The Rosé Roundup of 2015 – Parts 1-5

International demand for pink wines shows no sign of abating; if anything, it’s now a year-round thirst. Long-time rosé aficionados know that these wines aren’t just for warm-weather drinking, given their flexibility at the table and their deliciousness on their own. Given the modern eater’s evolving predilection for lighter foods, especially vegetables and seafood, pink wines are obvious pairings, as most examples emphasize vibrancy and clean red fruit and citrus character, often with a steely mineral underpinning. But the best of these wines also have the depth and power to work with the most strongly seasoned, spicy foods, those that might run roughshod over most white wines or be overwhelmed by the tannins of most reds.

Two faces of Rosé - direct press on the left and saignée on the right

The Different Kinds of Rosés

The growth in demand for Rosés is mainly for lighter, paler renditions made via direct pressing of red grapes, as opposed to those made according to the saignée method, which, as the name suggests, involves a bleeding-off of juice from the tanks of red wines before skin contact imparts too much color. In many cases, saignée Rosés don’t resemble pink wines at all: they look, smell and taste like light reds, which in my opinion diminishes their flexibility with food, not to mention their refreshment factor. Such wines have a place, and that place is as stand-ins for delicate red wines in warmer weather or when seasonings veer toward herbs and assertive spices, especially of the Asian, Moroccan, Provençal or Indian sorts. Those wines also tend to age well, due in no small part to the tannins that are imparted through skin contact. In fact, a well-made saignée Rosé is actually better, at least to my palate, with a year or two of bottle age—and sometimes more.

A Vineyard in Côtes de Provence La Londe - Francois Millo/CIVP

Rosés from France’s Provence region have long been the gold standard for the category, and continue to be today. I’m hard-pressed to think of any New World winemaker, for example, who doesn’t cite Provençal Rosé as their model for making their own pink wines. As an example, in the US alone, imports of Provence’s rosés have been on fire of late, jumping by 29% in 2014 (imported Rosé sales in general were up a whopping 41% for the year overall), and the trend is continuing in 2015, with the ascendant U.S. dollar working strongly in the American wine drinker’s favor.

The Market for Rosés

That rising popularity can be a double-edged sword because the odds are high that a growing quantity of lower-quality wine will be shipped here and to other Rosé-craving markets to meet demand. Importers with an eye to catching the wave are hard at work finding inexpensive but often shabbily made Rosés that they hope will turn a quick profit. So a little diligence is in order if one wants to drink the good stuff, a task that we hope to simplify in our multi-installment coverage of the category this spring and summer.

Note that most high-end Rosés from the 2014 vintage, especially those from Bandol, have yet to be released or have not yet made their way to American retail shelves. Once we’ve had the chance to taste these wines, we’ll publish reviews as quickly as possible.

--Josh Raynolds

Part 1	Part 2	Part 3	Part 4	Part 5
Apaltagua	Alain Jaume & Fils	Ameztoi	Abbaye Saint-Hilaire	Amalie Robert Estate
Banshee Wines	Bodega de Sarría	Arnot-Roberts	Adelsheim	Anglim Winery
Baronne Philippe de Montremy	Cachette	A Tribute to Grace	Antica Terra	Bernard Baudry
Bieler Père & Fils	Calera	Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco	Bedrock Wine Company	Birichino
Bodegas Más Que Vinos	Casas del Bosque	Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta	Blackbird Vineyards	Bodegas Eguía
Botasea	Caves d'Esclans	Casa Cadaval	Bodegas Ostatu	Bodegas Muriel
Château Beaulieu	Château de L'Escarelle	Channing Daughters Winery	Bonny Doon Vineyard	Broken Earth Winery
Château de Fontlade	Château de Roquefort	Château Coup Roses	Bryn Mawr Vineyards	Brooks Wines
Château de Rouët	Château de Saint-Martin	Château de Montmirail	Buil & Giné	Bucklin
Château des Demoiselles	Château des Deux Rocs	Château de Saint-Martin	Cameron Winery	Calcu
Château Grande Cassagne	Château du Donjon	Château des Arnauds	Cepa 21	Château Bianca
Château Laulerie	Château Haut Rian	Château d'Esclans	Charles Thomas	Château d'Aquéria
Château Léoube	Château La Canorgue	Château d'Or et de Gueules	Château Beaubois	Chateau d'Arlay
Château Les Valentines	Château Maupague	Château Gassier	Château de la Chaize	Château de Calavon
Château Pégau	Château Minuty	Château l'Afrique	Château de Lancyre	Château de Manissy
Château Roubine	Château Plaisance	Château Mourgues de Grès	Château de Lascaux	Château de Pibarnon
Château Vignelaure	Clos Cibonne	Château Paradis	Château de Sours	Château des Garcinières
Chevalier Torpez	Devois de Perret	Château Riotor	Château de Vaux	Château des Nages
Commanderie de Peyrassol	Domaine de Fontsainte	Château Routas	Château d'Oupia	Château de Trinquevedel
Domaine Cazes	Domaine de la Bastide	Château Simone	Château Gassier	Château Haut-Dambert
Domaine de Fondrèche	Domaine de Saint Ser	Chêne Bleu	Château La Mascaronne	Château La Gordonne
Domaine de Gournier	Domaine du Grand Cros	Clos Bagatelle	Château Landereau	Château Miraval
Domaine de la Janasse	Domaine Houchart	Commanderie de la Bargemone	Château Les Crostes	Clos Solène
Domaine de la Mordorée	Domaine Isle Saint Pierre	CVNE	Château Pradeaux	Coste Brulade
Domaine de la Petite Cassagne	Domaine Jean-Paul Picard	Domaine de Bagnol	Château Thivin	Del Rio Vineyards
Domaine de La Vallongue	Domaine Reine Juliette	Domaine de Figueirasse	Château Viranel	Domaine André Neveu
Domaine de Saint-Antoine	Domaine Saint-Aix	Domaine de la Pépière	Chêne Bleu	Domaine Claude Vosgien
Domaine des Cabotières	Domaine Sarrail	Domaine de la Tourade	Chevalier Torpez	Domaine Collotte
Domaine des Cantarelles	Domaines Ott	Domaine de Montfin	Clément et Florian Berthier	Domaine d'Astros
Domaine des Corbillières	Dominique Piron	Domaine de Rimauresq	Cornerstone Cellars	Domaine de Fontenille
Domaine du Tariquet	Emile Balland	Domaine de Saint-Pierre	CVNE	Domaine de la Tour du Bon
Domaine Jaulin-Plaisantin	Garduño	Domaine des Bosquets	Domaine Brazilier	Domaine de L'Aujardière/Eric Chevalier
Domaine La Douceur	Gustave Lorentz	Domaine des Florets	Domaine Charles Audon	Domaine de Marquiliani
Domaine Saint-Andrieu	Jean-Maurice Raffault	Domaine de Sulauze	Domaine Charvin	Domaine de Reuilly
Domaine Saint-Damien	Judith Beck	Domaine Gérard Boulay	Domaine Chevrot	Domaine de Terrebrune
El Coto de Rioja	Laporte	Domaine La Rocalière	Domaine des Deux Puits	Domaine du Gros' Noré
Famille Perrin	Le Clos de Caillou	Domaine Le Galantin	Domaine des Roy	Domaine Duseigneur
Hecht & Bannier	Les Rocailes/Pierre Boniface	Domaine Le Pive	Domaine des Terres Vivantes	Domaine La Consonnière
Laroche	Los Dos	Domaine Les Grands Bois	Domaine de Viranel	Domaine La Jeanne
Lechuza	Mas de Gourgonnier	Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières	Domaine du Grand Arc	Domaine les Fouques
Les Vignobles de l'Escarelle	Mas de Lavail	Domaine Pierre Amadieu	Domaine du Grand Cros	Domaine Maby
Lieu Dit	Matthiasson Wines	Domaine Pré Baron	Domaine Houchart	Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils
Maipe	Moraitis Estate	Domaine Raspail-Ay	Domaine Jacourette	Domaine Sainte-Croix La Manuelle
Maison Belle Claire	Pure Provence	Domaine Saint-Andrieu	Domaine La Blaque	Domaine Tempier
Mas Carlot	Sean Minor	Domaine Sylvain Bailly	Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine	Domaine Vacheron
Mas de Bressades	Seven Hills Winery	Donkey & Goat	Domaine Laurens	Domaine Val d'Astier
Michel Torino	Stoller Family Estate	Ehhart-Domaine Saint-Remy	Domaine Pierre Guindon	Domaine Yves Martin
Mirabeau	Sylvain Bailly	Famille Sumeire	Domaine Sainte-Eugénie	Eric Texier
Paradis	Terres Dorées/Jean Paul-Brun	Fleur de California	Domaines Bour	Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup
Paul Jaboulet Aîné	Van Duzer Vineyards	Grandes Serres	Domaine Serene	Ferrandière
Raventos i Blanc	Villa des Collines	Halter Ranch Vineyard	Domaine Vaquer	Finca Parera
Riebeek Cellars	Viña Sastre	Hecht & Bannier	Dragonette Cellars	Idlewild Wines
Scheinder & Bieler Wines	Vins Bréban	Innocent Bystander	Florian Mollet	Isabel de France
Sidebar Cellars		Jean-Max Roger	Font-Mars	Johan Vineyards
Tablas Creek Vineyard		Jean Reverdy	Fournier Père et Fils	La Bastide Blanche
Weinkellerei Hugl-Wimmer		Josep Foraster	François Chidaine	Lucia Vineyards
		Karine Lauverjat	Idlewild Wines	Luli
		Lagrezette	Jeff Carrel	Mas de Cadenet
		Laporte	J.K. Carriere	Maurice & Nicolas Boiron
		Le Cirque	Kale Wines	Olga Raffault
		Lelièvre	La Vieille Ferme	Phelps Creek Vineyards
		Le Moulin de la Gardette	Les Quatres Tours	Presqu'ile Winery
		Les Chais Saint-Laurent	Marqués de Cáceres	Primitivo Quiles
		Liquid Farm	Mas Carlot	Quivira Vineyard & Winery
		Marc Plouzeau	Mas Champart	Rainstorm Winery
		Markowitsch	Mas de la Dame	R d'Été
		Mas Fleurey	M. Chapoutier	Real Compañia de Vinos
		Matthias et Emile Roblin	Milbrandt Vineyards	Rousseau Frères
		Moulin de Gassac	Mulderbosch	Saint-Romain d'Esclans
		Notre Dame de Cousignac	Pascal Jolivet	Sol Rouge
		Pascal et Nicolas Reverdy	Paul Mas	Vie Winery
		Pierre-Marie Chermette	Penya	Vignoble d'Azur
		Pierre Morin	Ponzi Vineyards	Viña Zorzal
		Quinta do Vallado	Roger Champault	Vines on the Marycrest
		Red Car	Roucas Toumba	Vista Hills Vineyard & Winery
		Sables d'Azur	Tablas Creek Vineyard	Weingut Koehler-Ruprecht
		Sauska	Vinicola Corellana	Weingut Walter Buchegger
		Ser	Winter's Hill Estate
		Small Vines Wines	Yorkville Cellars
		Tardieu-Laurent
		Triennes
		Villa des Anges

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