Vintage rosé Champagne: panel tasting results

Peter Liem, Alan Bednarski and Claire Thevenot MS tasted 28 wines, with 3 Outstanding and 20 Highly recommended.

Vintage rosé Champagne panel tasting scores

28 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 3

Highly recommended 20

Recommended 5

Commended 0

Fair 0

Poor 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release, single-vintage rosé Champagnes, allowing for any style from zéro dosage through brut to demi-sec

Rosé Champagne is a difficult category to generalise about, and vintage rosé perhaps even more so. Most in this tasting were of excellent quality, showing that there are multiple ways to achieve success. One conspicuous element was a relatively restrained dosage, even for those wines not labelled as extra brut or non-dosé.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the vintage rosé Champagne panel tasting

Historically there has been a tendency to dose rosés slightly higher than their blanc counterparts, often due to an archaic stereotype about rosé being sweeter to suit the female palate – but some winemakers also believe that the tannins of red wine need more sugar to balance.

Today, the trend is to reduce dosage in rosés. There is greater sophistication in production techniques, too. Many rosés that we tasted felt notably ripe in fruit flavour, whether from warmer weather or more conscientious viticulture, or likely a combination of both. ‘There are more vintages that are riper, so they need to adjust to that,’ said Claire Thevenot MS. ‘It’s a lot of work, and sometimes it’s difficult to hit the right notes.’ For the most part, though, that increased ripeness resulted in better and more interesting wines, and a balanced dosage helped to enliven the wines and allow them to express themselves fully.

Historically, there has also been a contrast of philosophies in making rosé Champagne, with some producers releasing wines young to maximise the freshness and flavour of primary fruit, and others building wines to develop complexity and character with long ageing. As vintage-dated rosé is required to age for a minimum of three years before release, most examples fall into the latter category, although we did taste a few that I felt were intended to showcase primary fruit, with much success. In general, though, even those that were aged for a decade or more appeared remarkably lively and youthful, promising to continue to gain with more time in the cellar. ‘I was amazed at how fresh some of these wines were with so much lees ageing,’ said Thevenot.

Overall, the tasting was impressive for the quality, expression and finesse of the wines, all of which seemed increased in comparison with their counterparts a decade or two ago. Alan Bednarski noted: ‘The average quality of vintage rosé is maybe higher than that of the whites, but possibly it’s more difficult to reach the top quality that you get with the whites. But they are getting better and better. Maybe it’s a result of global warming.’ In many cases, too, the wines felt highly indicative of place – whether as an overall articulation of Champagne chalk, as in the case of region-wide blends, or as a narrower focus on specific terroirs – doing so with clarity and poise.

‘The maceration feels better in greater [warmer] terroirs than colder ones, helping to lift the wine,’ said Thevenot. ‘It becomes really interesting with very refined terroirs.’ This is undoubtedly also a reflection of improved viticulture and more consistent ripening, and it provides a showcase for the nobility of Pinot Noir. ‘The rosé category of Champagne is growing,’ said Bednarski, ‘and because of the ripeness, it’s revealing more of the seriousness of Pinot Noir. Even in extreme styles, it’s showing the character of the grape variety.’

Vintage rosé Champagne panel tasting scores

The judges

Peter Liem is an awarded wine writer and author specialising in Champagne. Resident in Epernay, he publishes his website champagneguide.net and co-hosts the annual La Fête du Champagne event in the US. His book Champagne was published in 2017 (Mitchell Beazley).

Alan Bednarski is a sommelier, wine consultant and a DWWA judge. He is co-owner of a new ‘comfort European food’ restaurant due to open in Katowice, Poland in spring 2023, and is soon to launch his Cool Climate Wine Guide initially online.

Claire Thevenot MS is owner of UK-based importer Vins-Clairs. She moved from eastern France in 2002, rising to be head sommelier at Hotel du Vin in Winchester, then in 2006 she became the first French female Master Sommelier, winning the UK Sommelier of the Year competition in the same year.

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