The author notes that the “spectacular” Dom Rosé is one of the best produced by Moët in years
Beyond the PaleBy Lyn FarmerUntil relatively recently, however, the thought of a "pink" Champagne was enough to set the uninitiated muttering that they'd long ago outgrown sweet wines. We've forgiven gin for having once been made in bathtubs. But suspicion concerning "pink" Champagne lingers, in part because of an unwarranted association with trendy, simple blush wines.
Yet there is at least as much substance as style to rosé Champagne, and its color is precisely why it is so deserving of being taken seriously. For the non-vintage blanc Champagnes that are every house's stock in trade, there is a good deal of wine to play with, but for a more esoteric product such as rosé, the process is more complicated. "I think this is why there isn't a lot of rosé Champagne produced in most houses except for a few specialists like Billecart-Salmon or Laurent-Perrier," observes Louis Roederer's chef de caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon.
Ten years ago, Laurent-Perrier had practically no presence in the United States for any of its wines. The firm wanted to reestablish itself here and tapped François Peltereau-Villeneuve, now the firm's vice president and general manager, to restore it to American shelves. "When I took on the project, I spent six months conducting taste tests with focus groups of American consumers with all our wines," he notes. In his travels, he found that rosé in general had a poor image among high-end consumers - those more likely to spend serious money on Champagne. He recalls that it was largely associated with memories of pink American "Champagne" and White Zinfandel, and invariably considered a sweet wine. He discovered, however, that "regular consumers just fell for Laurent-Perrier Rosé. This was when I decided to focus on rosé as the key element in reintroducing Laurent-Perrier as a brand in the U.S. market," despite the wine's lack of clout with collectors.
Today, says the firm's winemaker Alain Terrier, Laurent-Perrier Rosé is the bestselling rosé in the U.S. (and worldwide), yet ruefully admits, "Demand is higher, but we can't make more than nature gives us." Though rosé as a category in the broader market is still in search of its place, Laurent-Perrier's is in short supply.
That is an impressive statistic, and yet rosé Champagne has little of the market leverage of a blanc non-vintage Champagne. At most houses, the regular non-vintage accounts for upward of 80 percent of sales. And yet, the less-than-serious perception for rosé Peltereau-Villaneuve discovered ten years ago is shifting, at least insofar as Champagne is concerned. "The proportion of rosé in the total Champagne exports to the U.S. market doubled between [2000 and 2004] to reach almost five percent of sales this year," says Daniel Lorson of the CIVC, the organization of Champagne producers and growers. Yves de Launay, vice president of Marne & Champagne USA, the marketing arm of one of Champagne's largest producer groups, agrees: "I find increasing interest for rosé Champagne from both the trade [such as restaurants] and from consumers. I think consumers understand better that rosé Champagnes are not sweet, and I think their various characteristics are better recognized." In other words, the wine once dismissed as "pink Champagne" is showing it has rosy prospects.
"I love rosé because it is so different. It becomes a very special wine that we like to talk about," Lecaillon says. But, he notes, "it is hard to make, and perhaps that is really why we winemakers love it so much. Rosé is unique."
First and foremost, that uniqueness is defined by its color. Without showing the blush of red grapes a wine is not a rosé. But what degree of blush? That is the ultimate question for every Champagne house to answer. It may be the "soft" color sought by Lecaillon at Louis Roederer, or the "pale coral or peach" that is the aim of Rémi and Henri Krug. Lanson winemaker Jean-Paul Gandon says "the color must be pale salmon" while Laurent-Perrier's Terrier wants "deep salmon pink."
The color of each house's rosé is determined by many factors, not the least of which is the aesthetic concern. Winemaker Vincent Malherbe of Besserat de Bellefon points out, "The color is important, and it is necessary that its appearance flatter the eye before the other senses discover the wine. Nuances can go from red currant and raspberry to a more orange hue and can give you tips on how long the wine has been aged." In the end, he says, "In terms of intensity, each house sets its preference." Preference for a given color is not really the starting point, however, but a crucial byproduct of a process that aims initially at flavor and is an outgrowth of technology. Or perhaps more to the point, a lack of it, as the first rosé Champagnes were surely unintentional.
To achieve the preferred coloring - whatever the shade - is no easy task. Champagne constantly battles the forces of nature that tend to conspire against the grapes reaching levels of ripeness and maturity that other regions would consider absolutely essential. Ripeness affects not only sugar levels (and thus potential alcohol) in the grapes,
but also acidity (which generally drops as ripeness increases) and the intensity of color in the grapes' skins.
As far back as the time of Dom Pérignon and his colleagues in the 18th century, vintners realized that they had the best chance of making at least a little wine if they spread their risk over three different grape varieties, each with its own flowering time (and susceptibility to spring frost) and pace of ripening. With the growing season relatively short, the juice of chardonnay could be fiercely acidic in many years, while the reds made from pinot noir and pinot meunier likely never possessed the intensity of color expected in Burgundy, farther to the south. Perhaps then, it was not so far a jump to move from lightly colored reds to a realization that, because the color is concentrated in the skins - the juice of all grapes is white - careful pressing and quick removal of the juice from the skins permitted vintners to blend all three juices together in one wine.
Because the wines are generally so pale in appearance, newcomers to Champagne are always surprised to discover that most cuvées, with the primary exception of blanc de blancs, are made from both red and white grapes. By contrast, the earliest examples of Champagne must have frequently betrayed a telltale hint of red leeching from grapes squeezed too hard or skins left too long in the press.
Time and experience taught vintners that the accidental inclusion of red pigment in their wines offered none of the flavor characteristics of good reds, and posed a number of difficulties, including the tinge of pink turning a less-than-appetizing orange or brown during the winemaking and aging process. Worse, too little of the pigment gave the wines an off flavor, and too much often ended up adding an unpleasantly musky aroma. According to cellar records, Veuve Clicquot produced an intentionally pink Champagne in 1777, but in his book 2000 Champagnes, author Richard Juhlin argues that for nearly a century, "pink Champagne was considered a women's drink, which men would only drink at weddings if at all."
A few growers in the heavily pinot-planted Montagne de Reims made rosé because pinot noir was all they had to work with, but it wasn't until the mid-20th century that rosé was anything more than a rarity. When Laurent-Perrier's Bernard de Nonancourt made his first rosé in 1968, he was considered something of a pioneer.
A modern rosé's color is obtained in one of two ways: The most traditional method is called saignée, or "bleeding," in which grape skins are left with just-pressed juice for a fixed amount of time to extract enough color before the juice is bled off the skins and fermented; the other method takes place after the first fermentation of the new wines with the addition of traditionally made red wine prior to final blending and the second fermentation in the bottle. By law, the added red wine must also be from Champagne and made from one or both of the legal red grapes, pinot noir and pinot meunier, in the region.
Few houses practice saignée, and most winemakers agree it is trickier because it comes before the first fermentation and provides less opportunity for later correction. There is no agreement on which method is better. Each has its proponents and there are even a few winemakers who use both.
Laurent Champs, whose family owns the grower-producer Vilmart, makes only 400 bottles of his Cuvée Rubis non-vintage wine and just under 2,000 bottles of his vintage rosé called Grand Cellier Rubis. "I use the blending method for the Cuvée Rubis because I can get more color and more fruit in the wine. Adding pinot noir lets me better control the consistency of the color, which is important for a non-vintage wine. For the vintage wine," he continues, "I want a lighter color and more finesse, so I use saignée." Another factor for Champs is that he wants to use a higher percentage of chardonnay in his vintage wine for added complexity, and employing the saignée method means he can add color without increasing the percentage of pinot noir.
Rémi Krug points out that making the red wine separately "extracts desirable berry notes and, of course, color, but it needs to be carefully controlled not to give tannic, bitter, astringent or vulgar tastes."
This control can be better exercised with a separate fermentation of red wine. Dom Pérignon's Richard Geoffroy, who also blends, says "our style is not about aromatics, so what unites the wines is the mouth-feel, and the mouth-feel comes from chardonnay." Perrier Jouët chef de caves Hervé Deschamps agrees, and notes that his prestige cuvée, Fleur de Champagne Rosé, "is based on chardonnay grapes. I add red wine to achieve the color and it does give some red fruit aromas, such as wild strawberry, but I am not looking for aromas of red wine, I want to keep the Fleur style delicate and elegant."
On the other hand, Terrier makes Laurent-Perrier Rosé completely from pinot noir. "We use pinot noir from ten grand cru villages," he explains. "Aroma is key with fresh red fruit, and I want our rosé to be a pleasing and elegant wine within the environment of fresh, red fruit." For him, those qualities are best obtained with maceration using specially designed fermentation tanks strictly for rosé.
And sometimes there are differences within the same family of houses. At Louis Roederer, for example, Lecaillon uses saignée with as short a period of skin contact as possible, depending on the level of maturity of the grapes and the intensity of their skin color. "We believe it is the best way to obtain a full integration of the flavors and a better balance and stability of color in the final wine." At sister house Champagne Deutz, an extraordinary vintage rosé is made exclusively from pinot noir - 92 percent of it vinified as blanc Champagne with 8 percent of still red wine added for an alluring, antique rose hue.
It's really all about style, raw materials and tradition. And, in that regard, no matter the contents of the blend, a rosé's character is imparted by pinot noir. "I'm looking for pinot noir where the fresh red fruit flavors predominate without tannin and astringency. The color from the red wines must be young, intense without yellow reflections," says Champagne Mumm's Dominique Demarville. "This is the most difficult exercise that requires great care," agrees Rémi Krug. "The line between sublime and vulgar is very thin, and falling into excess can be really tragic."
Nearly as tragic is making a good wine and having no market for it.
"We are seeing great growth in the rosé market in general, and Krug Rosé in particular," notes Kurt Eckert, the U.S. brand ambassador and director of Champagne Krug. The house's rosé is among the most expensive on the market (the current price is $282), and Eckert acknowledges that sales for the wine are naturally constrained by both price and its relative rarity. Still, he says, "I do think the market can grow. This year, we expect to post gains in the area of 30 to 35 percent, fueled largely by pent-up demand for luxury and rarity - something shared by all the Krug wines - [due in part to] the emergence of various 'hyper-luxury' night clubs in major cities."
Roederer's Lecaillon agrees the market is growing. "Ten years ago, rosé was not very attractive for consumers. Today it is hot stuff and very fashionable" in some places. But, he worries, "what will it be tomorrow?"
Recognizing another factor that sets rosé apart from its lighter-hued siblings, this is the big question for producers because, rather like a new car design, Champagne requires a long lead time for development. The key is demand. It is as unpredictable as forecasting the quality of a harvest before the first bud break. "We keep our rosé aging four to six years before release," he says, "so it is very hard to change our production in order to follow fashion." This is a worry that confronts every Champagne house, though some, especially those making less expensive wines, have an easier time under French law.
By regulation, a non-vintage wine must be at least 15 months old, with three months to make the wine, and then upward of twelve months aging on its lees (the dead yeast cells from the wine's second fermentation in the bottle). This secondary fermentation is what gives Champagne its fizz, and the aging on the lees generally adds complexity of flavor, though little will develop in that first year.
For a large-scale producer, the short aging makes commercial sense and yields a wine that is relatively inexpensive because capital has not been tied up in bottles lying for years in a cool cellar. It also yields a wine that is straightforward, crisp and fresh - the positive spin on the lack of complexity normally gained from more time aging before release.
Most of the better producers commercially available in the U.S., however, give their non-vintage wines more - sometimes much more - than 15 months aging. And then there is a legal minimum age of three years for Champagne carrying a vintage date. That means a vintner making wine in 2004 is trying to calculate demand in 2007 and beyond.
Rémi Krug is quick to point out that when he and his brother Henri developed their rosé in the 1970s, they had a difficult balancing act. "We wanted it to be very brut, yet supple and round. We wanted it to express the lovely red berry notes that one finds in some pinot noir [-based] wines, yet retain elegance, freshness and liveliness." Geoffroy agrees that liveliness is a key element. "Rosés are driven by pinot noir characteristics - lively character is important. So the chardonnay used must have weight, but it cannot compete with pinot noir."
Roederer's Lecaillon says, "We want our rosé to be something other than a nice, fruity wine. We want a wine with complexity that can only be obtained with time to let the wine age and develop." But Mumm's Demarville points out that "one or two more years aging changes the color."
Thus, pinot noir's ability to add that berry fruit character must be balanced by the appearance of the end product. Color consistency is a crucial element in making rosé - it can't be orange one year and pink the next - and the style of the wine must fit the style of each house. "In order to better control the maturity of the cuvée, Lanson decided 35 years ago to only make a non-vintage rosé," notes winemaker Jean-Paul Gandon. It is a position shared by his colleague Vincent Malherbe at Besserat de Bellefon (both Lanson and Bellefon are owned by the large company Marne & Champagne). "We made the choice not to produce a vintage rosé," Malherbe says, "because we use the blending method, and the red wine addition could come from a few years before, and also because the tenderness and freshness characteristics that we expect from rosé Champagnes are not necessarily compatible with the power and maturity of a [single] vintage."
Rémi Krug elaborates, "We chose to go beyond the single vintage approach and blend several years in every Krug Rosé," a practice already well known to admirers of the house's flagship multi-vintage Grande Cuvée. He is quick to point out that "this is a complete and separate...blend of its own, with its own identity and harmony, not a Grande Cuvée Rosé!"
Producers go to great lengths to emphasize that when they make a rosé, it is a wholly new wine, even apart from their prestige cuvées. At Bollinger, Ghislain de Montgolfier notes that Grande Année and the rare Grande Année Rosé share a house similarity, but are different blends. Most years, they use a bit more chardonnay in the base wine, but the total percentage of pinot noir is higher due to the red wine that is blended in.
"Our rosé is not a pink version of Dom Pérignon," says Geoffroy. "Where Dom Pérignon has 20 to 30 components, there are only 10 to 15 for the rosé. They must be great components, but we do not need so many of them." Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, who has taken the day-to-day reins from his uncle, Claude Taittinger, notes that, "The Taittinger style is chardonnay-based, except for Comtes de Champagne Rosé - it is 70 percent pinot noir because rosé needs to reflect a different character. Choosing our grapes carefully, we can do this and still keep to our elegant, racy style." Comtes de Champagne is always made from a single vintage, and 1996 (the current release) is an exceptional wine that conveys Taittinger's signature style without sacrificing the power of the vintage.
In addition to Roederer Vintage Rosé, Lecaillon makes the prestige cuvée Cristal Rosé; both display the complexity of vintage wines over the immediate freshness typical of non-vintage rosé. "In our vintage [wine] we look for red and black fruit aromas with body and roundness; the wine has to be fleshy and vinous. For Cristal Rosé [which receives two to three years more aging]," he continues, "we want more black cherry fruit and some silkiness with a clean, long, aristocratic finish. It is more like a mature but fruity Champagne than a traditional Champagne rosé."
Balancing fruit and richness is a key element for many producers. Régis Camus, the chef de caves at both Champagne Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck, says, "The Charles Heidsieck style emphasizes great personality and strong character. It is rich on the nose and on the palate, part floral and part fruit with flavors that are sometimes sunbaked. I like lots of structure with good freshness, but also very fleshy wines." If rosé is partly about forward fruit (and Charles Heidsieck's is particularly voluptuous), Camus believes the marketplace is ready to reevaluate rosé. "I think consumer taste has changed. Our rosé is still clearly brut, but the dosage - the adjustment we make just before bottling - has gone up very slightly in several of our wines. This doesn't mean people want sweeter wines because the change is too small to taste, but our style is just a little richer now. This seems to be where the public is going." And where better to go than in the direction of a complex and vibrantly fruity rosé?
Whether the wine is from one or several vintages, most producers maintain that it be released when it reaches an optimal balance of elements and seldom profits from additional age. "Laying it down is possible, of course. It is a Krug," says Rémi Krug, who still says, "We do not recommend it though. [Doing so] could cause a loss in freshness and make the drinker miss part of the magic."
Mumm's Demarville concurs, saying, "For me, the best rosé for aging is vintage rosé, but the color often goes to orange. It is interesting to age rosé for the taste, but I like the wine fresh." Like many winemakers in Champagne, he refers to the process of making and blending his wines by the French term élaborer, which in this context translates as "elaboration," but carries with it a wealth of subtle inferences, just as with another term for making wine, élever or "to raise" as one would a child. "The élaborée of rosé is driven by the quality of red wines we can find. When it is a vintage year [in the Champagne region], it is easier to find good red wines." On the other hand, it is unlikely the production of rosé in Champagne can ever be large because the region can't do top red wines every year in significant volume.
Perhaps the most convincing reason to take rosé Champagne seriously is its remarkable deftness at the dinner table. While Champagne in general is the world's most versatile food wine, rosés are arguably even more accommodating. "It used to be that Champagne was often a conclusion to a meal. Our wines today aren't as opulent as they used to be [so] more often they go with food during the meal,"observes Christian Pol-Roger, the director of his family firm. Geoffroy is more definitive: "These wines scream for food; their natural environment is food." He adds that "Rosé has a natural affinity with Asian food. Many wines work with opposition and contrast, but I think rosés - particularly Dom Pérignon - harmonize with food."
It is Champagne's acidic backbone that "creates a frame to present the food, just as a frame does in an art gallery," says Ted Davidson, sommelier at Aujourd'hui, the top-rated restaurant at Boston's Four Seasons Hotel. Davidson, who offers 20 different Champagnes on a special holiday menu, treats rosé Champagne as he would a lighter Pinot Noir, pairing it not only with soft shell crab, salmon and other fish, but also with lamb, game such as pheasant, and even foie gras, where the wine's acidity is the perfect foil to the dish's inherent richness.
Its makers have tried for years to persuade their customers to think of Champagne not only as a celebratory beverage, but first and foremost as a versatile wine suited to almost any meal. It is a struggle that has met with only mixed success, partly because restaurants have been slow to embrace the concept. Yet if any Champagne style could build a bridge, rosé, tinted with its robe of color and imbued with more familiar winey characteristics, possesses the qualities necessary to plant the category on wine lists and dinner tables across the country.
From the complex variety of aromas to the beguiling rainbow of hues embodied in the word rosé, it is a wine that brings an otherwise unattainable type of contemplation and satisfaction to the drinker. "There is tension in the glass," Geoffroy says. "The sensation of tension is important, but it can't be in your face with rosé. It occupies a lonely position in the picture of styles,"
he says. But it is its uniqueness that defines its
special appeal.
At any party where glasses of Champagne are raised, a rosé of almost any shade - from pale rose-gold to coral to deep pink salmon - stands out. It seizes the eye and encourages the heart. Roederer's Lecaillon says that by nature and by design, "It is special, it is rare. It is always surprising and that makes a taste even more exceptional."
Fantasy and flavor. Delicacy and depth. With a smile that may be either wistful or wishful, Marne & Champagne's Yves de Launay lifts a glass and says, "You know, a glass of rosé is the ultimate romantic moment." Then again, two glasses shared are even better.
Rosé tasting bar
The rosés that follow are ranked with BuyLine word scores. They were not tasted blind.
Non-Vintage
Besserat de Bellefon, Cuvée des Moines Rosé - $40: Pale pink-rose in color with good activity. Subtle hints of red fruit dominate the nose, especially wild strawberry, with a slightly floral note. Made with lower pressure than most Champagnes, the wine is noticeably creamy on first taste before the racy acidity kicks in to back up flavors that carry subdued notes of pastry and red currant. The medium-length finish possesses a pleasing crispness. Very Good
Billecart-Salmon, Brut Rosé - $55: Billecart-Salmon is famous for its non-vintage rosé and one taste reveals why. It is a coincidence that the house has "Salmon" in its name, but the wine does have a gorgeous, pale salmon-pink color with medium bubbles and very good activity. The bouquet is only slightly rounder than a blanc Champagne with aromas of freshly baked pastry and subtle red fruit. In the mouth, there is the unmistakable red fruit nuance of a classic rosé - strawberry, red apple - and a nice touch of minerality. The close is long and silky. Outstanding
Laurent-Perrier, Brut Rosé - $50: With its distinctively squat bottle shape and impressive commercial success, this is the emblematic rosé for many consumers and wine lovers. The color is a stunning pink-orange. The nose is lovely with unmistakable aromas of wild strawberry, red currant and fresh bread underscored by an appealing toastiness. Medium weight in the mouth with good balance between the acidity and red fruit elements, and a very long finish that closes with a hint of Christmas spice. Very much a benchmark rosé. Outstanding
Lanson, Brut Rosé - $50: Pastel rose in color with a lovely copper tinge and medium bubbles. This is the subtle variety of rosé with wild strawberry, buttered pastry and red apple on the nose. It displays its rosé qualities more in its weight than in an overt fruitiness in the mouth. Dry, earthy and subtle, it is a fine food wine. Very Good
Moët & Chandon, Brut Imperial Rosé - $40: Medium copper color with medium bubbles and vigorous activity. A slightly smoky, yeasty nose brings up aromas of toasted bread and red and black fruit. In the mouth, the wine is a bit heavy, but yields very pleasant flavors of cherry, lemon tart and toasted brioche combined with enough racy acidity to give it a crisp, medium-length finish. Very Good
Mumm, NV Rosé - $43: Medium bubbles, lovely bright salmon color. The nose carries a distinct red fruit quality to which are added Christmas spice notes on the palate. The texture is quite creamy on entry and the flavors expand with hints of orange and some gaminess. This is a triumphal reintroduction of Mumm's rosé that was once marketed as Cordon Rosé. Both the new label and the wine show a revitalized effort that deserve serious attention. Outstanding
Perrier Jouët, Blason Rosé - $48: Bright copper-pink color and forward aromas of toast, malty yeast and red fruit. In the mouth, the medium-weight wine has great presence with cherry and raspberry flavors giving it a solid foundation, augmented by enough yeastiness to add breadth on the palate. Medium-length finish with crisp acidity adding some clarity at the end. A solid, crowd-pleasing rosé. Very Good
Philipponnat, Brut Reserve Rosée - $45: Medium bubbles illuminate the bright, deep copper color. The nose offers hints of roses with dusty notes supporting red fruit and leads to a surprising depth of flavor. The red fruit flavors linger to make a very rich wine that is hampered only by its medium finish that lacks enough persistence. Outstanding
Piper-Heidsieck, Brut Rosé Sauvage - $45: Shockingly dark blood-red hue with small bubbles. There is an earthy note on the nose with hints of raspberry. Very effervescent, foamy entry with simple, grapy flavors. Very soft; clearly crafted for the club crowd. A conversation piece, but not for serious reflection. Good
Taittinger, Cuvée Prestige Rosé - $70: In its clear bottle, this wine's bright pale strawberry color is arresting. On the nose, there are focused aromas of strawberry and raspberry with a pretty rose petal note. Red berry flavors develop in the mouth in a wine that remains light on the palate to finish with elegant flair. Outstanding
Vintage & Prestige
Bollinger, 1996 Grande Année Rosé - $166: Medium copper-pink color. Distinctive aromas of star anise and Chinese spice underpinned by baked plum and red currant. On the palate, the wine has weight, backed up by the vintage's hallmark acidity. All the aromas are mirrored in the flavor and augmented by an earthy wildness that some may find overwrought, but I find compellingly different. With air, the wine develops hazelnut aromas and a bit of ginger with toasted brioche on the palate, and moves more toward the traditionally rich, biscuity Bollinger style. There is no mistaking the red wine aspect of this rosé and its weight demands food, just as the wine commands respect in the face of its idiosyncratic style. It deserves another two years in the bottle, and will live for a decade or more if properly stored. Outstanding
Charles Heidsieck, 1996 Rosé - $70: Simply stunning pale salmon-onion skin color (Camus calls it nacre - mother of pearl) with astonishingly microscopic bubbles. Delicate red fruit aromas of strawberry accented by cream. Very supple in the mouth with an elegant texture and smoky notes developing on the palate. Tremendous vinosity with a lovely strawberry jam aroma that develops with air. A really terrific wine - full bodied, but quite elegant with great finesse. A wine for contemplation, or at least contemplating where to find another bottle. Superb
Deutz, 1997 Brut Rosé - $66: The color is a lovely antique rose with notably small bubbles. On the nose, there are aromas of ripe red berry and a delicate toasted brioche quality that expands on the palate. This wine has a pleasing vinosity and is elegant without sacrificing power; a good match for richer, soft-ripened cheeses, rather like a great red Burgundy. Made entirely from pinot noir, the wine is marked by an elegant firmness and closes with a long, satisfying finish. Outstanding
Dom Pérignon, 1995 Brut Rosé - $300: Gorgeous medium dusty rose color with pink highlights and pinpoint bubbles. The dynamic bouquet has everything the rosé lover could ask for: subtle but unmistakable red fruit, especially red currant; a pleasing note of toasted brioche; and citrus peel for added complexity. In the mouth, what comes through most is the wine's completeness. Remarkable balance with red fruit, cassis, rose petal and toast. The acidity still stands out and underscores the wine's youthfulness. Tasted without seeing the color, it could pass for a rich blanc Champagne because none of the red fruit elements are jarringly apparent, but add in the spectacular color and this is one of the best Dom rosés to come along in many years. Very long, mineral-laced finish. Hard to resist now, though everything about this wine bodes well for a long life. Superb >
Krug, Brut Rosé - $282: Luminescent rose-gold in color with astonishingly fine bubbles and a gorgeous pastel mousse. The subtlety of the nose is striking, as if aromas were slowly coalescing to create an elegant tapestry of scents: Wild strawberry, a spice note of ginger and nutmeg and a distinct stony quality all merge in the intoxicating bouquet. Crisp acidity is the first impression on entry, then the palate is enveloped by the exceptionally silky texture with flavors of red fruit, spice, an intriguing hint of toast and smoke, and an undeniable sense of minerals and terroir. This may be the "winiest" of rosés, and if some of the flavors seem teasing and elusive now, they will surely develop with time. This is as close as rosé comes to some of the haunting qualities of great white and red Burgundy. It is a wine that transcends category. Superb
Laurent-Perrier, 1997 Grand Siècle Alexandra Rosé - $80: Made by the saignée method with a deep salmon-pink color. The bouquet is marked by a note of candied orange peel and concentrated raspberry, black cherry and red currant scents. Very firm in the mouth, the wine still tastes quite young, but the very ripe red fruit and black cherry are already showing through the firm acidity. Needs time, but will develop into an exceptional wine. Outstanding
Louis Roederer, 1998 Brut Rosé - $63: Made by the saignée method; the house always achieves a vibrant depth to its pleasing pink color. Aromas blossom in the glass with red fruit notes and a hint of blackberry as well. In the mouth, the wine is firm and crisp without sacrificing a sense of richness and ripe red fruit. As it breathes, even more of the red fruit quality develops and yields a long
