Rosé is produced when red grape skins are in contact with wine for a short period of time. Each winemaker curates the depth of colour based on how long the juice touches the skins, therefore the more contact time, the darker the rosé is on the pink wine spectrum.
To celebrate International Rosé Day, on Friday June 24, we caught up with some of its finest makers. Below, producers from around the country tell us why their rosé is unique, and the best way to enjoy a glass. Add these wines to your list.
2021 Brokenwood Rosato
Pale salmon in colour. Nebbiolo has a floral element to its aroma and this dominates with rose water and Turkish delight in the background. The palate has vibrant notes of spice and ginger and plenty of zesty acid.Winemaker Stuart Horden says: The Rosato is made from nebbiolo, sangiovese and tempranillo which we think make the perfect blend of subtle fruit and textural phenolics for our dry style. The nebbiolo is foot stomped in the picking bins and then pressed the following day to encourage gentle colour extraction from the skins without too much tannin.
H. Do you experiment with different varietals or blends for this wine?
S. This wine began as a cellarhands’ plaything while waiting for the nebbiolo to ripen down in Beechworth and has slowly grown year on year. The 2021 is our first vintage blending sangiovese and tempranillo, which adds a lovely pink to the hue and means more people can enjoy it.
H. How should this wine be enjoyed?
S. Cold, out of a magnum bottle and with good friends over a long lunch in the sunshine.
RRP $30 | Drink now | brokenwood.com.au
2021 DOWIE DOOLE Rosé
Grenache and vermentino are sourced from the Doole Vineyard on the ancient rocks of Tatachilla, McLaren Vale. The DOWIE DOOLE Rosé is Provence-inspired and bone dry. Fruit is immediately pressed with no skin contact to achieve the wonderful rose gold colour. A lifted bouquet with red berry grenache fruits shine on the nose. A balanced, long and refined palate. Notes of strawberry and raspberry balance citrus flavours of tangerine, pink grapefruit and orange peel. The vermentino adds a vibrant acidity to the delicate wine.Winemaker Chris Thomas says: The proximity of the Doole vineyard to the ocean creates a Mediterranean climate that highlights the beautiful red fruit spectrum in grenache, and vermentino's innate ability to maintain vibrant acidity in that climate. The key feature of this wine is the balance between the two varietals. The grenache gifts the lifted red fruits, while the vermentino adds energetic acidity.
H. Do you experiment with different varietals or blends for this wine?
C. As a genuine grower-producer we only source fruit from our vineyards and we have been able to establish a vineyard-to-bottle initiative. This rosé is crafted from the vineyard up. We manage particular areas of our grenache and vermentino on our Doole Vineyard specifically for the rosé. We adjust the percentages of the two varietals in each vintage, but we don't change the varieties as they suit the terroir to craft a dry Mediterranean style rosé.
H. How should this wine be enjoyed?
C. Best served chilled between 8–10 degrees. This rosé can be enjoyed on its own or is perfectly matched with charcuterie, Asian dishes and spicy food.
RRP $25 | Drink to 2025 | dowiedoole.com
2022 Mazi Mataro Cinsault Grenache
The 2022 Mataro Cinsault Grenache Rosé is the follow up to the highly regarded (and first) 2021 MCG rosé. Fruit from these three varieties were hand-picked on the same day, crushed and juice drained off before being co-fermented in a stainless steel vat. Following a cool fermentation of the free run juice to preserve aromatics, the wine was bottled with minimal input to retain the key attributes of the fruit grown in the vineyard. Fruit, perfume and texture. The resulting wine has a lovely floral scent with notes of musk and Turkish delight. The palate is full, while balanced with natural acid, fine chalky tannins and carried by natural red berry and cherry flavours.Winemakers Toby Porter and Alex Katsaros say: Mazi is a producer that focuses primarily on rosé. We make four different types. The 2022 Mataro Cinsault Grenache (MCG) comes off the back of the ’21 which received 95 points from Ned Goodwin MW. It's a blend of three varieties suited to rosé, which provide complexity, fragrant lift and spice.
H. Do you experiment with different varietals or blends for this wine?
T & A. It’s only our second vintage making the MCG, and off the back of the success of the ’21 we’ve stuck to a similar formula.
H. How should this wine be enjoyed?
T & A. We enjoy this wine with salmon and kingfish sashimi.
RRP $25 | Drink to 2023 | maziwines.com.au
2021 Mount Benson Estate Bubbling Rosé of Syrah
The luscious ruby hue opens on the palate delivering generous nuances of fresh maraschino cherry, mulberry, raspberry, and Turkish Delight. Its shiraz heritage is evident from the first breath. The bead hangs on well with the fizz racing across the tongue to deliver a dry finish. The palate has good length with some cherry lingering.Winemakers Brian Nitschinsk and Grace Douglas say: Our 2021 Bubbling Rosé is made from shiraz (95%) and cabernet sauvignon (5%). The grapes were harvested in the cool of the evening, resting in bins overnight, before destemming and put into tanks for three days. This allows for lots of colour and flavour to be removed from the skins before gentle pressing and fermenting with specialist rosé yeast. Finally, the wine was left to settle naturally resting on lees for around three months before stabilising, fining (using vegan friendly products only) and bottling. This approach produced a wine rich in colour, the flavour of the shiraz grape transcends into the finished wine. This wine was carbonated at bottling.
H. Do you experiment with different varietals or blends for this wine?
B & G. We make a different rosé each year – all shiraz based but quite different – this gives cellar door visitors the opportunity to taste a range of rosé. We have found that the addition of some of our cabernet adds to the flavour profile, and in our '23 rosé we will see either some merlot or cabernet (or both) in the final wine.
H. How should this wine be enjoyed?
B & G. Serve chilled in tulip shaped glassware. Pair with smoked salmon, cured meats, pastry parcels of samosa or a cheese board (especially blue, aged cheddar and stilton).
RRP $25 | Drink to 2029 | mountbensonestate.com.au
2021 Sans Pareil Estate Black Label Rosé
This medium-bodied dry rosé has a nice citrus acidity. The flavours are primarily red fruit and cherry, complimented by a strawberry aroma. It is rounded with a refreshing palate, leaving a textual, crisp, creamy finish. Perfectly matched with fresh cold seafood or a niçois salad. Serve chilled.Winemaker Aaron Salvestrin says: For the SPE rosé we are not too aligned to varietal it's more about achieving the desired style target. The aim is to make a rosé that is pale pink in colour with great fruit freshness, palate weight and length of flavour. We do this through achieving phenolic ripeness in the vineyard and long maturation periods on yeast lees.
H. Do you experiment with different varietals or blends for this wine?
A. We are always experimenting, it's all part of the joy of winemaking. Our 2021 is predominately pinot noir, but in 2022 we are looking to incorporate sangiovese into the blend, due to its great aromatics and acid structure. Classic Italian varietals help create some great rosé in numerous cool to warm Australian wine regions.
H. How should this wine be enjoyed?
A. It's best enjoyed chilled in good company. Our rosé pairs well with most cuisines but is at its best on a sunny day.
RRP $19.99 | Drink to 2023 | sanspareilestate.com
2022 Turkey Flat Rosé
A refreshingly dry, light, crisp and beautiful aromatic wine. With hints of berries on the nose and a delicate texture of fresh peach and nectarine on the palate.Turkey Flat say: The winemaking process for Turkey Flat Rosé has been refined over many years, with a strong emphasis on achieving delicate texture and colour throughout the pressing and fermentation stage – these characteristics have become a hallmark of our rosé.
H. Do you experiment with different varietals or blends for this wine?
T. Grenache is the highlight of this wine and while we like to experiment with different varieties it all depends on the vintage, and with the recent success of our rosé we will be keeping it consistent for some time.
H. How should this wine be enjoyed?
T. This rosé is best served chilled and will match any food it meets but is best enjoyed with friends around a cheese board!
RRP $25 | Drink now | turkeyflat.com.au
2022 Victory Point Rosé
Full salmon colour with an array of aromas including strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, white mulberry, cranberry, watermelon, red cherry, fresh spearmint and orange blossom. The palate is minerally with crunchy red fruit, cranberry acidity and a creamy texture with a long satisfying savoury finish.Owner Judith Berson says: The fruit is grown specifically for rosé and picked in small batches as the varieties ripen. Delivered to the winery in the cool of the day, the fruit is pressed, settled and fermented in neutral oak barrels. It is then matured on yeast lees with some stirring for four months, with the aim to build texture and complexity.
H. Do you experiment with different varietals or blends for this wine?
J. Malbec has been the base of this wine over the years and the combination of the blend is determined by the quality of the fruit, which is all estate grown. This wine is a blend of approximately one third of this variety and the balance is evenly split between cabernet franc and pinot noir fruit.
H. How should this wine be enjoyed?
J. This wine is best served chilled and is ideal with garlicky seafood, and salty anchovy snacks such as pissaladière.
RRP $28 | Drink to 2025 | victorypointwines.com
The 2022 Victory Point Rosé will be available in July.
This article was produced by Halliday Wine Companion in partnership with the featured wineries.
