Rosé Wines for the Summer
With summer quickly approaching, we are looking forward to sunny evenings with friends and family. So naturally, our palates are leaning towards rosé wines as we want to feel refreshed and revived, but we won’t compromise on flavour and quality. Rosé wines have gained popularity over the past ten years, and for good reasons. They are delicious, light, complex, flavoursome and work incredibly well with gastronomy and enjoyment. Rosé wines can be award-winning, top-rated and compete with some of the best white and red wines on the market.
How Rosé Wine Is Made
Rosé wine is almost exclusively made from red grape varieties, including Merlot. Like red wine production, red wine grapes are harvested and crushed to release their juices. The ingredients then go through different processes depending on the wine estate.
Maceration Process
After releasing all the grape juice, the pulp and liquid are macerated or soaked for a determined amount of hours. The colour is achieved from the pigments in the grape skins, and the longer the maceration process, the darker the rosé wine will become. After the winemaker is happy, the fermentation process begins.
Saignées Process
Saignées means ‘bleeding’ and refers to releasing some of the juice from the vat of crushed grapes to intensify the rosé wine, allowing the skins and seeds of the grapes to macerate a little longer before fermenting, creating a more complex wine.
Whatever the process, consider what kind of wines you enjoy. If you like full-bodied wines, fruity wines, or wines that are also refreshing and great by the glass, then we have stunning rosé wines for you to enjoy.
Our Favourite Rosés for this Summer
We have two distinctively different rosés that we absolutely love. The award-winning Château de Parenchère produces both using different techniques and grape varieties. While one is pale and crisp, the other is aromatic and rich in colour. Although both wines have won praise from critics and awards from respected bodies, they are both unique in their own way. The estate is located near Dordogne’s easternmost reaches of the Bordeaux region. Dating back to the 16th Century, the château was built in 1731. The vines are planted on chalky clay soils, on the estate’s best-exposed plots and solely on hillsides so that rainwater drains away naturally. The average age of the vineyard is 25 years old, and the oldest vines are nearly 50 years old.
Discover these fantastic rosés below and order your cases today!
Bordeaux Clairet 2020
The Bordeaux Clairet is a particularly aromatic wine with deep red fruit colour. It is more substantial than traditional rosés, with good body and exuberant fruitiness. This roundness and pronounced structure make it a perfect rosé for gastronomy.
GRAPE VARIETY:
The 2020 vintage is 100 % Merlot.
WINE-MAKING:
The Clairet is created using the Saignées process (the bleeding of the vats). After 48 hours of skin maceration at a very low temperature (less than ten °C), Parenchère separates the juices from the solid parts (grapes skins and pulps). Fermentation begins at a low temperature (around 13°C) to keep a maximum of fruit aromas and freshness that will last three weeks. They leave 1-2 grams of residual sugar to accentuate the body and the roundness in the mouth.
The wine is bottled three months after fermentation with a relatively high degree of natural carbonic gas to emphasize the freshness of this wine.
WINE PAIRING:
The Bordeaux Clairet is very versatile and great with spiced food, Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine, BBQ, pasta, meat and seafood.
REVIEWS:
2020 vintage – Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve
“Well done. Intense and sustained colour. Concentrated and intensely aromatic. It is a Clairet of personality with a good volume in the mouth.”
Chef Jake S. Watkins
“Just opened Château de Parenchère Bordeaux Clairet rosé. It went perfectly with my Asian spiced mussel soup. It balanced with the warmth of the spices perfectly. Bravo!”
AWARDS:
Concours International Gilbert & Gaillard 2021: Gold Medal
La Roseraie Bordeaux Rose
The La Roseraie Bordeaux Rosé is light and subtle and offers excellent freshness. The rose petal coloured wine offers floral aromas of hawthorn, lychee and rose.
The La Roseraie Bordeaux Rosé is named in honour of the 18th Century rose garden on the Château de Parenchère estate.
The La Roseraie Bordeaux Rosé, produced from direct pressing, was created to obtain the most refined and delicate wine possible.
GRAPE VARIETY:
- 65% Cabernet Sauvignon – offers structure and tannic density
- 35% Cabernet Franc – offers aromatic finesse
PAIRING:
The La Roseraie Bordeaux Rosé is ideal with creamy dishes, cheese, smoked salmon, and desserts with strawberries.
AWARDS:
2021 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles – Silver Medal
2020 vintage
2021 Gilbert & Gaillard – Gold Medal
2020 vintage
“Pale pink colour, light grey reflections. Small red fruit scents (strawberry, raspberry) with a touch of menthol. Fresh attack of the fruit. A thirst-quenching wine with marine accents and a mineral finish. Serve with vegetable salads.”