Summer has begun, at least in the Celtic calendar, which means rose season is upon us. Irish drinkers are somewhat strict with their fasting consumption, allowing themselves the pleasure of it only when there is hope for the sun. It makes sense on the cheap and cheerful end of things. Few roses offer little more than a refreshing, fruity fun to a nice and cold drink. As a category, however, rosé is diverse and its style is versatile. Wine drinkers know this in France, where they pay more for a rosé than for white wine – and not just in the summer.
Well-made rosé can offer a lot of personality and food-friendly versatility, ranging from understated elegance to bold expressiveness, from bone-dry to off-dry, depending on how and where and with which grapes it’s made. Yes, it depends on it. Some are produced with skill, attention to detail, and the best vineyards for the job. Thus a modern icon such as the Whispering Angel (widely available €25) became an example of the restrained Provençal style, where the emphasis is on light colours, delicate fruit notes and dry minerality achieved through gentle pressing of grapes (in this case in Red Grenache and Cinsault and White Vermentino) and cooler temperate-controlled fermentation.
Other roses are a by-product of red wine, in which the liquid is extracted during high-temperature fermentation (known as haemorrhage, or cyanine) to concentrate the red wine. Others use this drawing-off approach again, but with rosé as the main product.
If you buy the right one you can drink pink all year round. My favorite year-round tours include the food-friendly, Grenache-based rosé made by Lynn Coyle MW (wine director at O’Brien Wines) with Bodega Tandem in Navarra.
This brings us to another way in which the season of rosé is upon us, as the pink-lined shelves of your local supermarket or wine retailer will attest. O’Brien Wines’ annual rosé promotion is back, with a summer 25pc discount on many old favorites (like the Pale Coral Pasqua 11 Minute Rosé, now €14.96, and the crisp Delheim Pinotage Rosé, €11.21) and some new ones. has gone. Favorites, too (Gerard Bertrand’s organic Cte des Rosés, €14.21, produced in Languedoc but in a Provençal style).
Aldi’s Summer Cellar has an extensive selection of rosés. In addition to some of its specially selected highlights below, other well-balanced options include their candy-fruited Etna Organic Rose (€8.99) and the unusual Zamat Hungarian Pink Chardonnay (€7.49), which has a yellow onion skin. There are color and stone fruit notes. Shop around and find the ones you love.
wine of the week
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Cataldi Madonna Pie delle Vigne 2018
Cataldi Madonna Pie delle Vigne 2018
Cataldi Madonna Piè delle Vigne 2018, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC, Italy, 14pc, €41 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is a traditional style of cherry-red rose produced from the Montepulciano grape. Here they undergo ‘swacata’, some grapes as white wine, some as red (with skin contact), before mid-fermentation blending. The result sits where rosé meets red wine, providing great food-friendly structure with light tannins and vibrant acidity over which those smoky red fruit notes can dance. Looking for a treat to serve alongside beef carpaccio, a bold bisque or tangy tomato-based dish. Blackrock Cellar, The Corkscrew
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Santa Tressa Il Frappato Spumente Brut Biologico (Organic) Rosé 2021
Santa Tressa Il Frappato Spumente Brut Biologico (Organic) Rosé 2021
Santa Tressa Il Frappato Spumante Brut Biologico (Organic) Rosé 2021, Sicily, Italy, 12.5 pcs, €17.96 (from €23.95) Frappato typically produces a light and fruity red wine, but here it is given the Spumante treatment for an elegant, perfectly sparkling rosé with sorbet aromas of rose and plum and raspberry granita flavor, which is characterized by good acidity and Balanced by dry finishing. O’Brien Wines; obrianswine.ie
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Specially Selected Cteaux de Beziers Rosé IGP 2021
Specially Selected Cteaux de Beziers Rosé IGP 2021
Specially Selected Cteaux de Beziers Rosé IGP 2021, Langedoc, France, 12.5pc, €9.99 Aldi has several dry and crunchy specially selected options, including its Ctes de Gascogne Rosé (€9.99). It imparts more eclectic character with lovely floral and ripe berry notes by refreshing acidity to keep things balanced. A good barbecue option. Aldi
Gramona Mart Rosette, Penedes, Spain, 11pc, €26 The stylish rosé, from a top producer of Corpinnat (quality-focused sparkling wine from Penedes), is getting its onion-skin blush from the rare red Xarel-lo Vermell grape. Think native garden flowers and herbs, strawberry shortcake, and a restrained complexity that can handle spicy foods. Sweeney’s, Lilac Wine, Avoca, Whalehans, Forest Avenue, pintowines.ieBaggot Street Wines, Martins
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Weingut Geil Rosé Trocken 2021
Weingut Geil Rosé Trocken 2021
Weingut Geil Rosé Trocken 2021, Rheinhessen, Germany, 12.5pc, €21 I’m a fan of the uber-quaffable Geil Spatburgunder (aka Pinot Noir) and here’s it mixed with Merlot and Saint Laurent, with mint-age cherry and rose aromas for a friendly, approachable rosé and medium-bodied. A reddish twist mid palate. A versatile food pairing. Greenman Wines, Clontarf Wines, Martins of Licence, The Wine Pair
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