‘Rosé Season’ is a quintessential occasion to celebrate sunny, summer days, and the opportunities they bring to share a bottle (or more) of this fresh favorite with our friends and loved ones. As we’re now amid some of the hottest days of the year, we’re really savoring pink potables of all styles, from bright and cheerful to classic bottles with cellar-aging capability.
While remaining a delightful standard of warm weather occasions, ‘drinking pink’ is no longer exclusive to the beach, the park, or backyard summer cookouts. Indeed, our rosé obsession truly knows no limits, and today we’re sharing a sampling of our pink picks from each portfolio that can transition us from summer to fall and beyond – plus our notes on why we think the juice is so special.
ITALY
Il Rose di Casanova, Casanova della Spinetta
Brief skin contact gives this wine that pale salmon color that blesses the Provençal style, and this was precisely Giorgio’s ambition: to make a rosé in Tuscany that could compete with the greatest in the world. It prizes elegance over impact, finesse over bombast, and above all else a drinkability that might verge on illegal in some states!
Year in, year out, I’ll always keep my cellar stocked with a few bottles of this Tuscan gem.Mark Fornatale, Italian Portfolio Manager
FRANCE
Cotes de Provence Rosé ‘Les Hauts du Luc’, La Bernarde
La Bernarde is an historic property in the Côtes de Provence appellation. The winery and their vineyards sit on a rocky limestone hillside at about 300 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest properties in the entire region. The cooler micro-climate of this area – it snows most winters! – allows them to make the kind of rosé we dream of, yet so rarely find; crisp, mineral-laced, bright-fruited, and with the complexity to drink on its own or with a variety of light or grilled fare.
This oasis of limestone and cool temperatures that La Bernarde finds itself in is an incredible asset, as it sets them apart from many of the domaines that sit in the hot, low-lying flatlands near St. Tropez. On top of that, 100% of the vineyards and grapes are owned and farmed by the La Bernarde team – a rarity in the world of modern Provence winemaking. All of this comes together into an honest and delicious expression of this gorgeous terroir that is the perfect antidote to the glut of innocuous rosés that have flooded the market in recent years. I have been, and will continue to be, drinking this lacy beauty long after the summer is over.Ilya Smolenskiy, French Portfolio Manager
USA
The Wither’s ‘El Dorado’ Rosé is bursting with watermelon rind, juicy peach, and tart acidity that makes me come back for more. It transports me right to the beach, or BBQ, or that shady spot under a tree that I just can’t seem to make it to…Ryan O'Rourke, USA Portfolio Associate
Photo Credit: @thebonvivantofficial
GERMANY
This wine is pure joy in a bottle, it’s hard not to smile as you take a sip, and especially difficult to not immediately take another sip. At only 10.5% alcohol it does tend to disappear quickly, so I recommend always having a second bottle cold in the fridge!Abby Oliveras, Brand Ambassador, Germany, Austria, & Champagne
HUNGARY
Rosé ‘Tricollis’, Pannonhalmi Foapatsag
Thanks to a cool vintage and fermentation in stainless steel, this unique blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Merlot simultaneously manages both mouthwatering acidity and enough savory red fruit to complement even the heartiest of Hungarian cuisine – from its cured meats and hard cheeses to its pickled vegetables and winter soups.
While there will always be a time and a place for the salty, mineral-driven rosés of Provence, the cooler nights of late summer and early fall have me thirsting for something with more weight and texture. We can’t unequivocally confirm or deny whether drinking this rosé qualifies as repentance, but it certainly can’t hurt, right?Cody Stephenson, Assistant World Portfolio Manager
