When I drink rosé, I am transported to a sunny locale where waves lap at the shore, scantily clad hotties cavort and peels of joyful laughter drift by on the warm breeze. Sounds like a place I’d like to visit, stuck as I am enduring a gray Seattle summer, not to mention a global pandemic that makes escape risky.
So, my friends and I held yet another Zoom wine tasting, this time of rosés, looking for the one that transported each of us. If you haven’t already taken the quiz to find your Wine Tribe (which is based on your palate preferences) check it out here. And remember that this was a blind tasting, so no one knew the names, provenance or prices of these wines.
Before we go any further, let’s clear up a few misconceptions about rosé. First, rosés are pink wines made from red grapes, not pink grapes. The grape skins and juice are blended together just long enough for the skins to impart some color, but not long enough to turn the juice a deep red. Not all rosés are pale pink. They can be peach, dark pink and even light red, and the color is not an indication of the quality of the wine. Finally, rosé is a French term widely used in English-speaking countries, but the wine is also known as rosado in Spanish, rosato in Italian and weissherbst in German.
The lineup
Now, let’s get to finding the best rosé for your palate. Here’s what we tasted:
Chateau D’Esclans Whispering Angel 2019 Rosé ($20)
Fleurs de Prairie Cotes de Provence 2018 Rosé ($20)
Tesoro Della Regina Rosé ($15)
Samuel Robert Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir 2017 Rosé ($15)
The results
Whispering Angel, which markets itself as “the world’s most popular rosé,” is a pale pink French wine from Cote de Provence. It’s a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle grapes and is credited with starting the international rosé trend. I didn’t share this with our tasters as I wanted to see how it would perform in a truly blind tasting.
And you know what? Everyone liked it and it was the clear favorite of the Balanced and Developed Tribes. People loved the scents of honeydew, dust and roses. Whispering Angel is a medium-bodied wine (meaning it has some heft on the palate), but it pairs easily with food due to its balanced acids. And while it’s not too sweet, it offers pretty tastes of strawberries and tropical fruit with nice juicy finish. It is not hard to believe that for many, this is the best rosé available in the mass market.
Just this once, judge wine by its bottle
Just this once, judge wine by its bottle
The Fluers de Prairie, also from Cotes de Provence, gets the award for prettiest bottle. Seriously, this is my new hostess gift, assuming I ever go to a party again. The bottle has flowers etched in the glass and the top is uniquely cut, resulting in an extremely elegant pour. And guess what: If you’re in the Developed Tribe, you’re going to love the taste as well. This wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Cabernet Sauvignon with aromas of evergreen, strawberry and Cool Whip. There’s hint of cotton candy on the first taste, followed by a more complex mélange of strawberries, river rocks and salt. Yum.
I was excited to try the Tesoro Della Regina (aka: Treasure of The Queen) from Veneto, Italy. Made from a variety of Italian grapes, it came highly recommended from retailer Total Wine. But while it was good, it didn’t blow anybody’s socks off. It smells like a strawberry pop tart with hints of chlorine and has a zippy, fresh taste reminiscent of strawberries, white pepper and a dash of Dijon mustard. None of our tasters would pass it up, but none of them would run out and buy it.
Sweet pink pleaser
The Total Wine salesperson strongly recommend the Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir Rosé from Oregon’s Samuel Robert Winery. By the time she finished describing it, I was so sure I’d love it I bought a couple extra bottles. And I would have loved it–if I was a member of the Accessible Tribe. Alas, I’m in the Developed Tribe, and this one’s a bit sweet for my palate.
But Accessible Tribe, this is your rosé. It’s the sweetest of the four wines we tried, with scents of honeydew, vanilla, strawberries and licorice. On the palate it struck one taster as somewhere between a wine cooler and a ruby port, exhibiting tastes of overripe strawberry and a hint of raisin. Not bad at all if you like a lusher, riper rosé.
I hope these recommendations help you find a summertime escape, maybe even one that can rival a beach packed with scantily clad hotties. Cheers!
