, Rosato 2016, Puglia, Italy

Hakkasan Group’s Diana Rollan approved of its ‘strawberry, floral and fragrant style, with an oxidative touch, lovely blood orange fruit with a herbal edge, dry and fresh on the palate, which has citrus and floral notes for a juicy, easy rosé’.

£8.17 Liberty Wines

Château d'Esclans, Les Clans, Rosé, Côtes de Provence 2015, Provence, France

‘Lovely expressive and elegant nose, good balance of acidity and intensity on the palate with a well-defined finish,’ said Charlie Young of Vinoteca, while Sebastian Agnello of The Don Restaurant noted ‘fresh acidity, rose petal aromatics with cherry fruit, making it the ideal partner for crab or Mediterranean fish dishes’.

£34.09 Bibendum

Gassier, Château Beaulieu, Cuvée Alexandre Rosé, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence 2016, Provence, France

‘Elegant floral notes with refreshing cranberries on the finish,’ began Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot, while Vinoteca’s Charlie Young advised: ‘A leafy, minty nose, and quite serious texture and fruit character leans towards versatile food matching.’

£9.76 Liberty Wines

Bartolomeo Breganze, Le Colline di San Giorgio, Pinot Grigio Rosato 2016, Veneto, Italy

Damien Trinckquel of Galvin Brasserie de Luxe Edinburgh found ‘candied redcurrant and violet floral aromas, good length on the palate and a lovely core of freshness, with bright flavours of strawberry on the finish’.

£5.75 Majestic Commercial

San Salvatore, Vetere, Aglianico Rosato 2015, Campania, Italy

J Corey Evans of St Swithins Wine Shippers found a ‘nice bit of freshness, supported by a little petillance, good fleshy fruit and a beautiful long finish’, while team leader Angela Reddin pointed out its ‘ghostly pale pink colour, candy floss nose with nice, clean fruit on the palate for a well-made wine’.

£13.55 Matthew Clark

Badet Clément, Le Bosq, Rosé 2016, Vin de France, France

‘Crowd-pleasing style with a touch of residual sugar,’ began Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall, highlighting its ‘fresh, juicy, aromatic summer fruits and light candied fruit character on the palate’.

£6.37 Matthew Clark

Kavaklidere, Lâl 2016, Aegean, Turkey

‘Strawberry ice cream and glace cherries, very refreshing, vibrant and pleasant,’ began team leader Angela Reddin, while J Corey Evans of St Swithins Wine Shippers also enjoyed its ‘fresh style with nicely balanced acidity, apple and grapefruit with very delicate tannins expressed in a beautifully light colour’.

£9.58 Connolly's Wine Merchants Ltd

Jeanjean, Domaine Le Pive, Gris 2016, Languedoc, France

A straightforward and pleasant rosé, with an appealing savoury element, this had ‘a restrained nose, but a fruity palate and a fresh finish’, according to Guillaume Mahaut of ETM Group, while Sunaina Sethi of JKS Restaurants found it to be ‘floral and vibrant’.

£6.24 Molson Coors

Estandon, Héritage Rosé, Côtes de Provence 2015, Provence, France

‘Well made with a really pale peach colour, lovely freshness and good balance with a gentle touch of spice,’ said Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London, while Tanya Mann of Linden House Stansted particularly noted its ‘fantastic length and light, refreshing style’.

£8.13 Matthew Clark

Château La Verrerie, Rosé 2016, Luberon, France

Sebastian Agnello of The Don Restaurant found this to be a ‘well-balanced wine with lots of sour cherry and integrated acidity’, and Stefan Kobald of Jason Atherton Group enjoyed its ‘delicate floral, bright aromas, strawberry sauce and whipped cream with berry compote on the palate’.

£11.79 Liberty Wines