Non-vintage rosé Champagne: Panel tasting results

Tom Hewson, Eugenio Egorov and Victoria Mason MW tasted 82 wines, with 1 Outstanding and 41 Highly Recommended

Non-vintage rosé Champagne: Panel tasting scores

82 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 1

Highly recommended 41

Recommended 38

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their non-vintage rosé Champagnes in any dryness level, from zero dosage up to sweeter demi-sec.

In some ways, non-vintage rosé is the most creative, and perhaps also the most misunderstood, of Champagne styles. Our tasting was a riot of shades and flavours, seeing steely, dry and invigorating wines sitting next to explosive, dark, Pinot-dominant saignée styles (produced by allowing the colour to ‘bleed’ from the skins of red grapes), and everything in between.

‘This can be a confusing category for consumers to navigate,’ noted panellist Victoria Mason MW.

Not only did the judges show a general preference for rosés that included a good dash of Chardonnay in the blend, but the top three wines all came from dedicated Chardonnay specialists. What’s the story?

Scroll down to see notes and scores of the top-scoring wines from our non-vintage rosé Champagne tasting

With the majority of the rosés here likely based on the hot 2019 and 2020 vintages, Chardonnay’s freshening power and bright acidity seemed to provide a brilliant foil to the juicier, fruitier Pinot Noir. Among the wines that achieved scores of 90 points or above were a collection of well-known names that specialise in the Côte des Blancs, such as Delamotte, Barons de Rothschild, Gimonnet, André Jacquart, Fleur de Miraval and Legras & Haas.

The judges were certainly open to different approaches, however, with panellist Eugenio Egorov commenting that it was ‘astonishing to see how drastically styles can vary’. There was a great deal of appreciation for Geoffroy’s terrific, dark and vibrant Rosé de Saignée from sunny Cumières, as well as vinous Pinot Noir styles from Henri Giraud and Bollinger.

These are all wines that feature fruit from the Pinot Noir heartlands that run from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ to Cumières next to the Marne river. These villages are sources also for the red wines that are blended, usually in proportions of 5%-15%, into the assemblage (‘blended’) rosés that made up the majority of this tasting.

Overall, there were plenty of well-made, solid NV rosés from the major houses, although perhaps fewer standouts than expected. It was a pleasant surprise to see houses (and some co-ops) with a slightly lower UK profile, such as Pommery, Canard-Duchêne, Thiénot, Joseph Perrier and Devaux, score well with fruit-led, approachable styles among the familiar names.

See all the wines from the NV rosé Champagne tasting

What to eat with rosé Champagne, by Fiona Beckett

The very fact that we’re talking about Champagne rather than any other sparkling wine immediately raises expectations about the food, not least because it tends to fetch a higher price.

You can of course serve it as an aperitif with canapés, and that suits lighter styles. (The rosé colour may tempt you to pair it with smoked salmon, but I’m not sure the delicate red berry fruit works – shrimp is better.) But the rosé is often seen, by the French at least, as a more serious gastronomic wine that goes particularly well with rare and even raw meat such as rare roast beef, carpaccio or steak tartare. It works well, too, with fresh and white-rinded cheeses such as Brie and Chaource.

In my view, most rosé Champagnes are too dry for dessert, particularly nowadays, though there is the odd exception. Creamy but not oversweet desserts, like pannacotta, provide the best counterpoint. And if you want to have a bit of fun with rosé Champagne, take it on a picnic and drink it with a good pork pie.

NV rosé Champagne panel tasting scores

Wines were tasted blind

The judges

Tom Hewson is Champagne correspondent for Decanter and Decanter Premium online, and a DWWA judge. A jazz musician, he writes on sparkling wine more broadly on the Six Atmospheres Substack

Eugenio Egorov is head sommelier at AA five-star The Stafford in London. Born in Ukraine, he began his hospitality career in restaurants in Italy and Florida, USA, before moving to London, where he rose through the ranks as a sommelier at the likes of 45 Park Lane and The Dorchester

Victoria Mason MW is a wine buyer for The Wine Society, covering Champagne as well as Italy and the US. Formerly senior fine wine buyer at Bordeaux Index, she previously worked in retailer Waitrose’s wine buying team

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