A round of pink wines

We were about 10 people gathering around the Marble Table on this summer day for a refreshing session of wine tasting. Looking at the weather outside, I decided, for the first time, to bring three different rosés wines, all of them from France.

A bubbly first, the Champagne rosé Dumangin Brut Non-Vintage which I recently started to pour by the glass at the bar. It is the result of 85% white champagne & 15% red wine blend. The white part (54% Chardonnay & 46% Pinot Noir) ensures a powerful structure and remarquable finesse. The added 15% red wine from Pinot Meunier  creates a fruity character with a delicate and attractive salmon colour. It was giving us a soft and creamy feel on the middle palate, thanks to the numerous and thin bubbles. Citrus fruit with a lot of grapefruit flavours, it also displays some hints of fresh bread. The finish is refreshing with a great acidity which only appears at the end.

The second wine was still but we also pour it by the glass now. The Côtes de Provence rosé Cuvée Saint-Sidoine 2009 own the same pale pink colour than the champagne above. The wine is very light and refreshing by its vividness. I really like the salty minerality on the nose and the palate. We noticed a lot of finesse with some notes of white fruit like apple & peach but also a very slight strawberry edge. A rosé that comes very close to white wine in term of flavour.

The last sample was the Domaine de Montauberon, Vin de Pays de Thongue 2009, Languedoc made from Grenache & Syrah grapes. The colour was a little bit darker than the two previous wines which predicted more influence from the red skins. And it did. We had less acidity but more tannins than the Côtes de Provence above so a different style of finish but with both style creating a refreshing effect. With the acidity being lower, we could feel more creaminess on the middle palate. In addition, we could feel more concentration of fruit and therefore the wine appeared to be medium bodied. On the flavour side of things, we could get more red berry fruit flavours than the previous wines too with hints of raspberries. Good dry, crisp and long finish.

Fabrice Bouffant
Head Sommelier