Rosé Revolution: Light Red is the New Pink

BY BILLY NORRIS | MAY 27, 2025

Additions: July 1, 2025 - Benanti, Château de Trinquevedel, Château Gassier, Chêne Bleu, Clos Bellane, Commanderie de Peyrassol, Costaripa, Domaine Comte Abbatucci, Domaine de Fontsainte, Domaine de la Tour du Bon, Domaine de Terrebrune, Domaine du Gros’ Noré, Domaine Giacometti, Domaine Les Pallières, Domaine Marquiliani, Domaine Tempier, Feudo Montoni, Isabelle Garrault, Laroche, Morgan, Neotempo, Sainte Magdeleine, Varvaglione 1921

For many, Rosé is like an old friend you see every summer. Maybe you send a few texts throughout the year, a quick call to check in, a shared Instagram reel here and there, but you really only spend time together when the weather turns hot and the days grow long.

The archetypal Provençal Rosé—light pink, fresh, peachy, gently floral, steely and salty like a sea breeze—is undeniably consistent year in, year out. Grab one off the shelf at random and chances are it’s going to be drinkable. Be that as it may, consistency doesn’t necessarily move the needle, especially for the emerging sector of younger drinkers chasing the next trendy beverage. So, what’s next for Rosé?

Beyond Provence, it’s impossible not to notice that Rosés are getting redder the world over. Wines with more concentration, structure and terroir imprint are proliferating, still managing to maintain the freshness and litheness that make traditional Rosé appealing while also offering a bit more stuffing. Perhaps the market’s warm reception to Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo was the impetus for winemakers to feel more comfortable stepping into this realm. More and more “Rosés” from around the world are mimicking, or at least paying tribute to, the Cerasuolo style, obscuring the dividing line between Rosé and red wine.

These are wines that can age, wines that can pair well with food of all stripes, and wines that are compellingly characterful on their own. This emerging style may be the natural sequel to the orange wine movement, as these redder Rosés are less frequently plagued by some of the technical flaws that can make orange wines a little too challenging for some palates.

Most of the wines in this report are from the 2024 vintage, which was a proper mixed bag across most of Europe. Many regions in France were battered by torrential rains and fought the same downy mildew outbreaks and uneven ripening that befell Italy in 2023, though Provence was spared the worst. Italy was generally warm and extremely dry in 2024. Spain got a bit of both worlds. After a welcome reprieve in 2023, California saw a return to the heat that has become commonplace. What does that mean for the wines? Case by case. Some overperform. Some underperform. To that end, below is a list of 10 wines worth seeking out from the 150+ tasted for this report—some old guard, some new wave, all worth your time.