Moët Hennessy’s latest rosé Champagne releases

Rosé Champagne may be seen as a frivolous choice by many wine lovers, with an inevitable spike in sales around Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day (yes, it’s this coming Sunday in the UK).

But Champagne giant Moët Hennessy takes it very seriously indeed.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores from Moët Hennessy’s latest-release rosés including Krug, Dom Pérignon, Ruinart and Veuve Clicquot

The group has invested a considerable amount in rosé over the past couple of decades, and it now makes up 20% of production for its Moët & Chandon brand – in comparison, rosé accounts for 10% of production in the Champagne region as a whole.

Red wine base

Most of this attention is focused on the red base wines. Like most other Champagne houses, Moët makes its rosés by adding a percentage of still red wine to the white blend before the second fermentation in bottle.

Moët produces different styles of red base wine, in two separate technical facilities – one dedicated to Pinots Noir and Meunier from Vallée de la Marne; the other, opened in 2015, reserved for Pinot Noir from the Côtes des Bars. ‘We’re looking for aroma and colour, and structure without greeness,’ explains cellarmaster Benoît Gouez. ‘It’s a Burgundian style of winemaking.’

Moët produces around 40-50 different red base wines, growing double the volume of Pinot Noir grapes than it needs, and harvesting 150% of its needs, to ensure that choice. This helps to explain the price premium that rosé often carries over non-rosé Champagnes at the same level, says Ethan Boroian, the group’s UK Champagne ambassador.

Vintage character

With Moët’s Imperial NV and the other non-vintage wines in the portfolio, the aim is to deliver consistency whatever the circumstances, says Gouez. But with the vintage wines, it’s a different story. ‘Then we look at the year and try to tell the story of that year. Some years are austere, reminiscent of winter (such as 2008); some are solar, fruit-driven, colourful, full bodied (for example, 2009); and others are in between (such as 2012).’ Moët’s 2013 vintage wines, due for release in a few months, are more autumnal in character, according to Gouez.

Serving tips

Boroian recommends serving the rosés, especially the prestige cuvées, at 10˚- 12˚C: ‘Most people drink them way too cold,’ he says. Champagne will never go out of fashion as an aperitif, or to toast with on a special occasion, but don’t be afraid to match these with food. Sushi, or beef carpaccio dressed with good extra-virgin olive oil and aged Parmesan – these are just two of his suggestions. One of his ultimate pairings? Pizza with Krug Rosé.

Lastly, rosé Champagne isn’t just for Mother’s Day, insists Boroian: market research company Kantar found that 53% of Veuve Clicquot Rosé NV consumers, and 44% of Moët & Chandon NV Rosé consumers, are male. And judging by the success of the rosé still wine category globally, that sounds like a statistic destined to move in one direction only.

See the tasting notes and scores for Moët Hennessy’s latest-release rosé Champagnes

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