May

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago when it was backing hot, with the turn in weather conditions it doesn't feel appropriate now! Hope you enjoy it all the same!

Being a gourmand is not an easy task; recipes float in and out of your head and excessive salivation is far too frequent a problem. I was like a golden Labrador puppy yesterday whilst chewing over the idea of griddled romaine lettuce and melted cheese, drooling with anticipation at what sensational flavours are coming out of the garden now. It was thirsty thinking and it was Rosé I had in mind.

Rosé has had more than its fair share of snubs: among many professionals Rosé is derided as something with little weight or seriousness. The bulk of Rosé made in the world probably justifies this assertion. In France, Spain and California Rosé came about as something to quench the thirst on hot days, without having the weight and alcohol of reds it was a refresher and drunk by the gallon. Not the stuff of quality, not that anybody minds in this country, Mateus and Gallo are evidence enough of that.

The Rosé market is exploding at the moment though, sales grew 27% last year when white and red plateau-ed. Apparently the alcopop generation have grown up a little and perhaps see the plethora of ‘blush’, off-dry wines as a step up on the sophistication ladder and a step down on the e-numbers. That may be a large part of it, but it doesn’t really account for the upsurge in high quality Rosé, that’s what we’re really interested in, that’s what I was thinking about with those juicy, griddled lettuces.

I think the appeal with a good Rosé is that they’re so dependable, people might not like red or don’t drink white, but I’ve yet to find a person who won’t drink Rosé. This inoffensiveness should not be confused with mediocrity though, far from it, Rosé’s secret is it’s crisp, lightness and acidity pitched against those fresh berry flavours and the absence of drying tannin. Colour is a huge part of the attraction, there was a brief trend for oz and new world Rosé to be big cherry red thumpers with higher alcohols and heavier all round, thankfully the current vogue is for prettier salmon pink Rosé with all that freshness and limpidity that their colour implies. The more you spend the more you get and at £6-£8 pounds some real corkers can be had.

So what to buy? France, love them or hate them have always had the upper hand with Rosé, from Provence to the Loire via southern Rhone and Bordeaux, there is a huge amount to choose from. Spain follows closely behind with a great culture of Rosado wines. Italy has often spurned Rosé wines but there are some real gems slipping through the net. My current favourite is a Pinot Noir Rosé from the Limoux, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The vineyard has a unqiue topography, perched on the top of an isolated hill, there is enough of a chill at night that the ripening berries maintain plenty of acidity to compliment the wines’ Moorish and silky pinot character, a sure fire hit and a bargain at £6.99.