Rosé Wine Tasting at All Bar One
Forget all the clichés you have read about rosé wine. Even if you are happy to drink rosé and defend your choice of drink, you may need to update the stock phrases you trot out when talking about wines of this type. This is not because you are banal or ignorant about rosé, but you’ll need to become a bit more sophisticated. It’s now not enough to think you can get away with statements such as `You know, rosé has come a long way in the past couple of years’.
This is due to the dramatic development of rosé over a short space of time. The types of rosé now coming out require a new seriousness and a finer appreciation. There is a much greater variety in the wines being produced, with greater complexities and nuances than ever before. Sales of rosé wine have gone up by about 15 per cent in the last year and rather than cash in on what might seem to be a passing fad, wine producers are giving much more thought to the rosé wines they produce.
Such is the interest in rosé that All Bar One even hosted a festival this week to show off the emergence of these wines. There were four wines to enjoy, each with different characteristics and it was a handy showcase for those looking for new wines on the market and how well they combine with food.
First off was an English rosé, from Chapel Down – one of this country’s largest wine producers. Their wine is made from pinot noir grapes and its lightness makes it a good combination with most types of fish.
The second wine was a Chateau de Sours, which has a very lurid bubblegum pink colour. It is a mixture of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in a ratio of 4:1. I personally found it a little pallid with not much in terms of substantial flavour, but I feel that it would make a reasonable wine for drinking out in the open.
Much more complex was the Agustinos Syrah. It was much more dark and rich than the previous wine, with elements of rosehip and cranberries. It had a very clinical nose as well as a sharp finish. This is a wine that would go very well with something like chicken.
The final wine, El Muro Garnacha, was a little heavier than the wines that had gone before; quite dry but very rewarding. Its complexity is due to the wine being made completely from garnacha grapes, with raspberry, gooseberry and blackberry notes coming to the fore.
Given the range of wines, there is bound to be something that will attract you. They are also worth the time and investment to give a proper consideration to what is fast becoming a very important sector of the wine market.
Image courtesy of Piotr Poznanski
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