Best rosé wine – taste tested

Currently, the Provençal style is most popular – around 95% of the wines tested for this review were of that type, but whisper it, there’s a dark rosé revival on the horizon as people look for wines with a little more character.

On a baking hot summer’s day, it’s hard to argue with the pale style. The flavours should be subtle, walking a tightrope between elegant and almost not there. They won’t knock your socks off like vintage champagne or an intense red, but with the best you will find yourself having a sip, then another and before you’ve realised you have finished the bottle.

All the bottles below have been taste tested by wine writer Henry Jeffreys. Henry is a drinks and wine writer who writes for Master of Malt, and his work has appeared in the The Guardian, The Spectator and The Financial Times. He is the author of Empire of Booze: British History through the Bottom of a Glass, which won best debut drink book at the Fortnum & Mason 2017 Awards. He also curates the wine choices for the BBC Good Food Wine Club in association with Laithwaites and writes many drinks guides for BBC Good Food, including covering all forms of fizz – from the best cava and best English sparkling wines to finding the best champagne.

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Jump to section:

• Best rosé at a glance
• Best rosé to buy in 2023
• Previously tested rosé
• Rosé: What is it and why is it so popular?
• How old should rosé be
• How pink should rosé be
• How we tested
• Rosé recipes

Best rosé at a glance

• Best southern French rosé: Waitrose Provence Rosé, £9.49
• Best party wine: La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2020, £7.75
• Best rioja rosé: Ramón Bilbao Rioja Rosado 2021, £8.25
• Best pinot noir rosé: Calvet Sancerre 2020, £16.99
• Best English rosé: Hush Heath Estate Botham & Balfour 2020, £15
• Best dark rosé: Paso-Primero Somontano Rosado 2021, £14.95
• Best exotic rosé: Domaine des Tourelles Rosé 2021, £14.25
• Best rosé for showing-off: Château Miraval Côtes de Provence Rosé 2021, £19
• Best to drink by the pool: Mirabeau Pure Côtes de Provence 2021, £17.99
• Best with salad niçoise: Rosé de Léoube 2020, £23.50

Best rosé to buy in 2023

Waitrose Provence Rosé

• Available from Waitrose (£9.49)

Best southern French rosé

Star rating: 3/5

I tried a huge number of Provence rosés for this test and this one was easily the best of the under-£10 ones and gave the big names a run for its money. While some southern French rosés are frankly just a bit dull, this one was mouth-watering in its intensity. If you don’t care about brand names, then look no further.

Available from:

Waitrose Provence Rosé (£9.49)

La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2020

• Available from Waitrose (£7.50)

Best party wine

Star rating: 3/5

This is made by one of the great wine making families of France, the Perrins, who make some superb wine in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This is their budget range and it’s always worth buying. Flavours of apricots, pink grapefruit and notes of thyme and rosemary.

Available from:
Waitrose (£7.75)

Ramón Bilbao Rioja Rosado 2021

• Available from Tesco (£8.25)

Best Rioja rosé

Star rating: 3/5

Rioja in Spain is a great hunting ground for quality rosé. It used to be made in a darker style but in recent years the colour has shifted in line with Provence. This is so pale it’s almost colourless. Happily it’s not short of flavour with its peppery, saline flavours and red fruit.

Available from:
Tesco (£8.25)

Calvet Sancerre 2020

• Available from Waitrose (£16.99)

Best pinot noir rosé

Star rating: 4/5

The region of Sancerre is famous for its white wines made with sauvignon blanc but it also makes light reds and rosés from pinot noir. It’s full-bodied for a rosé with a refreshing acidity, lots of cranberry fruit and a floral perfumed finish. This would be delicious with seared tuna.

Available from:
Waitrose (£16.99)

Hush Heath Estate Botham & Balfour 2020

• Available from The English Wine Collection (£15)

Best English rosé

Star rating: 4/5

This is made by Hush Heath in Kent for former England cricketer Ian Botham’s range of wines and very good it is too. It’s made from a cocktail of grapes including pinot noir which gives it its colour. It tastes herbal with stone fruit and a delightful creamy texture. I’d find this very hard to resist on a hot summer’s day.

Available from:
The English Wine Collection (£15)

Paso-Primero Somontano Rosado 2021

• Available from Paso-Primero (£14.95)

Best dark rosé

Star rating: 4/5

You’ve got to admire this Spanish producer for swimming so bravely against the tide. The colour is intense: I’ve had red wines paler than this! There's some big fruit here such as blueberries, oranges, raspberries. It’s massively juicy with just a little tannin. Despite it’s heft, the alcohol isn’t over the top at 13.5% ABV, making this a great BBQ wine.

Available from:
Paso-Primero (£14.95)

Domaine des Tourelles Rosé 2021

• Available from Flagship Wines (£14.25)

Best exotic rosé

Star rating: 4/5

From one of my favourite producers, Lebanon’s Domaine des Tourelles, I buy this every year and it’s always a knock-out. This majors on the spice with North African flavours like cinnamon, orange peel and apricot. There’s a woody aromatic quality to it, though it isn’t aged in oak. You’ve never had a rosé like this before.

Available from:
Flagship Wine (£13.49)

Château Miraval Côtes de Provence Rosé 2021

• Available from Sainsbury's (£19)

Best rosé for showing off

Star rating: 5/5

This is the estate that used to be owned by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and though they aren’t involved any more, it’s still the most glamorous rosé on the market. Most people will probably buy for the image but the wine is among the best you’ll find. It’s surprisingly rich with very ripe strawberries, orange peel and a nutty finish.

Available from:
Sainsbury's (£19)

Mirabeau Pure Côtes de Provence 2021

• Available from Majestic Wines (£17.99), Tesco (£15.50)

Best to drink by the pool

Star rating: 4/5

From one of the biggest names in the Provence rosé world, this is a textbook example of style. There’s stone fruit on the nose and then an explosion of peachy notes on the palate with a long creamy finish. Utterly irresistible, especially if you’re lucky enough to be by the pool.

Available from:
Majestic Wines (£17.99)
Tesco (£15.50)

Rosé de Léoube 2020

• Available from Vivino (£23.50)

Best with salad niçoise

Star rating: 4/5

Leoube was founded by an English couple in Provence. It’s made in an organic vineyard from a blend of the classic rosé grapes Grenache and Cinsault with some Syrah and Mourvèdre too. It’s packed with stone fruit, citrus and strawberries, with a nice weight in the mouth. Perfect with fresh Mediterranean cuisine.

Available from:
Vivino (£23.50)

Previously tested

Porcupine Ridge 2017

• Available from Waitrose (£8.99)

Made by one of the Cape’s best producers, Boekenhoutkloof, this rosé is South Africa meets Provence at a bargain price. A juicy wine with the taste of bright strawberry fruit, it’s impossible to refuse a second glass.

Available from:
Waitrose (£8.99)

Esprit de Buganay 2016

• Available from Waitrose (£14.99)
  

A bottle consisting of a blend of Cinsault, Syrah and Grenache, you can almost smell the Mediterranean with the salty, citrus and herbal flavours of this wine.

Available from:
Waitrose (£14.99)

MiP 2017

• Available from Vinissimus (£15.20)

The abbreviated name, as you might have guessed, stands for Made in Provence. It’s so pale that it’s barely pink at all, and its flavours of lemon and thyme are more white wine than rosé – so it might be best suited if you prefer white wines.

Available from:
Vinissimus (£15.99)

Château de Berne 2016

• Available from Majestic (£17.99)
  

If you judge how good a rosé is by how quickly the bottle disappears, this one is our clear winner. Perfect when served at a barbecue, everyone will love the fresh saline quality, peachy fruit and creamy texture that it brings.

Available from:
Majestic (£17.99)

Rosé: what is it and why is it so popular?

How old should rosé be?

Rosé should be enjoyed relatively young, although the best pinks actually taste better with a little time in the bottle. But largely these are not wines for keeping, and you should be aware that their clear glass bottles can leave their delicate contents susceptible to damage from sunlight – which is why you should never buy rosé that has been kept in a shop window.

How pink should rosé be?

The Provençal style of rosé wine is now used all over the world. You get that beautiful colour from very gently pressing red grapes – usually grenache, cinsault and other Mediterranean varieties – so that only a tiny bit of colour (and indeed flavour) from the skins gets into the wine, resulting in that classic blush shade.

However, this is not the only way to make rosé. Just a little north of Provence, in the villages of Tavel and Lirac at the southern foothills of the Rhone valley, you'll find rosé that is very nearly red because they make pinks with tannin and lots of fruit. Darker styles of rosé are made all over the world, particularly in Spain and Italy. In Australia and other New World countries, rosé wine can be made simply by mixing red and white wine together.

How we tested

Our expert sampled some of the famous rosé names versus the best from the supermarkets and the high street, all ranging in price between £7 and £17. The wines were tested both in a formal tasting – one by one – and then again informally, served with food. Often, ones that didn’t impress on first tasting became the favourites after paired with foods.

Rosé recipes...

Frozen raspberry sangria
Strawberries in rosé wine
Mulled rosé wine

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This review was last updated in May 2023. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.