Is rosé wine nature’s way of blushing? I’d like to think so. Ranging in shades from hot pink to the more coppery onion skin, rosé has never been more popular. It fell out of favour for decades but, in recent times, has become the most trendy style of wine around the globe, with millennials once again being blamed for its popularity. While this is partly true, rosé wine production has also massively improved over the years and is no longer just a by-product of red wine-making.
Winemakers the world over have channelled their focus into producing the best-possible pink from their grapes, and many of the wines offer outstanding value in comparison to quality. Paradoxically, pink bubblies are generally higher in price than their brut counterparts, as to produce a rosé Champagne or MCC, a still pinot noir wine first needs to be made as a base, and this ups the production cost. The other thing making rosé so popular? It’s the ultimate summer wine, conjuring up languid al fresco lunches, sunsets on the beach and days spent in the pool. It also happens to be the colour of love. That’s why this February we’re saying yes to rosé.
PINK VALLEY ROSÉ 2019, R145
A first for South Africa, the new Pink Valley estate has taken up residence on the slopes of Stellenbosch’s renowned Helderberg and exclusively produces rosé. A joint French- South African venture, the Pink Valley Rosé 2019 is a triumph of onion skin colouring, with copper-pink highlights. A blend of grenache, shiraz, sangiovese and cinsault, the wine is elegance itself, with flavours of watermelon, cherry, strawberry and citrus, and thanks to extended lees contact, a luscious mouthfeel. The same wine comes with four different labels, all by the late South African artist Walter Battiss.h African artist Walter Battiss.
