This is 89% Glera and 11% Pinot Noir from vineyards on the alluvial soils of San Martino al Tagliamento near Pordenone in Fruili. Justin Bubb crafts his Prosecco rosé in the regionally traditional Charmat method and leaves the blend on lees to build further complexity. The wine is bright and perfumed with big summer berry flavours, a soft, fleshy, zesty weight, and a cranberry-fresh finish. This will be right at home at any summer barbeque. 

Spinifex’s provençal-styled rosé is among the best this country offers, and 2024 is another stellar release. This year, the blend comprises Grenache (62%) and Mataro (38%) sourced from four dry-grown sites in Angaston, Ebenezer, Vine Vale and the southern end of the Bethany foothills. Soils vary across the sites from gravelly sand to red clay, and vine age ranges from 25 to 90 years. The (predominantly) bush vines are dry-grown. 

Each batch spent two to six hours on skins before being pressed to tank for fermentation. A small portion of the wine went through malolactic conversion, and maturation took place on lees in tank for six months. The resulting wine offers the kind of energy and snappy, crunchy lines that were once the exclusive domaine of the finest Provence rosés.

Organic. 65% Mourvèdre, 35% Cinsault. Pibarnon’s distinctive Mourvèdre-rich rosé is drawn from the estate’s old, low-yielding vines set in the stunning amphitheatre of terraces amid the pine-covered hilltop of La Colline du Télégraphe. Altitude (at 300 metres, it is one of Bandol’s highest vineyards) and moderating sea breezes ensure cool nights and fresh conditions. But it’s not only elevation and proximity to the sea that make this vineyard so special; a peculiar soil type predominates: les marnes bleues. This uncommon and highly chalky, blue-tinted clay—rich in microfossils—is also encountered in Jura and Pomerol, where it is prized for its low pH, water-retentive properties and influence on a wine’s freshness and structure. The wine matured for six months in neutral oak, and the result encapsulates everything that’s so great about French wine culture. 

Once again, Grenache plays the starring role in Bondar’s Rosé, weighing in at 91% of the blend with the balance Cinsault and Mataro. Most of the fruit comes from Andre and Selina Bondar’s Rayner vineyard, with a small portion of Grenache sourced from an old sandy site in Blewitt Springs. Most Grenache vines at the sandy Rayner Vineyard are 50 years old, with a small block of younger material also included in the mix. The Cinsault and Mataro are grown on the home site.

Andre uses a variety of techniques to build complexity and texture. The Grenache from the grower, young-vine Grenache from the Rayner vineyard and Cinsault fermented at cool temperatures to preserve bright, primary characters. Then, for weight, texture and savoury character, the older-vine Grenache from the Rayner vineyard and the Mataro fermented at warm temperatures in old oak. The result is a pure, fresh, layered rosé packed with juicy red fruit flavour, chalky, pithy grip and a refreshingly long watermelon drenched close. 

100% Pinot Noir from the Waipara Springs vineyard in Waipara, North Canterbury, which is sustainably farmed with no artificial chemicals or fertilisers. Old-vine 10/5 Clone Pinot Noir was planted in the early 1990s, and the site is managed by Pyramid Valley. The fruit was picked on 11th April. The grapes were pressed as whole bunches before fermenting with indigenous yeasts in a combination of concrete tulips and old puncheons. The wine aged on its ferment lees without sulphur for six months before blending in November. The notes below do not oversell this outstanding wine—we haven’t tasted a more exciting rosé from New Zealand. Structured and vinous it may be, yet it is also seriously addictive.

Chidaine’s juicy, full-flavoured dry rosé is predominantly Grolleau (70%), with the remainder Pinot Noir and Gamay. As with the Sauvignon above, the vines are rooted in the flint, clay and limestone soils of the Cher Valley between Tours and Orléans. Chidaine has little interest in copying the pale (or pallid?) Côtes de Provence model, so here the grapes are picked ripe and undergo a fair measure of skin contact before pressing and aging on lees in stainless steel. It’s a fleshy and refreshing rosé with waves of herb-infused red berries underpinned by some earthy-mineral notes from the Grolleau and the subtle textural grip that makes this such a great, food-orientated rose. Another bargain from one of France’s most revered winegrowers.