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The best rosés from The Champagne Masters 2023
Having brought you the best Brut NV, vintage and prestige cuvée bottles from this year’s Champagne Masters, now it’s time to list the leading rosés, taking in a range of delicious wines from the young and fresh to the fully mature and vinous.
Palmer & Co Rosé Solera
- Producer: Champagne Palmer & Co.
- Vintage: NV
- Grape varieties: 45% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir & 20% Meunier
- ABV: 12.5%
- Residual sugar: 7.5g/l
- Approx. retail price: £45
- Medal: Gold
A pale copper pink rosé featuring a ‘solera’ of Pinot Noir that incorporates several decades of blended reserve wine, this Champagne from Palmer has flavours of apple, citrus and a subtle note of red berry fruit, complemented by a touch of creamy vanilla, white pepper and then a chalky dry finish. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Rosé
- Producer: Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte
- Vintage: NV
- Grape varieties: 45% Pinot Noir, 45% Pinot Meunier, & 10% Chardonnay
- ABV: 12%
- Residual sugar: 9.4g/l
- Approx. retail price: £32
- Medal: Gold
This good-value salmon pink rosé from Nicolas Feuillatte features an appealing blend of cherry and pot pourri aromas followed by flavours of crushed strawberry, fresh apple and baked bread, with a dry, gently nutty finish. Although fruity, it’s a youthful, pristine and crisp style of rosé. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rose
- Producer: Champagne Laurent-Perrier
- Vintage: NV
- Grape varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
- Residual sugar: 9g/l
- Approx. retail price: £65
- Medal: Gold
It’s pleasing to find that, following a blind tasting, what is probably the most famous Champagne rosé is also one of the best. It combines delicate flavours of white-fleshed cherry, raspberry and redcurrant with appealing notes of ground nuts, coffee beans and a touch of toast, followed by a dry, chalky-textured finish. In short, this is a pretty-looking, refreshing and complex fizz with a lovely balance. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon Rose Brut NV
- Producer: Champagne Besserat de Bellafon
- Grape varieties: 25% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, 50% Meunier
- Abv: 12%
- Vintage: NV
- Residual sugar: 8g/l
- Approx. retail price: £50.00
- Medal: Master – Champagne Masters 2023
From Aÿ, Besserat de Bellafon was in vogue during the ‘Années Folles’ of cabaret in Paris and on the Continent. Choosing the ‘elegance of life’, sippers of this lovely rosé are rewarded. Pale vieux rose in hue with a narrow cordon, the wine exhibits purity of wild strawberry and cranberry with just a hint of fresh yeast giving extra dimension. Brut-style, this light-bodied, yet concentrated, wine is vinous with bracing acidity and velvet-textured mousse and a hint of yellow roses giving added interest. The savoury finish suggests that this is a good pairing with a plateau de fruits-de-mer at a classic brasserie in Paris, or on its own in Montmartre or the West End of London. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)
Champagne Deutz Brut Rosé NV
- Producer: Champagne Deutz
- Grape varieties: 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Chardonnay
- Abv: 12%
- Vintage: NV
- Residual sugar: 9g/l
- Approx. retail price: £55.00
- Medal: Gold
Established in 1838, Deutz espouses values of elegance, art, taste and sensations. This wine does not disappoint. Mid-vieux rose in hue with small, persistent bubbles and a tight cordon, the aromatics are ethereal, showing pretty red berry fruits and Japanese cherry trees with a touch of fresh yeast. Brut-style, but soft on the palate, the wine is generous with crisp acidity and velvet-textured mousse. Good definition and length suggest salmon mousse with cucumber sauce or Creole specialities such as crayfish étoufée. A glass to accompany ‘high tea’ with scones, hand-made strawberry jam and clotted cream, or Victoria sponge cake would also work well. (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)
Piper-Heidsieck Rosé Sauvage
- Producer: Piper-Heidsieck
- Vintage: NV
- Grape varieties: 25% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier & 50% Pinot Noir
- ABV: 12%
- Residual sugar: 9g/l
- Approx. retail price: £50
- Medal: Gold
A deeply-coloured rose with plenty of flavour, this Piper-Heidsieck ‘wild’ rosé has layers of flavour, from fully mature notes of dried apple and roasted coffee to more youthful characters of cherry and cranberry, along with crisp apple and lemon zest. The finish has a note of hazelnut and toast, along with a fine, chalky-textured tannin, giving a dry edge to this powerful pink Champagne. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Palmes d’Or Rosé Vintage 2008
- Producer: Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte
- Vintage: 2008
- Grape varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
- ABV: 12%
- Residual sugar: 5.5g/l
- Approx. retail price: £160
- Medal: Gold
The antithesis to the pale, youthful, delicate, berry-scented pink Champagne, this top rosé expression from Nicolas Feuillatte is a deeply-coloured, fully-mature and powerfully-flavoured wine-like fizz. The colour is brick red with an orange rim, with notes of aged red Burgundy, with aromas of forest floor and old furniture, which lead into flavours of stewed apple, rhubarb and blood orange, complemented by autolytic characters of grilled nuts and charcoal. The finish is a touch woody, with a hint of bitter apple skin, and some fine tannin. A fascinating, fully-mature and complex Champagne that would suit sipping with rich foods, rather than the stereotypical pink Champagne occasion, which is serving as a summertime aperitif. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Rare Rosé Millésime 2012
- Producer: Rare Champagne
- Vintage: 2012
- Grape varieties: 60% Chardonnay & 40% Pinot Noir
- ABV: 12%
- Residual sugar: 8g/l
- Approx. retail price: £295
- Medal: Master
Here’s a very fine Champagne that just happens to be pink. Dominated by Chardonnay and hailing from the outstanding 2012 vintage, there’s so much going on, with flavours of sweet red apple and bitter grapefruit pith, then white cherry and zesty lemon, along with grilled nuts and baked bread, and finally a touch of dry chalky tannin to make the mouth water. Delicious, layered, intense and wonderfully drinkable. (Patrick Schmitt MW)
Read more
All the medallists from The Champagne Masters 2023
The best vintage wines from The Champagne Masters 2023
The best Brut NVs from The Champagne Masters 2023
The best prestige cuvées from The Champagne Masters 2023
About The Champagne Masters
The Champagne Masters is a competition created and run by the drinks business, and is an extension of its successful Masters series for grape varieties, such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as regions like Rioja and Tuscany. The competition is exclusively for Champagne, and the entries were judged using Schott Zwiesel Cru Classic glasses supplied by Sensible Wine Services. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Champagne Master.
The Champagnes were judged on 14 March at The COMO at London’s Halkin Hotel by Patrick Schmitt MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW, Jonathan Pedley MW, Siobhan Turner MW, Demetri Walters MW, Neil Sommerfelt MW, Adam Porter MW, Andrea Briccarello and Matthieu Longuere MS.
Please visit The Global Wine Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com
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