The 20 best rosés from beyond Provence this year

Far from being limited to just Provence, exciting rosé is found around the world.

This proved to be an extremely diverse tasting, both in terms of quality (from very ordinary to outstanding, with quite a few terribly-made along the way), and with colours and styles ranging from practically white to light reds.

This diversity begs the question: can we define rosé? There is no legal definition and accepting that almost anything can be a rosé (apart from blanc de blanc, red and orange wine) allows for an even greater panoply of styles.

It can be challenging to identify the good wines, especially as no one region is universally the best.

Scroll down for Liz’s choice of the best rosés from beyond Provence for this summer

Strong regions included northern Spain with wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero (better known for their red wines) and Navarra, with its strong rosé heritage, producing a wide range of styles and quality, ranging from fresh easy drinking to more serious ageworthy wines.

Examples from Italy showed that it is still more ‘know your producer than know your region’, with little consistency across a region.

Languedoc continues to offer good value for money and there were a number of very pretty fresh pinks. Greece, Mallorca and Georgia offered an interesting selection of unique grape varieties.

Colour wheel

The question of when is a rosé a rosé, was certainly raised in this tasting with colours ranging from white to red.

The palest rosés came from Reuilly. This central Loire appellation allows for 100% Pinot Gris which can be white or, with some skin contact, a pale blush.

The darkest came from Tavel and Navarra, famous for their maceration or saignée wines respectively.

It was also encouraging to see a growing number of rosés submitted with some age. 2023 may not seem old, but when taken into account that some retailers still panic if rosé is less than a year old, this is good news.

A considerable number of 2021 vintage rosés received high scores, making it interesting to see how different rosé have aged.

It felt like a struggle to fit so many wines from different regions and divergent styles into a 20 wine recommendation, not just because there are now too many good wines but because there is growing confidence in producing a wide diversity of styles, offering consumers the chance to discover a rosé which suits their taste.

A growing number of producers also submitted two or three different levels of rosé.

High altitude, oak, amphora or jars and old vines added an intriguing extra layer of complexity and it was good to see that oak was not the only method used to create a premium wine.

There were far fewer ‘Provence-Style’ rosés in the tasting, and it was good to see both a growing number of wines showing regional diversity and high quality wines.

Greater regionality

Navarra rosé is always made using the saignée method, traditionally bled off its red wines, and has suffered in recent years from the strongly held belief that direct press rosés are the best.

A growing number of stellar saignée rosés are showing that they have an important role in the range of rosé styles.

The use of white grapes in rosé also gives a distinctive style. While white grapes are often present in Provence rosés, it is often only in small percentages.

However both Tavel and Rioja can boast much higher proportions of white grapes which contribute to both colour and freshness.

Confidence in embracing these regional styles and traditions seemed to result in better and more interesting wines.

Diversity was certainly the key, which made this tasting challenging, but also exciting.

It is no longer possible to dismiss rosé as a single style and there is certainly a wine for all tastes, occasions and budgets.

Best rosés from beyond Provence

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