By Fergal Gleeson

What do Bon Jovi, Sting, John Malkovich, Ian Botham, Drew Barrymore, John Legend, Kylie Minogue and Sarah Jessica Parker have in common?

They all make Rosé? Or lend their names to Rosé wine labels as is the way of celebrity wine collaborations.

Rosé wine turned a corner in Australia about 5 years ago. Australian winemakers observed the explosion in demand globally for pale, uber dry, Provençal styles. The Rosé revolution was driven by celebrity vignerons, TikTok influencers and the explosion in global travel that happened in the years before the covid shutters temporarily slowed things down.

The French who have been making this style of wine since Ancient Greek times, and drink more Rosé than red wine these days. In the USA, they call it ‘Hamptons Water’. And the Australian male finally worked out that it was OK to drink Rosé. Brosé was born!

So old school Rosé went the way of the Holden Commodore. It was out with dowdy, deeply coloured, semi-sweet styles and in with leaner, refreshing, sexy Rosé!

The State of Rosé

I caught up with four Australian winemakers from across the country to get a sense of where Australian Rosé is at today – Nic Bowen of Marchand and Burch /Howard Park in Western Australia, Peter Dillon from Handpicked Wines in Victoria, Corrina Wright of Oliver’s Taranga in McLaren Vale in South Australia and Mike Di Iuliis, founder of the Di Iuliis Wines in the Hunter Valley, NSW.

Marchand and Burch Villages Rosé 2023

Marchand and Burch is a French- Australian wine collaboration. The French collection is comprised of red burgundy from regional to Grand Cru level all made under screw cap by Pascal Marchand. The Australian collection concentrates on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Great Southern made by Nic in WA. The quality across the board is impressive. Nic also makes an Australian Rosé.

Marchand and Burch Villages Rosé 2023 is a Grenache dominant blend with Pinot and Shiraz balancing it out. The wine perfectly encapsulates how far Australian Rosé has come. Historically Rosé was knocked off quickly by diverting some juice from a batch of red wine before it had picked up much colour from skin contact.

Nic selects old vine Grenache from the Swan Valley for fruit flavour, particular clones of Pinot Noir from Great Southern that perform well when picked early and finally Margaret River Shiraz is added for texture and crunch.

The wine is pale, a faded pink to orange in colour, with a lovely acid line, red fruits mostly cranberry and some spice. It’s the most ‘Provençal’ in style of the 4 Rosés tasted, reflecting Marchand and Burch’s French influence.

RRP: $28

Rating: 4 stars

Handpicked Wines Regional Selection Yarra Valley Rosé 2022

Handpicked Wines source premium fruit from vineyards across Australia but the winery’s home is based in the Mornington Peninsula with vineyards also in the Yarra, Barossa and Tasmania. Like Marchand and Burch there’s a Chardonnay and Pinot focus to Handpicked Wines.

Head Winemaker Peter Dillon makes their Rosé from 100% Yarra Valley Sangiovese. It’s perfumed and fragrant, with an intriguing range of savour flavours and texture from tannins, also some musk and Turkish delight. Like M&B’s Village Rosé some of the wine spends time in tank and older barrels. In other vintages Peter has also blended Nebbiolo with Sangiovese.

RRP $29

Rating 4 stars

Oliver’s Taranga Chica Rosé 2023

Corrina Wright is the first winemaker in the Oliver family, but her family have been farming the land on Taranga in the McLaren Vale for six generations. Strong suits include regional favourites Shiraz and Grenache but like others in McLaren Vale there’s also innovation with varieties such as Fiano, Touriga and Mencia.

Oliver’s Taranga is the first in Australia to plant Mencia, a grape from Bierzo in Northwest Spain. Corinne thought Mencia would make for an interesting Rosé when she first tasted the ripe watermelon flavours.

Chica Rosé is 100% Mencia in most vintages but 2023 was a low yielding vintage, so Corinne blended the Mencia in equal parts with Shiraz. It has a floral nose with watermelon and spice. She adds Fiano leaves to help mouthfeel.

That famous pink colour is one of the defining characterises of Rosé. But Corrina says that while she is mindful of not finishing up with a dry red wine she is more interested in flavour and texture rather than prioritising a shade of pink.

RRP $28

Rating 4 stars

De Iuliis Estate Rosé 2023

Despite wearing a pink, glitter cowboy hat on the call (which Taylor Swift fans would approve of) Mick Di Iuliis admits to being a late convert to Rosé.  Mick now makes two Rosés, his Hunter Valley Rosé uses a blend of Merlot and Shiraz and he makes a Sangiovese with Hilltops fruit. The Hunter Rosé has the most colour of the four Rosés and the most fruit on show. Like the others it is vibrant and fresh and not at all sweet.

Mick mentions that both are popular at the Cellar door, falling just behind regional favourites Shiraz, Semillon and Chardonnay in sales.

RRP $28

Rating 3.5 stars

In the Pink

Based on this small sample from boutique winemakers across the country, the quality of Australian Rosé in the $25- $30 price range is impressive. It has come a long way with the choice in terms of varieties and styles, some but not all emulating Provence.

Rosé is an unashamedly fun wine style, avoiding the pretensions of many parts of the fine wine world. And demand is still on the rise at a time when red wine consumption continues a slow decline.

So whether you want to get with the #roseallday #drinkpink #lifestyle is up to you but cracking open a bottle of good Australian Rosé with lunch or on a picnic is highly recommended! But then any celebrity could tell you that….

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