Sit back....enjoy the sun, the Rose has landed!

I'm really loving the summer. It's taken a few years to become comfortable with the heat, but Jude has made me appreciate the golden globe and now I really enjoy soaking up the rays. These hot days and evenings do require a little support to get us through them and we tend to turn to Rose to assist.

It's fun, simple to drink and really easy to drink and enjoy. It doesn’t try to over complicate life. It does exactly what it says on the label and always brings the good times.

It's pretty simple to make too. It comes in a variety of 'styles'….there's the classic 'Provencal style' which is delicately pink, just gently kissed by the black skins to provide a crisp red berry flavour and light body which can be drunk on its own or with food. It's made be gently pressing the grapes, having a little skin contact and then taken for fermentation. This is called the 'Direct Press' method, typically created using Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Rolle or Mourvedre grape varieties.

The skin contact typically guides the colour of the wine. More skin contact equals deeper colour, but this also delivers more flavour potential, body and tannins.

An alternative method is the 'saignee' or 'bleeding', where the winemaker will bleed off the juice from the black grapes (whilst making a traditional red wine), to make a more concentrated red wine as well as the more robust rose wine. It's had more skin contact, so a little more colour, more body, tannin and complexity. These wines tend to be a little less crisp (acidic) as the grapes to start with were a little riper than the the provencal style. This is deliberate styling!

And from a food matching perspective, don't be afraid to be bold with rose. Try with Piri Piri sauces, the classic young goats cheese or light seafood. Spanish Jamon, calamari with a splash of lemon, even ceviche works well with a super crisp offering. Fish stew, garlic prawns or even paella all work really well.

Whichever style you choose, there is always fun! It makes you smile and always bring the good times. This months selection offers a range of all of these styles, and in addition to this, because of the great value associated with rose, this month, I'm adding a 7th bottle to the case……absolutely free :-)

Hope you enjoy.

We have our wine tasting of these on the 1st Tuesday of the month. I hope you can attend :-)

Love Ya Matt

Henners Gardner Street Rosé Pinot Noir Pinot Meunier 2021

Tasting Note: This is English!!!!! Gardner Street is the historic name of Henners’ home village of Herstmonceux. The old name captures the hand-harvested, artisanal craft of tending vines & wines down English country lanes. A modern marriage of bright Pinot Noir and plush Pinot Meunier (two of the champagne grapes).

Blended from specially selected plots in Sussex, Kent and Essex chosen for their ripeness and fruit profile. The fruit was harvested and pressed individually before cold maceration overnight to draw out colour and delicate fruit flavours from the grapes. Cool fermentation in stainless steel helps deliver a beautifully textured and delicate rose with a crisp refreshing finish and packed with red fruit character. Pale salmon colour with a bright nose of crunchy red fruit including wild strawberry, redcurrant and cranberry. On the palate there is a gentle zing of pomegranate, raspberry and strawberry giving a great lift to the finish. Food Pairing: Clam linguine with a splash of Gardner Street Rosé in there, anything with prawns or a beef carpaccio.

Château L’Ermite d’Auzan Rosé, Costières de Nîmes 2021

Tasting Note: This delicious, modern southern French rosé packed full of flavour, and organic to boot! Grapes are grown on 25 year old vines with yields of 50hl/ha. Rolled Durance pebbles (the Durance river flowed through the valley well before the Rhône) pepper the vineyards, retaining heat and ensuring even ripening. Grapes are cooled on reception prior to being destemmed and the free run juice is again cooled before fermentation at 18ºC. The wine is aged on its lees for 3 months, this gives it a little bit of mouthfeel and complexity. A pretty, aromatic nose with ripe raspberry and cranberry flavours on the palate and nicely balanced with just enough bright acidity to counter the tasty, southern fruit. Great with or without food. Food Pairing: A versatile rosé to drink on its own or with grilled fish, salads and spicy pasta.

Domaine de la Vieille Tour Rosé, Côtes de Provence 2022

Tasting Note: A perfect pale pink that screams Provence! The Domaine's vineyards are situated in the best area of the AC Côtes de Provence with a very particular micro-climate and sandstone clay soils. A classic blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, the grapes are picked by hand. This is a rosé de presse produced in an ultra-modern gravity fed winery. This wine has a delicate wild ripe strawberries and a smattering of white pepper with sweet Grenache fruit to follow. Clean and well balanced with good depth. Food Pairing: Lovely on a summer’s day - serve chilled and accompany with seafood, Mediterranean dishes, or just by itself.

Adobe Reserva Rosé, Rapel Valley 2022

Tasting Note: The Rapel Valley lies with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, and the province of Curicó to the south. This area is particularly well suited for growing Carmenère, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a transversal valley of Chile’s central zone with unique climatic conditions, including four clearly defined seasons and a unique blend of maritime breezes and Andean winds. The hand-picked grapes were transported to the winery and selected from a conveyor belt to ensure maximum quality. Vinification took place in stainless steel tanks for 3 months with selected yeasts. It offers a pale almost Provençale,-pink in colour with gentle strawberry and red cherry aromas, with fresh summer fruits on the palate and a silky yet refreshing finish. Delicate and easy to drink. Food Pairing: Ideal as an aperitif or with sushi, creamy cheeses, and ethnic foods, among others.

Maison Boutinot Cuvée Edalise, Côtes de Provence Rosé 2022

Tasting Note: An elegant, beautifully presented Provence rosé. Boutinot’s Samantha Bailey believes the perfect Provence rosé should, on the one hand, be a harmonious blend of florals, berry fruit, spice, body and finesse, and on the other, a pretty shade of pink that entices the eye. When she discovered ten different cuvées of Provençal varieties within a single cellar she felt she could create this style of rosé. Beautifully created, this selection of Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle may seem typical, yet cuvées of the same variety have quite different characteristics depending on the vineyards position. For example, Grenache - which forms the major part of the blend - from coastal areas gives red berry fruit, while from rockier, calcerous areas gives white peach notes. Cinsault offers delicate spice and an herbaceous twist while Rolle offers delicate floral aromatics of orange blossom and mandarin. It is delightfully crisp and refreshing, as Provence rosé should be. Delicate pale salmony pink in colour, with notes of white peaches, redcurrants and mandarin. Food Pairing: Chilled Provence rosé is a fantastic food wine. Fresh seafood is the natural partner to the crisp acidity of this Edalise rosé but serve with more robustly flavoured summer dishes too, such as a salade niçoise or feta and spinach tart.

Le Petit Chat Malin Rosé, Vin de France 2021

Tasting Note: For those feline moments when relaxing in the sun is the only thing to do. Delicious and moreish, this is a clever little wine from the cunning little cat (La Petit Chat Malin). The Languedoc is a region with plentiful sunshine that is famous for producing quality wines in abundance. For this wine, specially selected Grenache Noir, Cinsault and Syrah are gently pressed to capture the finer aromas and flavours located just under the skins to make a wine full of sweetly ripe yet crunchy fruit, with soft and juicy flavours.

A dry style of rosé with floral aromatics and packed with juicy ripe berry flavours and a touch of ripe peach. Food Pairing: Perfect with fish and shellfish (of course) but also delicious with grilled chicken, salads or tomato based pasta.

Boutinot ‘Les Cerisiers’, Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2022

Tasting Notes: Intent on making the very best Côtes du Rhône Rosé Boutinot can, they searched for varieties naturally suited to rosé; Grenache Noir for body, Cinsault for freshness and a touch of spice from a drop of Syrah. The hunt for specific plots that would deliver the best grapes with the right balance and flavour profile led us to the south of the Côtes du Rhône where we found ripeness and aroma to balance the freshness found in plots from northern villages of the Southern Rhône valley. As with previous vintages, Les Cerisiers is again made in the same way as the best rosés of Provence, uses the ‘rosé de presse’ method as soon as the grapes are picked. This very gentle pressing extracts as much aroma and flavour as possible with the least amount of tannins. The wine is both pressed and vinified at cool temperatures (of no more than 16Intent ) in stainless steel vats to preserve these delicate aroma, flavours and colour. An elegant, truly gastronomic rosé from our home in the Rhône. A classic salmon pink rosé with delicate perfumed aromas of rosehip syrup, wild berry blossoms and cherries on the nose. Full flavoured, ripe and beautifully balanced with acidity, there’s elegant, textured, berry fruit on the palate with a twist of raspberry freshness to lift the finish. Deliciously balanced and moreish. Food Pairing: As with rosé from neighbouring Provence, Les Cerisiers should not be seen only as a delicious apéritif but a match for light dishes - a simple charcuterie plate or grilled salmon and prawns. It also pairs well with more complex dishes; Bouillabaisse, the classic southern French fish stew, or even Red Thai Chicken Curry, a spicy bean tagine or a mushroom and aubergine lasagne.

<end>