White and Rosé Wines for Spring

wines

Unfortunately there is only one new release from Dom Perignon on the market, but what a wine it is! The 2002 Brut Rose explodes from the glass with endless layers of huge, voluptuous fruit, A big, full-bodied wine, the 2002 is probably the most overly vinous, intense Rose ever made by long-time Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy. Layers of cool, insistent minerality balance the fruit beautifully on the crystalline, vivid finish. The 2002 will be nearly impossible to resist young, but take my word for it; the wine is extremely closed right now. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2032.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2002 Dom Pérignon Rosé is a tremendous example of this vintage at its very best. A Champagne of vertical thrust and intensity, the 2002 is rich, opulent and hedonistic from the very first taste. Readers should expect a Rosé built on a huge core of fruit. Rose petal, passion fruit and exotic flowers add shades of dimension to the wine’s decidedly flamboyant personality. What a wine!Vinous Media | 98 VMExtraordinarily powerful yet astonishingly beautifully constructed, the 2002 rosé is subtly different to its siblings, yet still seamless of architecture and impressive of length. Beyond the herbs and mellow autumnal berries there’s salinity at the back of the mouth. It’s perhaps a little unexpected from a rosé, but undeniably adds further layers to an already multi-faceted persona. Youthful yet wise beyond its years, this makes a wonderful pairing with the final wine, the 1990 P2 rosé. Drink with the most lavish crustacean dishes. Served from magnum. Drinking Window 2019 - 2040.Decanter | 97 DEC(Moët & Chandon Brut - Dom Perignon Rosé (magnum) Rosé) As it often is, this is quite aromatically discreet with its elegant and beautifully layered blend of soft yeast, cherry, raspberry, apple and rose petal. The still tightly coiled, intense and beautifully textured medium weight flavors possess an extremely fine effervescence before terminating in a clean, delineated and sneaky long finish that is markedly dry but not really austere. While the 750 ml version is drinking perfectly well now, in magnum format this striking beauty could still benefit from a few more years of keeping. (Drink starting 2027).Burghound | 95 BH

The 2004 Brut Rosé La Grande Année is a beautifully focused, vibrant wine endowed with striking minerality and fabulous overall balance. Clean veins of chalkiness run through the fruit in this energetic, taut Rosé, while seductive floral notes linger on the finish. The 2004 is 68% Pinot Noir (including 5% still Pinot) and 32% Chardonnay, 89% from Grand Cru villages and 11% from Premier Crus. The 2004 is very young, but it is going to be nearly impossible to resist. It is a dazzling effort from Bollinger...Vinous Media | 96 VM(Bollinger “La Grande Année” Brut Rosé Millésime (Aÿ) Disgorged July 2014) The 2004 Bollinger “La Grande Année” Brut Rosé was disgorged only a couple of months prior to my tasting the wine, after spending fully nine and a half years aging sur latte in the maison’s cellars in Aÿ. The wine is comprised of a blend of seventy-two percent pinot noir and twenty-eight percent chardonnay and was finished off with a dosage of seven grams per liter. Five percent of the pinot noir in the blend is still wine to give its lovely salmon color. The wine offers up a superb and very refined bouquet of blood orange, white cherry, rye toast, chalky minerality, lovely spice tones and a gentle topnote of citrus blossoms. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and complex, with outstanding mid-palate concentration, bright, seamless acids, elegant mousse and exceptional focus and grip on the long, complex and very energetic finish. This is a stellar bottle of vintage Rosé and perhaps the finest I have ever tasted of this cuvée from Bollinger! (Drink between 2015-2030)John Gilman | 95 JGThis grand rosé is rich and rounded. Its red fruit flavors are layered with toast and spice notes, with depth that gives the wine another dimension of complexity. It could age in the bottle for at least 3–4 years.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEFramed by firm acidity and a minerally character, this harmonious rosé Champagne offers expressive flavors of raspberry pâte de fruit, ripe black cherry, brioche and lemon curd. Chalky in texture, with an elegant finish of ripe spice, graphite and ground coffee. Disgorged July 2014. Drink now through 2024. 300 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS(Bollinger Brut - La Grande Année Rosé Villages Rosé) A gorgeously complex, pure and refined nose of delicate red berry fruit, yeast and brioche aromas introduce delicious, fresh and strikingly intense flavors that are supported by an extravagant mousse that imparts a real sense of vibrancy to the dry, yeasty and again impressively complex finish. This is a really impressive rosé that is drinking well now though depending on your taste preferences could also just as easily be held for another 5 to 10 years. (Drink starting 2012)Burghound | 93 BHThe 2004 La Grande Année Rosé is based on 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay, 89% from Grand Cru villages and 11% from Premier Crus. Disgorged in July 2013, this salmon colored rosé champagne displays fine red berry and floral flavors on the nose, whereas the palate is vibrant, taut and linear; it is full of tension, power and minerality, and extremely refreshing but not as elegant and refined as the white twin. The finish is a little bit stringent.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

Disgorged in 2012 after eight years sur lattes, the 2004 Brut Alexandra Grande Cuvée Rosé has really begun to develop some complexity after seven years on cork. Salmon-pink in hue, the wine wafts from the glass with a beautiful bouquet of blood orange, iodine, dried rose petals, aromatic bitters and tangerine. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, pure and racy, with a delicate pinpoint mousse, good concentration at the core and a long, saline finish. Readers who have had the foresight to cellar a few bottles should pop a cork or two, as this rosé is showing brilliantly.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPAromas of peaches and light cherries with rust and hints of grapefruit. Earth and spice undertone. Full-bodied, fruity and spicy. Hints of black pepper. Extremely bright and creamy texture. Delicious and delicate finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 95 JSFirst produced in the 1987 vintage to celebrate the marriage of owner Bernard de Nonancourt’s eldest daughter, this bottling is now mature. Ripe, it still retains plenty of red fruits while also allowing the toasty character to show through. It’s a rosé that calls for food, a rich and balanced wine that is just perfect to drink now.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(80% pinot noir and 20% chardonnay): Light, bright orange-pink. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and floral scents are underscored by an intense mineral nuance. Taut, linear and strikingly pure, offering deeply concentrated redcurrant and strawberry scents and hints of allspice, smoky lees and jasmine. Powerful yet lithe rose with superb finishing power, focus and mineral-driven persistence.Vinous Media | 94 VMAromatic notes of smoke and mineral herald this rich rosé Champagne, leading to a finely meshed mix of dried white cherry, toasted almond, spring forest and orange peel, carried on a soft, pearled bead. Fresh, with lightly mouthwatering acidity firming the fruitcake-laced finish. Drink now through 2029. 25 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA luscious Champagne, this bristles with tight red raspberry and fresh floral notes. The flavors last with finesse, a sophisticated integration achieved through macerating Pinot Noir (80 percent) and Chardonnay together, allowing the skins of the Pinot Noir to bleed their color into the juice. Chef de cave Michel Fauconnet produces this wine only in top vintages, when the varieties ripen at the same time.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&S

Still a baby, the 2004 Cristal Rosé has begun to put on considerable weight over the last few years, which only serves to balance the focus and tension that have always been present. Even at eleven years of age, the 2004 Cristal Rosé remains tightly wound and a touch austere at times. Hints of orange peel, white pepper and cranberry add an exotic flair on the deeply expressive finish. Readers who can find the 2004 should not hesitate, as it is simply stunning by any measure.Vinous Media | 98+ VMFew of the noble wines of the world have the effortless grace of Cristal Rosé. The pinot noir for the blend, planted in the 1960s, grows in the center of the slope in Aÿ. Its flavors are more focused on the soil than fruit, as if the vines are bent on extracting the scent of fossilized seashells from the limestone their roots explore. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon blends the pinot noir with 40 percent chardonnay from Avize, creating a wine with flavors that reach the horizon line, and an ethereal fragrance that last for minutes after each taste, bright, weightless, elusive and grand.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 98 W&SWith red berry and currant aromas on the pure and salty, complex and delicately vinous nose, the 2004 Cristal Rosé is a juicy but structured, vibrantly fresh and energetic cuvée with very fine tannins, great lightness, finesse and elegance. Tasted in New York, November 2018.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RP

An amazing 2008 rosé Champagne that has all the structure and aromatic complexity - sushi ginger, oolong tea and caramelized mandarin orange - we associate with this vintage, but also has more charm than most. On the palate, this has stunning concentration, yet is diamond bright. The interplay of creaminess, fine tannins and mineral acidity builds and builds at the breathtaking finish. The color comes from about 7% pinot noir red wine, partly from the little-known Les Riceys in the far south of Champagne. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSA rich Champagne, with a chiseled frame of acidity meeting fine, lacy texture to produce a harmonious effect on the palate. Shows a lovely range of roasted almond, dried cherry and raspberry, mandarin orange peel and accents of verbena, fleur de sel, brioche and espresso that play on the racy finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged 2020. Drink now through 2038. 59 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe red wine almost seems to tame this 2008 a little, injecting some warmth and roundness into an alluring, complex rosé that takes in some savoury detail of sous-bois and dried spices, roasted red apple and cherry, all sitting under the same super-fine toasted almond and macaron top notes as the blanc. The acidity rolls on and on with boundless energy, but the narrow, fine fruit and umami flavour holds on for the ride. This superb, serious rosé still has some considerable life ahead of it.Decanter | 95 DECAt this age, the wine shows its maturity and richness. Dominated by a toasty, nutty character, the Champagne is underpinned by acidity and the merest hints of apple and red fruits. The wine is very ready to drink. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2008 Champagne Millésime Rose is 63% Pinot Noir, with 9% of that being still red wine and the rest Chardonnay. Notably, for this vintage they have lowered the dosage levels from years past. It is fresh with rose petal, rhubarb, sweet herbs, and apricot. The palate is structured with tart cherry, raspberry, nectarine, and salty earth as well as an attractive stony texture.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDDisgorged in 2020, the newly released 2008 Brut Rosé unwinds in the glass with youthfully reticent notes of tart red berries, white flowers and citrus oil, framed by a touch of light reduction—which I suspect is accentuated by the wine’s Diamant closure. Following the wine in my office, it was only on the third day that hints of plums and licorice began to emerge. Medium to full-bodied, taut and chiseled, it’s concentrated and layered, with real cut and energy, but it’s also borderline austere and will require patience to realize all its potential. When compared with the rich, demonstrative 2006, it was to be expected that the 2008 would represent a change of pace; but the contrast is even starker than I would have expected.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

This has a lovely copper color with aromas of cloves, spiced apples, raspberries, gingerbread and pastries. Delicious yeasty and spicy undertones. Excellent density and focus, with fine and firm bubbles, yet it’s light on its feet and so fresh. Long, chalky and salty at the end. Chardonnay and pinot noir. 3.8g/L dosage. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2012 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elizabeth Salmon offers up hints of red berry fruit, ginger, spice, rosewater, mint and crushed flowers. There is a feeling of classic austerity that runs through the 2012. I would prefer to cellar this for at least a few years, as it is quite reticent at this stage. Chalk, mint, white pepper and bright saline accents linger on the pointed finish. Dosage is 3.8 grams per liter. Disgorged: first trimester 2023.Vinous Media | 96 VMElisabeth Salmon 2012 shows all the signs of being a true classic for Billecart-Salmon, beautifully balanced between the most alluring Pinot aromatics – black cherry juice, peach melba and fresh raspberry – and an engine of pure, persistent Chardonnay energy of bright clementine and zesty length, all lifted with subtle details of allspice, rose petal and nougat and delivered on an effortlessly silky mousse. Open for business, yet without the showiness that the wines of this vintage can sometimes display, it’s a rosé of assured refinement and quiet intensity that seems set for a long future. 55% Chardonnay from Chouilly, Avize, Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger with 45% Pinot Noir from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Ambonnay, with 8.3% red wine addition from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. 2.9% fermented in barrel, and released after 115 months on lees with a dosage of 3.8g/L.Decanter | 95 DEC

Just about as good as it gets, the 2012 Cristal Rosé is a magical effort based on 56% Pinot Noir and 44% Chardonnay. It’s a powerful, medium to full-bodied, incredibly textured rosé offering a huge amount of salty, chalky minerality as well as awesome notes of white cherries, orange blossom, caramelized apples, and toasted bread. It shows the ripe, rounded richness of the 2012 vintage yet has bright, racy acidity, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. It opens up nicely with air and will ideally be given 2-4 years of bottle age, and it should evolve for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThis is a great vintage for Cristal Rosé. The pinot noir finds a band of power and expressiveness. The power here is impressive, very assertive and rich, really mouth-filling and super deep. This is exceptional and has intense, chalky and fresh, white-peach and nectarine aromas, underpinning red flowers and pink fruit. The palate has a scintillating blend of flesh and mineral cut, packed with such sweet, pristine, white-strawberry flavor and texture. This has such incredible potential. So exciting. Will take another two or threw years to resolve. Look out for this! Drink from 2025.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2012 Cristal Rosé is showing brilliantly, unwinding in the glass with a beautiful bouquet of fresh peach, bergamot, strawberries, tangerine and blanched almonds that’s still quite reserved. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and strikingly complete, its vinous attack segueing into a multidimensional core that exemplifies the ideal of power without weight, built around a racy but integrated spine of animating acidity and complemented by an exquisitely refined mousse. All the concentration of the 2012 vintage is on display, but it’s rendered with terrific finesse. Decidedly youthful and introverted—indeed, I spent several hours with a bottle to compose this note—the 2012 will really come into its own with five or six years in the cellar and displays all the attributes necessary for considerable longevity. It’s a blend of 56% Pinot Noir and 44% Chardonnay that saw no malolactic fermentation, and it was disgorged with eight grams per liter dosage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2012 Cristal Rosé is magnificent. When Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon started to move Roederer towards organically farmed fruit, he started with Cristal Rosé, Roederer’s smallest production cuveé. Because of that, Cristal Rosé is the wine in this range that shows the current Roederer style in its fullest expression. Rich, vivid and crystalline in the glass, the 2012 Cristal Rosé is a Champagne of tremendous gravitas. Chalk, white flowers, sweet red berry fruit, mint and blood orange are all beautifully delineated. The 2012 is 55% Pinot from Ay and 45% Chardonnay from Mesnil and Avize. The Pinot fruit gets a 7-10 day cold soak an is the infused into the fermenting Chardonnay musts. Readers who can find the 2012 should not hesitate, as it is truly magical. Dosage is 8 grams per liter.Antonio Galloni | 98+ AG(Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Rosé Millésime (Reims)) The 2012 Louis Roederer Cristal Brut Rosé is a magical wine in the making. It is composed this year of a blend of fifty-six percent pinot noir and forty-four percent chardonnay, with fifteen percent of the vins clairs having been barrel-fermented in this vintage. None of the vins clairs underwent malo this year and the finishing dosage for the 2012 is eight grams per liter. The wine is superb and just a bit more accessible out of the blocks than the regular 2012 Cristal, wafting from the glass in a very refined constellation of apple, white peach, gentle smokiness, chalky soil tones, a nice touch of fresh-baked bread, caraway seed, incipient smokiness and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, racy and bottomless at the core, with lovely mineral drive, refined mousse, impeccable focus and grip and a very, very long, very pure and nascently complex finish. This is not quite as buttoned up behind its girdle of acidity as the regular 2012 Cristal, but it is by no means ready for primetime drinking and still needs a minimum of eight to ten years in the cellar to really unfold. Great juice. (Drink between 2027-2080).John Gilman | 98 JGNo written review provided. | 98 W&SYears in the making, this is the first fully biodynamic Cristal rosé. The very fine 2012 vintage is a good starting point for this new era. The Champagne is just right, beautifully rich and showing some maturity while also having tension and crispness from the golden-apple and spice flavors. The wine could be drunk now but its future is assured. Organic and biodynamic. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEAn elegant rosé Champagne, starting quietly with a subtle range of white cherry, Marcona almond, pink grapefruit zest and saffron flavors that gain momentum and volume as they expand, gliding across the palate’s fine, raw silk–like texture. This is mouthwatering and minerally, the symphony concluding with accents of oyster shell and chalk that echo on the finish. Drink now through 2032.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

A candidate for wine-of-the-vintage honors in Champagne, Roederer’s 2013 Cristal Rosé is showing brilliantly, unfurling in the glass with notes of crisp orchard fruit, white flowers, red berries, stone fruit, freshly baked bread and tangerine oil. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, the vintage’s bright girdling acids are amply cloaked in exuberant, expressive and notably concentrated fruit; so while this Cristal is as tensile and age-worthy as one would expect, it’s also impressively fleshy and generous given the year. Concluding with an intensely sapid finish, the 2013 isn’t as overtly structured as the muscular, tightly wound 2012: rather, it’s the 2013’s alliance of cut and flesh, precision and charm that’s so compelling this year. This is another banner vintage for what I consider the reigning champion of the region’s tête de cuvée bottlings, and it will be worth an effort to acquire.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThe 2013 Cristal Rosé is searingly intense right out of the glass, just like the Blanc, except it has a bit more fleshiness because of the skin contact on the Pinot. Cristal Rosé has one of the best track records for aging in Champagne. I suspect the 2013 will join the ranks of the epic vintages, but it is painfully tight today. The blend is 55% Pinot Noir (from Aÿ) and 45% Chardonnay (from Avize and Mesnil) done in the classic Roederer infusion style in which Pinot Noir is vinified on the skins and then blended with Chardonnay to complete the fermentation. About 25% of the lots were done in oak, while malolactic fermentation was blocked.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGIf you’re a Champagne lover and this doesn’t do it for you, I don’t know what will. A magical Champagne that’s just about as good as it gets, the 2013 Cristal Rosé reveal a lighter salmon hue to go with a rich yet also subtle nose of orange blossom, white flowers, toasted brioche, and chalky minerality. It takes some coaxing but is incredibly complex aromatically and offers more spice, dried strawberry, and library book-like nuances as it sets in the glass. Richly textured on the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and has surprising opulence as well as a great mid-palate, all of which are balanced by a vibrant spine of acidity. It starts out seemingly soft and easygoing yet changes with air, and it possesses an incredible mix of suppleness, texture, and precision that is something to behold. It can be drunk today or cellared for 20 or 30 years, possibly even longer.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDAromas of strawberry, iron, orange peel and brioche follow through to a full body with gorgeous fruit and sweet tannins that layer the wine. Strawberry-patisserie undertones. Rather juicy and chewy with very round, fine tannins. Savory, flavorful and lightly spicy. Caressing finish with lots of fruity flavor and dryness. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSLike an orchestra that melds the voices of many components into one compelling song, this bright rosé offers precision balance, seamlessly knitting an expressive range of ripe nectarine and raspberry fruit, Marcona almond, blood orange peel and candied ginger flavors with racy acidity and saline-laced minerality. Plush and creamy on the lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2036. 154 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 97 WS(Louis Roederer “Cristal” Rosé Brut Millésime (Reims)) The 2013 Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé is composed of a blend this year of fifty-five percent pinot noir and forty-five percent chardonnay, with all of the pinot hailing from the village of Aÿ and the chardonnay from Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger. Twenty percent of the vins clairs were barrel-fermented for this vintage of Cristal Rosé and the wine received a dosage of seven grams per liter. The bouquet is pure and very precise, wafting from the glass in a youthful blend of white peach, strawberry, rye bread, a beautiful base of chalky soil tones, delicate floral tones and a gently spicy topnote. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and youthfully complex, with a lovely spine of acidity, great focus and grip, supremely elegant mousse and a very long, racy and seamlessly balanced finish. This seems a touch more reserved out of the blocks than the regular 2013 Cristal and will demand a bit more bottle age before it starts to drink with generosity, but once it blossoms, it will be brilliant and extremely long-lived. (Drink between 2026-2065)John Gilman | 97 JGA pale rosé color of this great Champagne leads to a wine that has toast, spice and layers of citrus and red fruits. Its richness is balanced by freshness that will take several years to fully mature. So, even at eight years, the wine has plenty of room to develop. Drink from 2023.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEIn keeping with the talents Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon brings to rosé Champagne, this offers joyous drinking in a serious wine. It’s pale pink in color with a floral highlight to the honey notes and fresh-picked raspberry flavors. A pink-chalk impression lasts, and though this is not at the level of the 2012, it is immediately refreshing and delicious.Wine & Spirits | 92 W&S

José Luis Ripa has only started his own label recently, dedicated to solely making Rioja Rosado. He probably has plenty of red and white Rioja in his cellar to drink already, as his wife is Maria José López de Heredia! His 2018 Rosado is composed from a blend of eighty-five percent Garnacha and fifteen percent Tempranillo, with the wine is fermented and raised in older, French oak demi-muids for eighteen months prior to bottling. The wine offers up a refined bouquet of strawberry, blood orange, chalky soil tones, rose petals, a touch of oak from the older casks and a lovely array of Rioja spice tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with outstanding depth at the core, bright acids, lovely balance and grip and a very long, gently vinous finish. This is truly a stunning bottle of Rioja Rosado! It is delicious already, but is clearly built to age and will have little difficulty cruising along for twenty years or more! Great juice. (Drink between 2023-2050).John Gilman, A View from the Cellar | 94 JGThe rosé 2018 RIPA Vino Rosado follows the same path as the 2017, 60% Garnacha and 40% Tempranillo aged and matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels where the wine matured for 30 months. The vintage was quite cold, and the grapes were picked on October 20. The wine has a more vibrant palate and a lower pH, with more freshness. It’s quite marked by the long élevage, so it takes on a specific profile with more nutty and spicy notes and a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon. It’s spicy, vibrant, still round and lush, with a dark color, very different from the pale Provençal examples... 6,200 bottles were filled in December 2021.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

A well-rounded, easily enjoyable sparkling rosé, this offers a persistent fine-bubbled mousse structure, resulting in an overall smooth drinking experience. You will find nuanced aromas and flavors of citrus blossom, grapefruit, watermelon, white strawberries, dewy morning grass, and a wet stone minerality, with just a hint of those autolytic toasty notes. The finish lingers with additional florals of pink roses and fresh daisies.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEMore savory than sweet and wonderfully complex, the 2019 Brut Rosé North Coast bursts from the glass with toasty notes of fresh baguette and almonds, giving way to crushed apples and gingery spice. This rushes the palate with an elegant bead of silken bubbles. It is creamy yet energetic, and mineral-tinged orchard fruits add further tension. The 2019 leaves the senses wonderfully refreshed through the long, crunchy finale, as white strawberry and spice cookie notes fade. The Brut Rosé is a pleasure bomb, yet it’s wonderfully balanced throughout. - Eric GuidoVinous Media | 92 VMOffers pretty peach and strawberry flavors and a luscious, lingering texture as this takes on spice and orange peel accents on the crisp yet plush finish. Drink now. 19,350 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Limpid orange. A sharply focused, mineral-accented bouquet evokes fresh red berries and pit fruits, citrus pith and pungent flowers. Silky and penetrating on the palate, offering tangy redcurrant, pomegranate and blood orange flavors and a hint of honeysuckle. The floral note builds steadily through an impressively long, nervy finish that echoes the citrus and mineral notes. | 93 VMCall it a down year if you must, but the 2021 Cotes de Provence Rose Chateau de Selle remains one of the region’s top wines. Scents of tangerine, peach, crushed stone and lime zest mark the nose, while the medium-bodied palate is plump and juicy, finishing long and layered. The assemblage this year is 55% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

With a pretty, pale pink color and sweetly scented nose, the 2021 Rosa Dolce & Gabbana makes a lovely first impression. Ripe melon, Asian pear, mint and nuances of white smoke create an inviting bouquet. It’s round and elegant in feel, engulfing the palate in mineral-tinged orchard fruits and hints of chamomile. A salty flourish emerges through the finale, as notes of sour citrus and inner wet stone slowly fade. This is a total pleasure to taste. The Rosa Dolce & Gabbana is a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nocera. Vinous Media | 91 VM

Lovely strawberry, peach-skin and cherry-pip aromas with a similar echoing of fruit on the palate, in a fresh and generous mode. Fruity, flattering and well made. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS

Ample, textural and flavorful. Flinty oak, apricots, minerals, nectarines and subtle grapefruit on the nose. It’s full-bodied for rosé, mingling spices and herbs at the center palate. Focused, tactile and well-built. Long and flavorful finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThere’s a fresh and floral-accented immediacy on the nose of the 2022, followed by flattering vanilla and hazelnut from the oak and an attractive whisp of resiny pine forest. The palate is flowing, rounded and textural with a persistence underscored by fine-boned structural grip. While it’s a match for the 2023 in elegantly contained power, it doesn’t have quite the same exceptional focus and drive. Interestingly, for Provence rosé overall, 2022 was the better vintage.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThere’s a fresh and floral-accented immediacy on the nose of the 2022, followed by flattering vanilla and hazelnut from the oak and an attractive whisp of resiny pine forest. The palate is flowing, rounded and textural with a persistence underscored by fine-boned structural grip. While it’s a match for the 2023 in elegantly contained power, it doesn’t have quite the same exceptional focus and drive. Interestingly, for Provence rosé overall, 2022 was the better vintage.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECA sturdy, substantial rosé in a flattering style, with creamed mango, persimmon and bergamot flavors cruising alongside fleur de sel and smoky mineral notes. Shows grip at the end, with white tea tannins and silky acidity driving the smoky, focused finish. Grenache, Rolle and Syrah. Drink now through 2030. 800 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2022 Rosé BY.Ott is such a complete wine. It’s just so elegantly put together. Orange oil, strawberry fruit, strawberry top (yes, the leafy part), ruby red grapefruit and fresh mint form an intoxicating bouquet as the 2022 puts on weight in the glass, especially in the mid-palate. Fresh, lively, juicy, salivating—all of these apply. A satisfying mineral bitterness tugs at the tongue as the wine exits the mouth, lingering with the subtlest hint of fruit sweetness. The finish is long and measured. Very well done. - Billy NorrisVinous Media | 92 VM

The 2022 Rosé Clos Mireille Cru Classé is dreamy, wafting up with a perfumed blend of nectarine, sweet white flowers and white strawberry. Like pure silk on the palate, this soothes with its ripe orchard fruits, which are gently contrasted by a bitter tinge of sour citrus as juicy acidity adds fleshy depths. The 2022 cleans up beautifully as inner florals and confectionary spice echo throughout. This is a gorgeous Rosé today, yet it should evolve beautifully for years.Vinous Media | 93+ VMInstantly brilliant in the glass, the 2022 Cotes de Provence Rose ClosMireille, a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and the balance of Rolle (or Vermentino), exhales aromas of red berries, lemon, peach, guava and hints of curry leaf. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, combining fineacidity and a salty, penetrating, mouthwatering finish. It’s one of the moregourmand, fleshy, generous wines in the Domaines Ott range.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

Light coral in hue. Bursting with lively aromas of ripe strawberries, zesty blood oranges, and delicate floral notes, intertwined with hints of aromatic herbs. On the palate, it is crisp and focused, showcasing dynamic flavors of red berries, tangy tangerines, and subtle florals, which evolve gracefully towards the finish. Sokolin Tasting Panel | 92 SP

Delicate and floral in the glass, the 2023 Rosé Château de Selle Cru Classé wafts up with a captivating blend of freshly sliced nectarines, minty herbs, peach sorbet and wet stone. This is seamlessly silky and serene, focused on purity, with ripe orchard fruits and candied lime motivated by a core of tantalizing acidity. It’s potent and long, with a spicy flourish of ginger and citrus while leaving a sweet herbal tinge that lingers on and on. The 2023 Château de Selle is simply stunning.Vinous Media | 93 VMBright and vivid nose with strawberries, dried raspberries, cherry blossoms and a light, spicy undertone. Medium-bodied, round-textured and lengthy with lots of energy and a crisp, mineral backbone. Round and textural finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JS

As always, this estate crafted one of the most perfumed and complex rosé wines in France. The 2023 Bandol Rose exhales aromas of spring flowers, guava, lemon, spices and iodine mingled with delicate licorice hints. Medium-bodied, textural and layered, it’s perfectly balanced with a fleshy core of fruit and bright acids, concluding with a long, mineral and iodine-inflected finish. Kudos!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The 2023 Rosé Château Romassan captivates with a bouquet that mixes savory and sweet, as nuances of D’Anjou pear and lime zest combine with spring flowers, ginger and green melon. This is vividly fruit-focused within, with cooling acidity and silken textures, coming across as lifted and refined yet also potent. Its minerality shines through the finish, crisp, nearly crunchy and long with a spicy tinge that pinches at the palate. Complexity and shear depth make the Chateau Romassan impossible to ignore. - Eric GuidoVinous Media | 92+ VMA reminder of Bandol’s superiority when it comes to rosé. Crushed stone minerality grounds this fresh, alluring version, with notes of dried lavender and salted herbs alongside mandarin acidity. This well-meshed version sings in harmony from start to vibrant finish. Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Grenache. Drink now through 2028. 3,500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThis illustrates just how different the Mourvèdre-based rosés of this coastal appellation can be, in comparison to rosés from the rest of Provence. Delicately pale salmon pink. Restrained aromas of bruised peach, garrigue and barely ripe apricots. The Mourvèdre shines here with concentration, sour lemon acidity and creamy, ripe, sweet black fruit. There is fine-grained minerality leading to linear austerity and a mouthwatering finish.Decanter | 91 DEC

When you take a sip, the magic happens. The palate is taut and lively, bursting with flavors of juicy strawberries, tart red currants, and blood oranges, all wrapped up with a subtle hint of honeysuckle. It’s like biting into a ripe, sweet strawberry on a summer afternoon! The finish is long and precise, leaving you with lingering mineral and red berry notes that make you want to go back for more.Sokolin Tasting Panel | 92+ SP

Deep, glistening amber-pink in the glass, the 2023 Rosé Les Commandeurs is expressive and especially pretty, with an engaging bouquet of ripe pear, honeysuckle, baked apple and sweet spices. Well-proportioned, it strikes a fine balance of suppleness, juiciness and grip, propped up against a backdrop of typical Provençal salinity. All this is missing is some depth through the mid-palate—it’s just a little ethereal. A pleasant vanilla nuance shows up right at the tail end, rendering this a little creamier than expected. Lovely. This is a fine effort. - Billy NorrisVinous Media | 90 VM

This wine showcases enticing aromas of ripe stone fruit, summer berries and delicate rose. On the palate, vibrant notes of raspberry and ripe cherry bring warm, sun-kissed flavors, complemented by balanced acidity and a satisfying weight. Best enjoyed between 2025 and 2028.Sokolin Tasting Panel | 92+ SP

This Rosé is a rich earthy expression with lots of peach aroma to back up its stoniness. The full bodied palate has fantastic minerality and an everlasting white pepper finish.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEA poised, tangy and charming rosé with aromas of nectarines, almond powder and sweet spices. Medium-bodied with a delicious mid-palate. Juicy fruit mingles with the spices and onto the tangy, mouthwatering finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS