Rosé New Releases: All Over the Map

BY VINOUS | MAY 21, 2024

As the popularity of Rosé continues its meteoric rise on the world stage, consumers have a seemingly endless array of choices at their disposal. It’s no secret that wine lovers purchase and drink Rosé at a faster-than-ever clip. While Rosé remains an accessible entry point to the world of wine for newer, younger wine drinkers, it also encompasses serious offerings that will delight even the most discerning connoisseurs.

That said, these widely loved pink wines are not immune to the whims of Mother Nature. The vast majority of the wines tasted for this report are from the 2023 vintage, a year marked, unsurprisingly, by record-setting heat spanning Europe, persistent drought conditions across many wine-growing regions and torrential rains in others that created significant disease pressure. The 2023 Rosés are all over the map, literally and figuratively. These are a few takeaways:

Provence is still the place. Classically styled Provençal Rosés—for many, the benchmark for the entire category—fared well in 2023 despite some truly wild weather. There was a bit of everything: extreme drought, hail, flooding rains and thunderstorms during harvest that threatened the entire crop. But fear not. For the most part, these wines are their typical fresh, round and sea-breeze-salty selves in 2023. Seek out the Château La Mascaronne Rosé, Château Gassier’s 946 and the Bandol Rosé from La Bastide Blanche, all three deeply refined, mineral-driven and finessed.

More Nebbiolo Rosatos, per favore. Nebbiolo-based Rosatos from Piedmont remain some of the most distinctive and expressive offerings available in the Rosé realm. They clearly reflect their varietal characteristics and possess considerably more structure and phenolic texture than other varieties typically provide in this context. These wines are floral, brightly red-fruited and elegant, much like their red counterparts. G.D. Vajra’s Rosato Rosabella and Ioppa’s Rosato Nebbiolo Rusin are compelling, not to mention the charming Rosato Al Posto dei Fiori from Le Pianelle.