Top 10 rosés under £20 for summer 2024

Such is the popularity of pale, dry pink wines, prices have crept up, but we have been busy tasting our way through hundreds of samples to bring you a top 10 selection for under £20 – taking in some classic French rosés but also a few from unexpected places, including the UK…

All the following wines have gained Gold medals in The Global Rosé Masters, which sees samples tasted ‘blind’ – which means that the judges have no knowledge of the source region, nor any other details about the wine, other than the fact it is pink, dry, and within a certain price band.

The aim is simply to find the best bottles for the price, and, because all our tasters are highly experienced judges, they have honed an ability to accurately assess wine for quality, and that alone.

In other words, they are especially good at putting aside subjective, personal stylistic preferences when sampling what’s in front of them, but adept at finding wines that offer the best possible balance and flavour intensity for the money.

And what did such assessments throw up in 2024? As you can see below, when considering Gold-medal-quality pink wine below £20, you have to forget Provençal rosé – it can beat the global competition, but you have to pay quite a bit more for it.

Indeed, when seeking pale, dry pink wines priced from around £10-18, then you need to look more broadly, particularly southern French areas such as the Languedoc as well as the Ardèche, along with countries such as New Zealand, Greece and Italy.

Finally, to the surprise of our tasters in 2024, one of the best rosés in this price band was not from any of the aforementioned nations, but the UK, with a benchmark bottle hailing from ‘the garden of England’ – the county of Kent.

Please scroll down to see our top 10 best-value pink wine picks (with tasting notes by myself and fellow judge Patricia Stefanowicz MW), as well as to find out more about the tasting, while you can click here to see all the medallists from this year’s Global Rosé Masters – the biggest and most comprehensive competition of its type.

LE BIJOU DE SOPHIE VALROSE, 2023

• Producer: Bijou
• Region: Coteaux de Béziers
• Country: France
• Grape varieties: 45% Cinsault, 40% Grenache, 10% Caladoc, 5% Syrah
• ABV: 12.5%
• Residual sugar: <4 g/l
• Approx. retail price: £10

A fantastic-value, pale pink, dry rosé with notes of wild strawberry and cherry, as well as a touch of pear drop and a citrus-fresh finish. Lingering, light, but with enough fruit to make this both full in flavour, but also palate-cleansing and zesty in style. (Patrick Schmitt MW)

TERRAZZE DELLA LUNA, PINOT GRIGIO ROSATO, IGT VIGNETI DELLE DOLOMITI, 2023

• Producer: Cavit
• Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
• Country: Italy
• Grape varieties: 90% Pinot Grigio, 10% Chardonnay
• ABV: 12.5%
• Residual sugar: 4g/l
• Approx. retail price: £10

How refreshing to find a fine, good-value, pale pink, dry rosé that isn’t from France. Using mostly Pinot Grigio, but also a touch of Chardonnay, this Italian wine has delicate characters of peach and pear fruit, some cherry and a touch of white pepper too. Light, but not thin, with a fresh finish. (Patrick Schmitt MW)

KAVAKLIDERE, CÔTES D’AVANOS ROZE, 2022

• Producer: Kavaklidere
• Region: Cappadocia
• Country: Turkey
• Grape variety: Kalecik Karasi
• ABV: 14%
• Residual sugar: 1g/l
• Approx. retail price: £12

Kavaklidere’s winery is located in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, but the producer sources grapes from throughout the Turkish wine-growing regions. This lovely rosé comes from Cappadocia. Pale peach-pink in hue, the wine shows golden apple and pear, peaches and cream on the nose. Off-dry and light-bodied, the palate displays very fresh acidity and a savoury texture supporting the fruit flavours. Good concentration and length suggest that poached salmon steaks with a tropical fruit salad on the side will make for a perfect summer picnic. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

CHÂTEAU DE LA SELVE, L’AUDACIEUSE, 2022

• Producer: Château de la Selve
• Region: Ardèche
• Country: France
• Grape varieties: 60% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 5% Viognier
• ABV: 12.5%
• Residual Sugar: <1g/l
• Approx. retail price: £16

Established in 2002 in the grounds of a 13th-century château at Grospierres, about 30km north of Avignon, Château de la Selve’s wines, made by Benôit and Florence Chazallon, are organic/biodynamic delights. This example, quite deep vieux-rose in colour, has dark berries and bramble fruit with plenty of depth and weight on the palate, framed by lively acidity. A serious wine, this will work nicely with grilled chicken thighs or chunky pork chops with a sweetcorn and sweet red pepper chutney as an accompaniment. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

HAMPTON WATER, 2023

• Producer: Gérard Bertrand
• Region: Languedoc
• Country: France
• Grape varieties: 70% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 15% Syrah
• ABV: 13.5%
• Residual sugar: <1g/l
• Approx. retail price: £14

A brand uniting US rocker Jon Bon Jovi and French star winemaker Gérard Bertrand, Hampton Water is a fine and relatively affordable southern French rosé that has repeatedly scored highly in the Global Rosé Masters. Its latest vintage expression is no different, with a lovely mix of flavours from cherry and pear, to peach and apple, as well as a touch of creaminess, and then a delicate chalky note, giving it a bone-dry finish. (Patrick Schmitt MW)

THE NED ROSÉ, 2023

• Producer: Marisco Vineyards
• Region: Marlborough
• Country: New Zealand
• Grape varieties: 97% Pinot Noir, 2% Pinot Gris, 1% Other
• ABV: 13%
• Residual sugar: 3.9g/l
• Approx. retail price: £11

A lovely, Pinot-dominant rosé from top Marlborough winemaker Brent Marris, The Ned is a good-value alternative to the likes of Sancerre rosé, with more fruit sweetness and texture than your average French offering. In terms of flavours, there’s a touch of fleshy, ripe cherry and even a note of strawberry jam, then a refreshing, lemony-dry finish to make your mouth water. (Patrick Schmitt MW)

VIÑA TARAPACÁ, GRAN RESERVA ROSÉ, 2022

• Producer: Viña Tarapacá
• Region: Leyda Valley
• Country: Chile,
• Grape variety: 100% Pinot Noir
• ABV: 13%
• Residual Sugar: 1.2g/l
• Approx. retail price: £12

Established in 1874 in the Maipo Valley, Viña Tarapacá has branched out and planted Pinot Noir in the very cool Leyda Valley. A proper rosé with a midsalmon hue, this wine displays crunchy red apple and ripe strawberry fruit with a bit of white pepper spice. Dry, light and lively, the palate is nicely defined with good length. Gastronomic in style, the wine will work well with an endive, watercress and pomegranate salad, dressed with walnut oil and accented by toasted sesame seeds. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

DOMAINE SKOURAS, CUVÉE PRESTIGE ROSÉ, 2023

• Producer: Domaine Skouras
• Region: Peloponnese
• Country: Greece
• Grape varieties: 70% Agiorgitiko, 30% Moscofilero
• ABV: 12%
• Residual Sugar: 3.8g/l
• Approx. retail price: £12

Best-known as the home of Sparta, the ancient rival to Athens, the Peloponnese peninsula is nowadays returning to its vineyards. St. George’s grape (Agiorgitiko) makes a lovely rosé wine when blended with the aromatic, peach-incensed Moscofilero white. Very pale baby-pink in hue, the wine has raspberry and pomegranate fruit with a crushed azalea blossom overlay. Nearly dry, the light-bodied palate shows crisp acidity, nice definition of flavour and creamy texture. A little grip on the finish gives added interest. This wine is a good match for tuna sashimi, sprinkled with long-leaf parsley and freshly-minced chives. A hint of sliced ginger will be fine; skip the wasabi. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

BIJOU PROVENCE ROSÉ 2023

• Producer: Le Bijou by Sophie Valrose
• Region: Côteaux Varois
• Country: France
• Grape varieties: 60% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 10% Syrah
• ABV: 13%
• Residual Sugar: <4g/l
• Approx. retail price: £17

Everyone wants a ‘bijou’, a tiny pink pearl. This wine is an excellent expression of a pretty, aromatic rosé from the South of France. Pale peach in hue, the wine shows raspberry, strawberry and white cherry fruit with a creamy underlying note. Just dry, the palate is light and elegant, underpinned by lively acidity and a hint of white pepper spice supporting the juicy fruit. An excellent wine for summer, it works nicely with asparagus wrapped in parma ham or sautéed white mushrooms. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

BALFOUR NANNETTE’S ROSÉ 2023

• Producer: Balfour Winery
• Region: Kent
• Country: England
• Grape varieties: 50% Meunier,
• 49% Pinot Noir, 1% Chardonnay
• ABV: 12%
• Residual Sugar: <1g/l
• Approx. retail price: £17

Balfour Winery is located at Hush Heath Estate in Kent, ‘The Garden of England’. Based on the ‘classic’ Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties, this lovely, pale peach-hued wine exudes an English garden in springtime. Aromatic strawberry and raspberry fruits are supported by lively acidity and a plush, creamy texture. A light-bodied, concentrated and ‘dreamy’ wine, showing hints of herbs and hedgerow flowers, it will be perfect for Wimbledon strawberries and cream, or on its own as an aperitif. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)

Read more

All the medallists from the Global Rosé Masters 2024

A dozen luxury rosés for fine wine drinkers

About the competition

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