The ocean of mostly bad white zinfandel that washed over American wine drinkers during the 1980s did incalculable damage to the reputation of all pink wines, even to outstanding versions from Provence. But time, it appears, heals all wounds. It’s hard to imagine a category of the wine world that’s hotter or more fashionable than rosé right now. A great number of these wines are actually better than drinkable, and some of them are flat-out superb.
As with any category of wine it is relatively easy, but by no means a slam-dunk, to find a good bottle—as long as you’re willing to pay up. Fortunately that isn’t necessary with rosé, as I discovered recently while tasting through well over 200 pink wines for my annual rosé round-up in the International Wine Cellar. Of the more than 100 wines I have singled out for their quality, a surprising number of them carry suggested retail prices in the $15 neighborhood, which means that they might be found for as little as $12 in some markets. My IWC article should give you more than enough affordable choices to carry you through the dog days of summer; below I’ve provided just a small taste of my top finds.
In a nutshell, rosés are typically made from the juice of red grapes. There are two ways to accomplish this. Following the pressing of the red grapes the juice is allowed to sit in contact with the color-imparting skins (with extremely rare exception the juice of all grapes is white) just long enough to pick up a bit of color before it is moved off the skins to finish fermentation. The second way of making rosé is to drain juice that has begun to take on color from the fermentation tank. This approach has the added benefit, or consequence, of concentrating the red wine left behind as it decreases its proportion of juice to grape skins. In many parts of the world producers simply blend white wine with enough red wine to get some color, added aroma and flavor, but it’s rare to find a high-quality rosé that’s made this way—especially in Europe, where it is illegal.
Among the standouts of my tastings, and a wine that provides outstanding bang-for-the-buck, was the 2009 Bodegas Muga Rioja Rosé ($14; Fine Estates from Spain), which offers impressive clarity and finesse, at any price. This wine could stand in for many delicate white wines, actually.
I also greatly enjoyed the 2009 Château Mourgues du Grès Costières de Nîmes Rosé Les Galets Rose ($15; Weygandt-Metzler Importing). This intensely floral and spicy wine is intriguing enough to drink by itself but will be even better with herb-accented lighter foods. The 2009 Domaine Houchart Côtes de Provence Rosé ($13; David Milligan Selections) is an outstanding value in classic, highly fragrant, brisk southern French rosé, easily the quality equal of many other wines from the region that cost far more. In a similar vein, the 2009 Domaine du Dragon Prestige Côtes de Provence Rosé ($15; Michael Skurnik Wines) is an exuberant, perfumed and lively wine that will be extremely flexible with food.
Also look for the bargain-priced 2009 Cune Rioja Rosado ($11; Europvin U.S.A.), from one of Rioja’s most venerable producers. It offers very good, vibrant character with plenty of flavor impact, which will enable it to work well with a wide range of lighter or richer foods. At about the same price the 2010 Sociedad Agricola Los Maquis Calcu Rosé Colchagua Valley ($12; Global Vineyard Wine Importers), from one of Chile’s best growing regions, offers a racy, refreshing personality with real depth of flavor. It will also be highly adaptable at the table, but is quite satisfying all by itself as well.
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