At the start of spring and with the sun in sight, I opened a variety of rosés this week and reignited my annual summer love with this often maligned style. To be honest, it took me decades to fall in love with rosé but perhaps that’s because my early flirtations were with those crimes against humanity, Mateus Rosé and Blush Zinfandel: ironically, two of the biggest-selling wines.
Sometime in my mature 50s, I discovered the rosés of Provence, and my opinion on the style changed forever. Out went the spoonfuls of sugar as Mary Poppins would say and in came lashings of crushed raspberry fruits with enough acidity to strip the paint off a car and, boom – what you have is one of the most refreshing drinks you could ever serve up on a hot patio.
Rosé, by the way, comes in a variety of shades, from the ones that look like a watered-down red all the way down to the wonderfully pale rosés of the Provence style and as I enter my sixth decade on planet earth, I can heartily say that the latter are the only ones for me.
Chateau la Tour de l’Eveque Rosé, Cotes de Provence 2021
Lively raspberry fruits on the nose with a hint of pomegranate and strawberry on the palate. Very refreshing indeed and my new favourite rosé.
Corney & Barrow £14.50
Chateau Leoube Organic Provence Rosé
Quite possibly the palest of all the pinks, this one packs a flavour punch way above its colour. Crisp, refreshing crushed raspberries with clean fresh acidity on the finish.
Marks & Spencer £17
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