Among the big stories to emerge from the results of the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) was the rise of rosé. Wine drinkers are ‘drinking pink’, encouraged by the marketing clout and celebrity stardust of plush-pocketed rosé producers – and an uptick in quality.
‘It won’t surprise readers to know that our rosé wine entries grow with every year that passes (we judged almost 800 dry and medium-dry still pink wines this year),’ the DWWA judging panel commented.
There is more rosé around and it’s of better quality; the term ‘premium’ is now an apt descriptor for top-class rosé, not just red, white and sparkling wines.
This year two rosé wines – one still, one sparkling – were awarded Best in Show. There were just 50 wines out of the 18,143 evaluated to receive this plaudit in 2024, accounting for just 0.28% of the total wines tasted.
Scroll down to explore the top five rosé wines of DWWA 2024
Sparkling performances
This year witnessed an important first in the history of the awards – a Best in Show award for an English sparkling wine. Chapel Down, Rosé Brut, Kent NV (97 points) was deemed ‘hard to resist’, by the DWWA Co-Chairs. ‘It’s petal-pink colour couldn’t look prettier in the glass, while the aromatic fruits are satisfyingly restrained and subtle, and the palate clean and emphatic,’ they said.
The non-vintage blend is not new, but its style has evolved over time. Chapel Down’s head winemaker Josh Donaghay-Spire said: ‘Over the last 15 years the vineyards we have planted have been on better sites and have benefitted from our increased knowledge on how to get the maximum potential from our Kentish terroir.
‘These better sites have made higher quality wines and led to greater confidence and investment, which has allowed us to plant even better sites with the best equipment and people – and so the virtuous circle continues.
‘This wine is now benefitting from Kent Downs sites we planted prior to 2018, which have a high proportion of Chardonnay – 57% of our vineyard acreage is planted to Chardonnay.’
The award-winning blend is predominantly (61%) Chardonnay with 23% Pinot Noir and 9% Pinot Meunier. The remainder? Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir Précoce (also called Early Pinot Noir or Frühburgunder).
‘Early Pinot Noir is a variety I have been interested in for around 10 years,’ said Donaghay-Spire. ‘Once initial experiments were complete, we planted a beautiful site at Little Bokes Farm in Hawkhurst with the variety and it has been used in our wines since 2020.
‘By using this variety, which can’t be grown in Champagne, we have reduced the tannin concentration of our sparkling rosés, which means less sugar is required to balance the wine and the natural fruit flavours come through even more clearly.’
Of winning the Best in Show Award, Donaghay-Spire said, ‘This award is a landmark on our journey of the exploration of the terroir of Kent and a great moment to reflect on how far we have come in creating a brand-new wine region here.’
Other English counties claimed Gold medals for their rosé wines too. Roebuck Estates, Rosé de Noirs Brut, West Sussex 2018 scooped a Gold with 96 points (the wine also has 17 per cent Pinot Noir Précoce).
In Hampshire, Louis Pommery, England Rosé Brut, Hampshire NV won Gold with 95 points. Louis Pommery was the first Champagne house to launch an English sparkling wine (others have followed suit), a move that seems to be bearing fruit, in more ways than one.
And, on the topic of Champagne, Laurent-Perrier, Alexandra Grande Cuvée Rosé Brut 2012 won a Platinum (97 points) for its 80/20 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend.
Still rosé: Provence and (way) beyond
In the still-wine categories, rosé strongholds such as Provence dominated the Awards: the second Best in Show award in the rosé category went to Château d’Esclans, Les Clans, Côtes de Provence 2022 (97 points). No great shock there – but there were also notable…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/decanter-world-wine-awards/premium-rose-wines-refined-styles-to-try-532318/
