2021 Rosé – New Releases

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS, ERIC GUIDO, JOAQUÍN HIDALGO | JUNE 03, 2021

Rosés From France, Spain and the US West Coast – Josh Raynolds

The 2021 Rosé season is off to a much faster start than that of 2020, thanks to the elimination of the 25% import tariff that slammed almost all pink wines from France and Spain last year. Because of uncertainty in the market, for obvious reasons, and those tariffs, plus, in a number of cases, a backlog of 2018s, many rosés last year were shipped very slowly and usually in reduced quantity compared to previous years. Indeed, many wines arrived after we published last year’s pink wine report, in June. There’s a silver lining there, actually, because it means that there are numerous outstanding 2019s in the market now that have benefitted from that extra bit of bottle age. Yes, Rosés, at least the high-quality ones, can age and usually improve with a little patience, often to a great degree. More often than not, I find that well-made pink Sancerre, Côtes-de Provence and, especially, Bandol are at their best with at least a year, usually two, of age, gaining in aromatic complexity and depth. Tavel, in particular, is worth holding onto for at least a couple of years, often more.