‘Tis the season to Rosé! Why might you ask? Here are our top three reasons.
First, it’s one thing “white only” or “red only” wine swingers can agree on.
Second, it’s must-have picnic wine. It pairs well with any picnic food, like burgers and sausages, sandwiches and hot dogs, grilled veggies and cold pasta salads, and more.
Lastly, nothing quenches the thirst on a hot summer afternoon like chilled Rosé. Just watch your friends grin after a first sip.
With that in mind, we headed to the local wine store. We picked random five bottles for our Summer Rosé Wine Challenge 2020 — two from Italy and three from France. These are truly random, and we don’t get paid to endorse these wines.
As you know, almost all wine regions in the world make Rosé now. A myriad of choices in wine stores can make you scratch your head. Rosé is made in many styles, from bone dry to sweet sparling. From simple quaffable $5 can to $100 plus bottle that can age and challenge best reds and whites by its complexity. How do you choose?
Often people reach for familiar and buy the same wine all the time. But there’s a world of delicious wine out there that can blow socks off barefoot fans (wink, wink), and not break the bank.
So if you ready to lose your Rosé inhibitions and become a real wine swinger, keep reading.
2019 Caleo Rosato Veneto
We started with 2019 Caleo Rosato Veneto, a rosé blend from the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy.
We sensed aromas of pear, peach, bing cherry, and white flowers as we poured in the glass. On the palate, it had notes of nectarine, peach, and grapefruit with a slightly off-dry aftertaste
We like Caleo’s aroma, but we felt that it promised more on the nose that was delivered on the palate.
It’s a simple non-pretentious wine that can accompany you on the beach, go along with the salad on the picnic, or brighten up garden work afternoon in the summer.
We were happy that it was the first in the lineup because we were earning a more complex Rosé with a brighter character.
2019 Piano… Piano Rosato Bacci Terre di Talamo
2019 Piano…Piano Rosato Bacci Terre di Talamo was the second bottle in our Rosé wineswinging challenge.
Nowadays, Rosé is made from many grapes. Some are traditional, and others are not, some even made from the white grapes. Piano Piano is in the category of the less common Rosé.
Piano Piano comes from the Maremma area of the Toscana region of Italy. It’s a blend of 50/50 Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Quite unusual because both are bold varietals resulting in powerful wines. On the other hand, we expect Rosé to be lighthearted and fruity. So it takes careful winemaking to avoid over extracting and introducing tannic bitterness from these thick-skinned grapes. To achieve that juice, have a short contact with the skins (source of color and tannin) after the gentle press. That explains the pale salmon color of Piano Piano and probably the name on the label, which we’ll talk about it in a bit.
What’s in a Glass?
At first, we had to dive into a glass with our noses to smell it. We had it chilled to 50 degrees. As the wine warmed up a bit, the aromas of sour cherry, bing cherry (yellow), and minerality became more pronounced.
On the palate, we sensed the combination of pink peach, red apple, and pomegranate.
Finish
The finish was quite short, and we would place Piano Piano into a category of average Rosé. Like with Caleo Rosato, the aromas were more promising than the taste.
Still, we would recommend trying it because it’s another “shade” of Rosé, 50/50 Sangiovese and Cab Sauv and because we like the name.
Piano, Piano has many meanings in Italian, and we think “softly, softly” or “slowly, slowly” is the most fitting considering the style of this wine and how it’s made. And if we Americanize it, probably we would call it “Take it Easy” and who wouldn’t love Rosé with such name.
Would you like a glass of “Take it Easy”? Who would say no?
2019 AIX Provence Rosé
While shopping for our Summer Rosé Wine Challenge, we bumped into 2019 AIX Provence Rosé.
2019 AIX Provence RoséWe saw this wine a few times on Instagram, and everyone said it was so good. We thought, why not add it to our Rosé challenge and see how it fares against the competition? Besides, any Rosé challenge must include wine from the region that is almost synonymous with Rosé.
If it is as good as people say, then it’ll be our reference point. And if not, we might help others to make more delicious choices.
In The Bottle
2019 Aix Rosé comes from one of the oldest and largest domains in the famous French appellation Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence.
It is a classic blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault with a tiny amount of Carignan. It’s also a blend of two methods of Rosé production: 30% of the saignée (bleeding) and 70% direct press (standard winemaking process).
The saignée method is a by-product of making red wine where a small amount of juice is bled off from the tank early in the fermentation process. It helps to concentrate the red wine flavors and utilize bled juice in Rosé production.
In the Glass
We had high expectations, considering the positive Instagram reviews and 90+ points endorsements from major wine publications. So how did it fare?
It had a pale salmon pink color, just as the previous two Rosés we tasted.
As expected, we smelled sour cherry, strawberry, minerality, and, oddly, savory aromas reminiscent of cheese.
The taste was as predictable with flavors of red apple, strawberry, and minerality.
Finish
To sum it up, we expected more based on anticipation pumped up by all the praise and higher price point. It costs 70% more than the previous two wines. Price aside, here’s why we felt that it came short of our expectations.
First, the nose was quite weak on the intensity. It reminded us of 2019 Piano Piano because we had to dive into the glass in search of aromas. And the cheesy note was clashing with the fruity aromas.
On the palate, 2019 AIX came short as well. To us, it tasted more like an “another” Rosé that the one with the character.
So, in the end, in some of its characteristics, it edged a little bit Caleo and Piano but not enough to rise above an average Rosé.
In some way, we were happy that it turned out this way because the goal of the wineswinging challenge is not to find that ONE bottle but the challenge itself. And we’re going to enjoy every single bottle of it.
2019 Bougrier Rosé d’Anjou
2019 Bougrier Rosé d’Anjou is the fourth wine in our Summer Rosé Wine Challenge 2020. It’s a second wine from France, but unlike Aix that we purchased while under “the influence” of the social media buzz, this wine we picked on a whiff.
2019 Bougrier Rosé d’Anjou comes from Famille Bougrier of Loire Valley. The estate has over a century-long history and now run by the six-generation of the family.
In the Bottle
Like all other wines in the lineup, Bougrier Rosé is a blend but a rare one: 50/50 Gamay and Grolleau. The grapes for this wine came from Anjou appellation in Loire Valley. Although you may never hear of Grolleau grape, it’s a third most planted in the Loire that mainly used to produce off-dry Rosé wines in Anjou and drier styles in Touraine.
In the Glass
Despite being derived from such dark-skinned grapes as Gamay and Grolleau (named after a black crow in French), wine has a pale salmon pink color.
Aromas
In contrast to the previous three wines, the aromas were jumping out of the glass. Bougrier Rosé d’Anjou charmed us with strawberry, banana (yes, banana), bubble gum, red apple, and tropical flowers on the nose. When we taste, we avoid checking the label to prevent influencing our perception of the wine. Banana and bubble gum reminded us of Beaujolais, and we thought that there might be some Gamay in it. What do you know?! 🙂
Flavors
It also blew other wines away with its flavors. It’s an off-dry Rosé with flavors of peach, strawberry, apple, vanilla, and cream. The aftertaste is peach, banana, and sour cherry cobbler. Yes, that delicious.
Pairing 2019 Bougrier Rosé d’Anjou
We tested it with a variety of foods. It can pair well with roasted pork and chicken, duck and lamb, burger and apple pie, or picnic and friends.
Finish
For a random pick, 2019 Bougrier Rosé d’Anjou was a Christmas present. We were totally expecting Aix to take the lead, but this wine left it in the dust. Price-wise it’s in between two Italian wines and Provence.
Considering the quality and price, it was a slam-dunk addition to our under $20 value wines list.
2019 Chateau de Ségriès Tavel Rosé
The fifth and final wine in our Summer Rosé Wine Challenge, 2019 Chateau de Ségriès Tavel Rosé comes from another French region that historically rivaled Provence Rosé wines.
Tavel is an all-rosé appellation in the Rhone that comes in many hues from light salmon to bright pink. It is said to be the only rosé that can actually age—and improve. The rosé wines of Tavel have a tremendous historical reputation, having been favored by King Louis XIV in the 18th century and famous writers, Balzac and Mistral.
Chateau de Ségriès (Winery)
The 17th-century Château de Ségriès estate spread over Côtes du Rhone Lirac and Tavel appellations. It is one of the oldest estates on the Lirac appellation. It is located in full nature, in the heart of the vineyard, surrounded by numerous water springs. That’s how it got its name. In Provençal, “Ségriès” means “water spring”).
In 1994, Henri de Lanzac purchased the Domaine and focused on improving the quality of the wine from this precious estate.
Parker once called Chateau de Ségriès, “a super value treasure trove in the Southern Rhone” whose “wines continue to go from strength to strength.”
In the Bottle
2019 Chateau de Ségriès Tavel Rosé is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 10% Syrah, and 10% Clairette. The grapes were hand-harvested from 60-years old vines and hand sorted.
The juice goes through the traditional vinification process. First, overnight maceration on the skins helps to extract color and flavors. Then it goes through low-temperature fermentation, which slows the process and enriches the character of the wine.
In the Glass
Tavel Rosé has a bright raspberry color. It was the first thing that set it apart from the other four wines of our Rosé Challenge. It actually looked more like a lighter red than Rosé wine.
On the nose, it’s a seductive bouquet of wild strawberry, cranberry, cherry, and red rose.
It’s equally impressive on the palate with flavors of strawberry, raspberry, cherry, red plum and crushed cranberry with sugar.
Pairing
2019 Chateau de Ségriès Tavel Rosé
Tavel Rosé can pair with more than your typical fare of burgers and picnic foods. It can easily accompany steak dinner because it has enough structure to withstand and complement red meats.
Finish
It’s easy to love 2019 Chateau de Ségriès Tavel Rosé. It is a well-structured wine that is consistent from nose to palate. It delivers what it promises on the nose – ripe red berries through and through. The aftertaste is medium to long with distinct kirsch liquor flavor.
The Summer Rosé Wine Challenge 2020 Winner
We tasted wines from five different wine regions of Italy and France.
After tasting Caleo, Piano, and Aix, we didn’t have a winner. To us, all three belong to an average Rosé category with a slight edge of Aix. But if we take price into the equation, we felt that Aix’s price didn’t justify the quality. So we call it a draw between the first three wines.
Our two front runners are Bougrier and Chateau de Ségriès – two stylistically different wines made from different grapes and in drastically different climates. Each one delicious in its own way. Bougrier is a lighter sweeter style, and Chateau de Ségrès structured dry wine.
2019 Bougrier Rosé d’Anjou takes the first place for quality and value balance. It has everything we expect from good quality Rosé – it’s aromatic, fruity, and inexpensive ($13), and your friends are gonna love it.
2019 Chateau de Ségriès Tavel Rosé is our overall winner. It has what we expect from great Rosé – a unique combination of the fruitiness of Rosé with the complexity of better red wines. This is your dinner with candles Rosé, and your spouse gonna love it. It was the most expensive bottle of the flight ($25), but unlike with Aix, we felt that it’s worth every penny.
So if you entertaining friends – d’Anjou is the wine for the occasion. Tavel is your choice for the romantic candlelight dinner.
Do you like the idea of comparing Rosé wines? Did you try any of these wines? We can’t wait to hear from you!
Here is a couple of Rosé wines we liked before this Summer Rosé Wine Challenge:
Cheers!