The best rosé Champagne according to Tom Stevenson

The best rosé Champagne according to Tom Stevenson

Rosé Champagneis surely the trendiest and most expensive bubbly wine. Tom Stevenson and Cristiana Lauro present those they think are best

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini 

The article by Wine Searcher is delightful and I really suggest you read it. It is sufficiently ironic, definitely well informed and full of intriguing news.  The author is considered the major world expert in Champagne having written 23 books and 50 publications on the subject 

So the rosé Champagne , many super experts do not love it – Jancis Robinson in primis –

but certainly its success seems now unstoppable.

The first boom took place in  1989 when Allan Cheesman chose the rosé Champagne Charbaut for the  Sainsbury’s supermarket emphasizing that the colour was obtained through a  natural method because of the contact between the juice and the skins of red grapes and not through mixing red and white wines. This small curiosity made the sales go sky high. A success which, then, did not last long, but which picked up again in 2004 becoming something more than a trend but a real commercial phenomenon. Today all the Maison de Champagne have a rosé wine in their range and 10% of the total production is pink. So now theChampagnerosé is no longer an “occasional kink” and the wineries have really begun to the think about the bettering of quality.

The first thing to reflect on is the blending of red and white wines: in the whole of Europe Champagne is the only appellation where this is permitted. Many snub this method, but according to Stevenson often the major finesse is reach just that way blending and through the maceration of the whole mass in contact with the skins.

Another critical element is the price: the rosé Champagnes cost from 20 to 100% more than the white ones. The reason is only partially due to the higher production costs; Stevenson attributes it to a marketing strategy.

Finally a recommendation: rosé wines are often packaged in transparent bottles and so exposed to the effects of light. One must avoid buying those on shelves or in shop windows because often they are ruined.

Here is the list of the 6 best roséChampagnesaccording to Tom Stevenson:

2002 Dom Pérignon Rosé Brut

2002 Deutz Cuvée William Deutz Rosé Brut

2002 Roederer Cristal Rosé

The best  rosè Champagne  non- millesimato Charles Heidsieck Brut Rosé Réserve

The best rosé Champagne  boutique-winery Dosnon & Lepage Récolte Rosé Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée Brut Rosé

To this list I would like to add a tasting published a year ago by Cristiana Lauro on

Intravino: 

Dom Perignon Rosé 2002 among the best, she definitely likes it

Egly-Ouriet Brut Rosé grand cru <<Unfortunately I find it difficult to finish the bottle>>

Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2002 Taittinger <<this satisfied me>>

Beaufort Ambonnay Rosé grand cru. << absolutely over rated even in the brut millesimati>>

Rosé di Billecart-Salmon <<the usual great classic …. but it bores me to death because it has no personality>>

Piollot Père & Fils, Rosé de saignée <<Do you like Champagne that smells of cheese? I do not>>

Jérôme PrévostLa Closerie Fac-Simile extra brut rosé The author does appreciate!

Larmandier-Bernier, Rosé Extra Brut premier cru, Rosé de saignée <<It is definitely not as it was long ago

Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin,La Grande Dame2004 Rosé brut <<This is one of the best rosés that I have tasted lately>>