For Eight Rosé Wines Tasting Challenge 2021, we picked wines from the Old World regions: France, Italy, and Germany.
Last year Rosé challenge is here.
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French Rosé
In the Eight Rosé Wines Tasting Challenge, France was represented by wines from three famous appellations and made from different grapes. You might have guessed that one of those wines came from Provence, but the other two might surprise you with their birthplaces.
Le Galantin Bandol Rosé 2020
Le Galantin Rosé 2020 comes from Bandol, mostly known for its prized reds and hidden gems Rosé wines. Bandol is a part of Provence – the capital of Rosé production in France. Le Galantin is one of our go-to producers because of its quality and value.
Typical for the region, Le Galantin 2020 is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, and Mourvèdre. The grapes are organically grown and hand-harvested. Wine is produced in two different ways and then blended.
Le Galantin surprised us with an unusual combination of aromas of passion fruit and strawberry. On the palate, it’s classic Provençal rosé with delightful stonefruit, cherry, and citrus notes.
Chateau la Rame Rosé 2019
Do you think of Rosé if wine is from Bordeaux? Hardly. That why we picked this bottle. If you’d like to see the Rosé side of Bordeaux, it might be one to try.
True to its birthplace is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. If we were to describe 2019 Chateau la Rame Rosé in one word, it would be masculine. It’s dry Rosé filled with aromas and flavors of cranberry, strawberry, and red currant.
La Rame can satisfy those who despise any sweetness in the wine. It was among the driest Rosé of our Tasting Challenge, yet it had a creamy texture balancing the refreshing acidity.
Fougeray de Beauclaire Marsannay Rosé 2018
Fougeray de Beauclaire Marsannay Rosé 2018 is from Burgundy, which earned its reputation for the best Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay in the world.
Appropriately Marsannay Rosé was made with Pinot Noir grape. We were surprised by the difference with our local Oregon-made Pinot Noir rose wines we taste so often.
Distinctly fruity and red-berry driven, it had savory green peppercorn aromas as well. On the palate, refreshing acidity is counterbalanced by the creamy texture the likes of California Chard. The finish is a combination of cantaloupe and apple chips leaves wanting to take another sip.
We found it challenging to describe this wine because the taste was so much richer than words.
German Rosé
To add intrigue to Nine Rosé Wines Tasting Challenge, we thought, why not add wine made with grape varietals that few people know about, hard to pronounce, and yet easy to fall in love with?
Beurer Rose Trocken 2020
Beurer Rose Trocken 2020 comes from Jochen Beurer – one of the prominent modern German winemakers challenging the status quo.
Beurer Rose is a brand that elevates traditional German and international varietals Trollinger, Portugieser, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Blauer Zweigelt.
The wine has a vivid strawberry color and looks almost like pale red wine.
The pink rose and raspberry jam aromas followed by flavors of strawberry-peach pie and a touch of lemon. Still, with all that richness, it’s a dry Rosé. “Trocken” on the label stands for dry.
We can see ourselves on a summer afternoon with a glass of Beurer Rose and anything you can think of from the grill.
Italian Rosé
Italy contributed four wines made from native grapes to Nine Rosé Wines Tasting Challenge. While a tiny amount of wine is made from these grapes worldwide, you will find the best expressions of these grapes in Italian wine.
G.D. Vajra Rosabella Rosato 2020
The first Italian wine from our tasting challenge was G.D. Vajra Rosabella Rosato 2020.
One of Piedmont’s luminary estates, Vajra, produces this rosato in the saignée method, whereby a portion of red must be “bled off” from the fermentation before complete color extraction occurs. The blend is 90% Nebbiolo and 10% Barbera and Dolcetto from a mix of Vajra’s vineyards, all at least 10 years old.
We like dry Rosé, still even for us, it felt a bit austere and needing different food that we had at the table to accompany it. So left some wine for the next day to experiment with food. To our surprise, wine opened up overnight came through with aromas of rosehip, red apple, and strawberry. The acidity has softened, and limoncello and Granny Smith apples were complemented by red berry flavors.
Rosabella needs “to tango” with pork or lamb chop or even roasted chicken to show its beauty.
Luigi Giordano Rosato 2020
Another wine from Piedmonte was Luigi Giordano Rosato 2020. Unlike Rosabella, Luigi Rosato is 100% purebred Nebbiolo, considered the king of the Italian grapes.
Luigi Giordano is a small family winery located in Barbaresco. The vineyards are planted on the hills along the Tanaro river, at the very heart of Piedmont wine country.
Luigi Rosato was more pronounced and complex on the nose from the get-go than Rosabella, although there were some similarities. The Maraschino cherry compote aromas were complemented by underripe peach and apricot. The refreshing lemon and cranberry acidity were balanced by the creamy texture and pink peach aftertaste.
We felt that overall it had a slight edge over Rosabella.
Torre dei Beati ‘Rosa-ae’ Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2019
Torre dei Beati ‘Rosa-ae’ Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2019 is one of the most distinguished Italian Rosé wines thanks to its dark cherry-like color. It owes its color to the Montepulciano grapes it is made from.
The nose is a combination of dried red berry tea, red apples, strawberry, and cherry tree leaf. It feels almost fizzy with flavors of cherry-cranberry tart, lingonberry, and pleasant cherry pith bitterness on the palate.
While dry, it has an aftertaste of baked red apple.
Terre Nere Etna Rosato 2019
Terre Nere Etna Rosato 2019 from Sicily was the last wine in our Eight Rosé Wines Tasting Challenge. It is another unique Rosé from Italy because where else can you find Rosé made from “super easy to pronounce” Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio red grapes.
This wine comes from a legendary producer and one of the pioneers of Etna wine production and catalyst for restoring Sicilian wines to their ancient glory. Not surprisingly, grapes for this wine came from 24 to 47-year-old vines. So how did the wine taste?
The combination of lemon butter, white peony, apple, green apricot, and limestone minerality aroma left almost a Chardonnay-like impression.
The oily texture and lemon, yellow apple, Shiro plum ***, heavy cream, and almond bitters reminded us of buttery California Chardonnay on the palate too.
Yet, it’s nothing like Chardonnay. The refreshing acidity and bright fruit make it a wine with excellent balance and a unique personality.
Eight Rosé Wines Tasting Challenge Results
To sum up, every Rosé we tasted worthy of being on our table. We’ll just pair these wines with different occasions and food. It was challenging to compare and rank wines made from different varieties, coming from diverse terroirs and made with winemaking techniques.
Still, three wines stood out to us for various reasons:
- Torre dei Beati ‘Rosa-ae’ Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2019
- Beurer Rose Trocken 2020
- Fougeray de Beauclaire Marsannay Rosé 2018
When we asked ourselves why we picked these wines, the answer came quickly. All three wines are enjoyable on their own and can be paired with a variety of foods. And, their sophistication both on the nose and palate left us thinking about them when the wines were long gone.
Aftertaste
We laugh at the idea of giving “golden stars” for participation. Still, three top wines came from three different countries. Why is that?
We believe the answer is simple. We live in a time when wine has tremendously improved worldwide in the past thirty years, and it’s not a stretch the overall quality of wine is the best humanity ever made.
France can no longer rest on its laurels, and many countries and wine regions can produce fantastic wines and even beat France at its game.
The proof is in these three bottles! Cheers!
Please comment below. We would love to hears what your favorites are when you taste these wines. And keep following us for more professional non-sponsored reviews.