Annual Rose Roundup As the sheer number of notes in this article will attest, there are more
 roses than ever before available to American wine lovers, and most of 
the ones I tried this year rise well above the level of seasonal 
quaffers.&nbsp; But not all of them--especially those from 
the New World.&nbsp; With the increased demand for these wines, which kicked 
off six or seven years ago, almost every red wine producer in the 
world, it would seem, has jumped on the bandwagon and now has a pink or 
pinkish wine in their stable.&nbsp; The problem is that a number of those 
wines are being made from varieties that, frankly, produce roses that 
are richer and heavier than what most wine drinkers expect from the 
category. Roses are mostly made in two ways, and the differing 
results can be extreme.&nbsp; The traditional method, which dominates in Provence, calls for slowly pressing red
 grapes, often whole clusters, and collecting the juice just as it begins to pick up 
pigmentation from the skins (almost all red grapes produce white juice),
 then fermenting it, usually in stainless steel tanks, concrete or neutral wooden vessels.&nbsp; These are usually pale in color and on the 
delicate side, with an emphasis on citrus, floral and mineral character.&nbsp; Such wines are great alternatives to whites when strongly seasoned food, especially fish, is being served, particularly dishes with herb and spice accents. The second way is to press the red grapes as one 
normally would to make a red wine, putting it into tanks and then 
draining off a measure of the macerating juice before it starts to ferment and take on too dark a color.&nbsp; This is commonly referred to as saignee, which literally means "bleeding" the tank.&nbsp; Since a wine's color is derived from its skins, the brief maceration of the unfermented juice with the grape solids typically results in wines that are considerably darker than roses made with directly pressed grapes.&nbsp; In addition, this technique results in wines with darker fruit character, more tannins and more power; they're more like red wines.&nbsp; What's been happening lately is that producers who specialize in making powerful red 
wines from varieties like cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah are able to work two sides of the fence:&nbsp; by draining off juice, they get to make a
 rose, and by decreasing the liquid in their tanks they are increasing 
the skin to juice ratio of their red wines, thus jacking up their 
concentration.&nbsp; That may be good for producing a blockbuster red wine but, to me, it makes for roses that are often inelegant, heavy and coarse.&nbsp; These wines can even stand in for red wines, which can be useful in the summer with burgers 
or steaks, but too often they lack the energy, delicacy and sheer 
drinkability that I crave in rose.&nbsp; Since most roses are bottled 
in clear or nearly clear glass it should be easy to tell what type you're 
getting, and it also helps to know some general rules.&nbsp; If you're after a
 delicate, racy style, look for pale pink or orange, onion skin or peach
 skin colors, and for versions made from pinot noir, cinsault and 
carignane, such as those from Burgundy, the Loire Valley and Provence.&nbsp; 
The darker renditions are usually made by producers in areas not usually
 associated with pink wine, like most of Australia, Bordeaux and most of
 California.&nbsp; These tend to be the heavier and more powerful versions 
that are better served with food than by themselves. Contrary to longstanding cliche, the best roses
 do not need to be drunk up by Labor Day, or even Columbus Day.&nbsp; Not 
even by Thanksgiving.&nbsp; Anybody who has had the chance to drink a 
well-stored Bandol, Cotes de Provence, Marsannay or Sancerre rose with a
 couple years of bottle age will vouch for how smoothly they
 mature.&nbsp; In exchange for some raciness and bite you'll often be repaid with a 
silkier and more aromatically complex wine that can be served as you 
would a serious white wine.&nbsp; I've been lucky enough to drink a number of
 aged Sancerre and Bandol roses (as in over a decade old) that were 
excellent by any measure, so
 don't freak out if a few orphans from this summer's stock pop up come fall or even next summer. Because of the sheer volume of high quality roses that I tasted this year, we are listing those that scored 88 points or&nbsp;higher.

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