Celebrate Great British Rosé Week from May 2nd_8th 2022 with one of these newly-released pink wines
Albury Silent Pool Rosé 2021
Albury Vineyard’s sell-out Silent Pool Rosé is back. The 2021 vintage of this popular still pink wine, which was served on the Royal Barge to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, is a beautifully elegant blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes.
Dry with subtle summer fruit ‘strawberry and cream’ flavours this is the perfect summer tipple for picnics, trips to the beach and balmy summer evenings entertaining in the garden.
Available now, £19.95 per bottle.
Bullards Limited Edition Rosé Sparkling Wine
Produced and bottled at Wiston Estate Winery in West Sussex, this limited-edition traditional method rosé sparkling wine is a first for Norfolk gin makers, Bullards.
Made from Seyval Blanc, Pinot Noir and Auxerrois grapes grown at Bullard’s Tipsy Anchor vineyard in Norfolk by viticulturalist Michael McAully, the 12% ABV pink sparkler has a palate of strawberry and raspberry sorbet complemented by a high acidity for the perfect finish.
“Our small vineyard in Spooner Row is a bit of a well-kept secret, but it has been producing top-quality grapes for many years now,” explains Bullard’s Business Development Director Joe Evans. “Up until now we have sold the grapes to other wineries, but we decided to hold back some of the wonderful 2009 vintage and make our own sparkling wine from it.”
The new sparkling rosé will be available to purchase at Covent Garden’s Rosé Garden Party (Friday 29th April to 15th May), on the Bullards website, and in all Bullards sites, rrp £40 per bottle.
Everflyht Rosé de Saignée 2019
The first sparkling wine from Everflyht, one of Sussex’s newest vineyards, this rosé is made using the Saignée method.
Saignée means ‘bleeding’ in French, and in winemaking involves ‘bleeding’ off liquid from a tank of juice early on in the process in order to produce more concentrated flavour and colour in red wine and rosé wines.
The result in this Rosé de Saignee, made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes grown in the heart of the South Downs in Ditchling, is a darker shade of sparkling rosé that is ripe with vivacious red fruit flavours.
It’s an exciting debut from the team at Everflyht, the name of which has been inspired by the six Martlets of the Sussex crest, which are ‘ever in flight’, and is available now, rrp £40.
FOLC 2021 Vintage
Since Elisha Rai and Tom Cannon launched their first FOLC still rosé wine in 2020, their wines have got better and better. And this year’s release finally gave them the opportunity to have a launch party, which took place at The Pavilion Club in Knightsbridge, where the wine was complemented by food from Tom Kerridge’s kitchen.
Made from grapes grown in Kent, Sussex and Essex, the new blend is made from 48% Pinot Noir, 35% Meunier, 7% Chardonnay with the remaining 10% including Pinot Gris, Bacchus, Rondo and Kerner. The result is a fresh tasting pale pink rose with summer fruit flavours and a mineral backbone, softened thanks to 90% malolactic fermentation.
Available now, from £15.99 per bottle.
STILL Rosé by Hattingley Valley
Considering the owner of Hattingley Valley, Simon Robinson, initially didn’t want to make rosé wine, believing that it wasn’t a ‘serious wine’, the Hampshire vineyard has done pretty well, winning awards year after year for its famous sparkling rosé. Last year, the team launched its first still pink and have followed suit this year with its 2021 vintage.
Made from a blend of Pinot Precoce, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, which were pressed and cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks, lightly filtered and put straight into bottle, the wine is vibrant with red fruit character.
The nose is bright with pomegranate, raspberries and strawberries with a hint of freshly cut hay giving it a savoury edge, while the palate is smooth in texture but lingers in the mouth for a lasting, tasty finish.
Available later this month, RRP £17. hattingleyvalley.com
Rathfinny 2018 Rosé
The 2018 vintage was widely considered the ‘vintage of the decade’ for English winemakers and so it’s no surprise that Rathfinny’s sparkling rosé from that harvest has been well worth the wait.
Made using the traditional method from 81% Pinot Noir, 13% Chardonnay, and 6% Pinot Meunier grapes, this fourth iteration of the East Sussex vineyard’s pink fizz is intense in strawberry and candied fruit aromas yet light on the palate with a refreshing zesty sherbet flavour that tingles on the tongue before mellowing into a smooth, elegant and long finish.
Available now from the Rathfinny online shop and cellar door, priced at £36.
