Rosé season is in full swing - read below for the current favorites of our wine team, in varying hues of pink (and orange).

Commanderie de la Bargemone Rosé, 2021

Provence, France

Regular: $19.99 TWS Sale: $15.99

Brought to us by: Hand Picked Selections | Prestige-Ledroit Distributing Co.

Commanderie de la Bargemone is a benchmark producer of the delicious, dry rosé for which Provence is famous. ‘La Commanderie de la Bargemone' was founded in the 13th Century and is located 10 miles away from the historic city of Aix-en-Provence. In 1250 AD The Templar Knights built their compound of buildings known as ‘'La Commanderie'' in the heart of the surrounding farm fields. In 1968 the vineyards were replanted on a large scale with 300 sustainable acres (120 hectares) in production. It offers classic aromas of wild strawberries and red currants with a light floral character and crisp, bone-dry palate. I'm a big fan of the subtle "cotton candy" aroma that this wine boasts for the 2021 vintage. Enjoy this rosé with lighter fare including salmon dishes, quiches, salads and chicken. Cheers! 

-Dan Zetlmeisl

Chateau Mourgues du Gres Fleur d'Eglantine, 2021

Costieres de Nimes, Rhone Valley, France

Regular: $19.99 TWS Sale: $15.99

Brought to us by: Bowler Wine | Plant Wine | International Cellars

Delicate, nuanced, precise: the rosé wines of the Costieres de Nimes are a wonderful fusion of the famous French regions that surround it. Costieres de Nimes was granted admission to the Cotes du Rhone in 2004, becoming its southernmost appellation after spending twenty years as part of the Languedoc-Roussillon. The region’s central location between Provence, the Languedoc, and the Côtes du Rhône results in low-lying, flat scrubby plains of river stone “galet” vineyards that are cooled by both the Mistral from the north and Mediterranean breezes from the south.

Chateau Mourgues du Gres are the pioneers of the Costieres de Nimes. The winery is certified both biodynamic and organic and they practice limited intervention winemaking in the cellar. There is no sulfur added during the winemaking process and only a small amount is added at bottling for stabilization. The chateau’s rosé, Fleur d’Eglantine, is made up of 60% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, and 10% Syrah aged for one month on the lees in stainless steel tanks. The airy nose shows white peach, meadow flowers, and almonds. The dry palate is an incredible balance of a round rich mouthfeel but a crisp and refreshing finish. The acidity and light flavors of strawberries and raspberries combine with a touch of saline minerality. Mesmerizingly balanced, complex richness and light-on-its-feetedness result in the perfect summer rosé to pair with a pool float and a bottle of sunscreen. 

-Jake Groenke

Domaine du Petit Clocher Rosé d'Anjou, 2021

Anjou, Loire Valley, France

Regular: $17.99 TWS Sale: $13.99

Brought to us by: Voila! Collection | Oslo Enterprise

My rosé pick this year is Domaine du Petit Clocher Rose d’Anjou. The Domaine du Petit Clocher vineyard is located at the very south of Anjou, near Layon and Saumur, where their vines grow on hillsides carved by the river. To ensure the concentration of the fruit harvested, grass is planted between the rows of vines to compete for moisture. The proximity of the Atlantic keeps temperatures mild, with spring and summer being dry and sunny - this combination ensures a gradual ripening process that is shown in the wine. The accompanying morning mist and sunny, dry days also create a perfect environment for noble rot in the fall for their sweet wines (not this rose).

Red berries are prominent on the nose, accompanied by grapefruit, lime, and fresh blossoms. The palate is a touch sweet but with bright acid that leaves the palate dry on the finish. All the pleasant flavors that one seeks in a refreshing, warm weather rose are present: watermelon, peach, and grapefruit take turns as leading stars while hints of lime, stone, and red berries show up in the background. This wine by all means can be enjoyed on its own but would also be a great accompaniment to summer produce such as tomatoes, squash, peaches, and melon. Grilled tuna, BLTs, and sushi may be enhanced by this rose as well. The most ideal pairing is probably a cooler and a porch/patio of your choosing. Enjoy responsibly. 

-Matt Supik

Meinklang Prosa Rosé, 2021

Burgenland, Austria

Regular: $24.99 TWS Sale: $19.99

Brought to us by: Zev Rovine Selections | Genin Selections

Summer evokes a sense of ease. The warmth conjures memories of uncomplicated days with no more pencils, no more books, or schedules. Your only obligation might have been to come home before the sun goes down. The weather around here is usually too humid for anything too laborious anyway. Luckily for us, summer also brings rosé. Prosa from Meinklang is deliciously refreshing and perfectly uncomplicated for those thick summer days. The nose is light with notes of fresh strawberry with a bit of peach and pear. The body is light, spritzy, and juicy. The lower acidity and lower ABV (10.5%) make this petillant natural especially quaffable.

Meinklang is family run and the producers Anneliese and Werner Mitchlit had their upcoming wedding in mind when they created Prosa. They wanted to create a fresh and delicious sparkling wine for their toast. Meinklang's biodynamic farm can be found in Austria along the Hungarian border. The family runs the farms as a closed and fully self-sustaining system featuring Angus cattle. The vineyards are grown in this harmonious setting in well-fertilized, sandy loam soil. A blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Blaufränkisch is harvested by hand and gently pressed. Spontaneous fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks after a short maceration period. The wine then is rested in bottle on the lees for a period of time. While Prosa was crafted for a wedding, it is delightfully informal for impromptu summer picnics or backyard hang outs.

-Sheena Callage

Bermejo Listan Negro Rosado

Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

Regular: $34.99 TWS Sale: $27.99

Brought to us by: Bowler Wine| Plant Wine | International Cellars

If you have a second, go ahead and Google “Bermejos vineyard”.  This wine comes from probably the most unusual and shocking environment in all of wine-dom.  Rather than growing those face hugging creatures from the movie Alien though, they grow indigenous varieties on the ash covered hills in the Canary Islands.  The entire island was coated with one to two feet of lava from a volcanic eruption that lasted for 30yrs during the 18th century.  This  makes it very difficult to grow grapes.  Winemakers (like Bermejos) have to dig large holes (or "hoyos") to place the vine in, as well as build small walls that protect the vine from high winds.  This means that harvesting is difficult, and the amount of attention and love put into these wines is truly remarkable.  

Out of this dramatic and other-worldly landscape comes a delightful and elegant rosé.  Made from Listán Negro, this rosé is bright with a zippy acidity mixed with a smoky and creamy body.  Tastes like ripe strawberries, orange oil, mint, sage and crushed up rocks.  It’s not only mouthwatering, but eye watering. Grab a bottle. They are easy to recognize! 

-Andrew Thorp

Ovum Big Salt Orange Rosé, 2021

Oregon, USA

Regular: $24.99 TWS Sale: $19.99

Brought to us by: Free Run Wine Merchants

The 2010’s substantiated the meteoric rise of rosé; ushering in a decade of quaffable pink Provençal wines. Americans had long associated pink (blush) wines with saccharine, cloying beverages like “white” Zinfandel, but now there was a whole new generation of drinkers who associated the color pink with crisp, crushable wines to beat the heat. It was a beautiful honeymoon period, with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie quickly ascending to wine royalty with their Miraval label, and a deluge of wineries sharing their own vision of a refreshing and citrusy pink wine.

We all still like rosé… but are there still ways for the category to excite us? For many of the younger generation of natural wine drinkers, rosé has been supplanted by orange wine, and you know what? If you can’t beat ‘em….join ‘em.

Ovum wines has created orange rosé in the form of Big Salt rosé. A compelling blend of rosé of Pinot Gris and skin contact Alsatian white varietals, Big Salt rosé might just be the most interesting and downright delicious wine I’ve tasted in years. Believe me when I tell you that you’ve never had anything quite like it. The nose is a beautiful mélange of grapefruit, blood orange, Meyer lemon, ginger, Thai basil, white pepper, and red apple skins. The palate is zippy and fresh, fulfilling the exciting promise of the expressive aromatics, while adding a unique hint of tannic grip. The finish is long and lingering, allowing you plenty of time to savor the unique weave of flavors and textures while it quenches your thirst. If you, like me, are looking for a rosé to reinvigorate and reinspire, you owe it to yourself to try this wine!

*limited quantity available, with a restock on the way mid-June!

-Andrew Sayers

Domaine Armelle et Bernard Rion Cuvée Rose, 2021

Coteaux-Bourguignons, Burgundy, France

Regular: $24.99 TWS Sale: $19.99

Brought to us by: Elite Wines

From beef and chicken to creamy cheeses and truffles, precise and minerally Chablis to brooding and velvety Volnay – Burgundy is an encyclopedia of opulence for food and wine. Any wine enthusiast or professional could easily spend their lives and careers studying the intricacies, but one of my favorite aspects of the wine world is when a producer reminds us that well earned prestige and simplicity of enjoyment are not mutually exclusive. This brings me to my rosé pick – the 2021 Cuvée Rose from Domaine Armelle et Bernard Rion.

The Domaine was founded in 1896 by Pierre Rion. His son Luis Rion enlarged the Domaine and eventually divided it for his two sons. Marcel Rion remained within Vosne Romanée, and in 1973 his son Bernard joined him. Today, Bernard and his wife Armelle manage the Domaine, with their daughter Alice taking on winemaking and their son-in-law Louis working the vineyards alongside Bernard. Their holdings are in some of the best of the Cote de Nuits, including the red earth covered clay and lime soil of Vosne Romanée, and the steep, brown limey clay and pebbles of Chambolle-Musigny, and their pack of Lagotto Romagnolo dogs Perla, Vaona, Diana, and Bella sniff out truffles. Amongst this distinguished, scholarly, and luxurious production, they also find time to make a yummy little rosé under the basic Coteaux Bourguignons designation.

The Cuvée Rose is produced from predominantly Gamay with a touch of Pinot Noir from 60 year-old vines planted to sandy slopes in a small vineyard only a few hundred meters from the winery. Grapes are hand picked and destemmed, then undergo limited maceration to extract a beautiful strawberry hue and spend 6 months maturing in tank. The resultant wine is refreshing and juicy, showing ripe peach, tart red currants, crunchy strawberry, rhubarb, crushed stone, watermelon, and cardamom. A kick of acidity keeps this wine racy, zippy, and quite food-friendly for whatever you’re serving for summertime supper – whether a fresh salad of veggies and fruits from the farmers' market, or a juicy ribeye on the grill. 

-Lauren Loeffler

Clos Cibonne Cuvée Tradition, 2020

Provence, France

Regular: $39.99 TWS Sale: $29.99

Brought to us by: De Maison Selections | Free Run Wine Merchants

Winemaking is, in many ways, an inherently conservative practice. Experimentation carries financial risk. So it is exciting whenever a producer can create something utterly new, successful, and inimitable. The wines of Clos Cibonne are a beautiful example. 

Provence roses are famous for their light, delicate, fresh & fruity flavors, rarely showing age or oak. The Provençal rosés of Clos Cibonne however, are aged in giant (5,000 liter) barrels that are over 120 years old. Most Provence rosés are blends of common Southern French grapes such as Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. By contrast, Clos Cibonne uses the ancient grape Tibouren. Rosés are typically protected from the faintest hint of oxidation, while at Clos Cibonne the wines are purposefully exposed to air so that they can develop a unique strain of yeast that grows in a coating over the surface of the liquid. (The French call this aging “sous voile” or “under the veil”, and some of the world’s great wines such as Amontillado and Manzanilla sherries are aged under this yeast layer, called “flor”).

Particularly in white wine production, oxygen is anathema (as exposure usually results in stale flavors and an ugly brown color). However, tiny amounts of oxygen can improve wine, and, in combination with the flor itself, produce beautiful nutty, apple-y, savory, faintly spicy flavors.

Provence evokes extremes - balanced between mountains and the sea, its wines can take contrary forms. The basic rosés are often so light as to be innocuous, while the Bandols can be too massive and brooding for everyday sipping. Clos Cibonne falls in glorious middle ground - rich yet clean, savory but refreshing. This wine is good for both quick pleasure and pondering, deeper and more substantial than most rosés, but still light, easy, and thirst-quenching. It feels both young and old simultaneously.

The color is a beautiful faint orange/pink salmon, and the aromas show ripe melon, baked apples, rhubarb, blood orange, and a faint earthiness with some burnt orange skin. On the palate, there is more fresh melon, but with fruit leather and some dried fruits melded in. Also, a gorgeous lavender note (both fresh and dried), rain on dry earth, and petrichor. As it warms, red berries emerge with cream and fresh orange, and it grows even more savory and earthy (white button mushrooms) with very faint spice and nuttiness.

This estate has been owned by the same family since 1793, and the label has not changed since 1930. Only two employees are not family. Very few wines can feel so idiosyncratic and radical while still intensely traditional. Also- right across the border of Provence on the Ligurian coast the rare Tibouren grape used by Clos Cibonne is called Rossese, and there it is made into lovely spiced, delicate, aromatic chillable reds. We have one! Try it!

-Kasimir Bujak