Aldi The Exquisite Collection Côtes de Provence Rosé, France 2015 (£5.99, Aldi) Dramatic as rosé’s increase in popularity has been in the past decade, there’s still a sense that people who take a serious interest in wine aren’t prepared to take it all that seriously. As the likable British master of wine Richard Bampfield, who among other things has helped improve Lidl’s wine range in the past couple of years, put it, “: “It’s not that I don’t like it, just that it’s very difficult for a rosé to stand out.” There’s a kind of stylistic bunching, a narrower palettepalate of flavours to draw from. Not that that makes wines such as Lidl’s soft strawberry Garnacha Navarra 2015 rosé (£4.99, available from August) or rival Aldi’s crisp and gentle Provençal pink any less attractive as fridge-door, summer-day, post-work refreshment.
Waterkloof Cape Coral Mourvèdre Rosé, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2015 (£9.95, Slurp) But if light and uncomplicated fun is the secret of rosé’s success, that doesn’t mean it can’t be interesting. Among the mass of strawberry cordials, there are signs, as Bampfield himself says, of a more creative approach to a style that was once considered a “using-up-the-leftovers” after-thought by red winemakers. One of my favourites of the current crop comes from the excellent Cape estate Waterkloof, owned and run by British wine merchant Paul Boutinot. The Cape Coral is inspired by the more herby and savoury rosé wines of Bandol in Provence, using the same grape variety (mourvèdre) for a wine that has a light food-friendly chew to its texture, but retains a streak of freshening redcurrant acidity.
Château d’Aqueria Tavel, Rhône, France 2015 (from £16.25, Eton Vintners; The Sampler) Rather like the Lib Dems, there may be a small core of people who love rosé and drink it all the time, but I suspect that most people still come to it as a happy medium from opposite sides of the (drinking) spectrum. The silky-soft texture, subtle red berry and savoury quality of the pale and interesting rosés made from pinot noir, such as Les Caillottes Sancerre Rosé 2015 (£13.99, Sainsbury’s), are what I turn to when I want white-wine refreshment with a little more presence to drink with tuna or salmon. Whereas an altogether darker, weightier, more textured pink such as d’Aqueria’s from the Rhône rosé appellation of Tavel, will appeal to red-wine drinkers seeking a touch more lightness at a summer barbecue.
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