Among the big stories to emerge from the results of the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) was the rise of rosé. Wine drinkers are ‘drinking pink’, encouraged by the marketing clout and celebrity stardust of plush-pocketed rosé producers – and an uptick in quality.
‘It won’t surprise readers to know that our rosé wine entries grow with every year that passes (we judged almost 800 dry and medium-dry still pink wines this year),’ the DWWA judging panel commented.
There is more rosé around and it’s of better quality; the term ‘premium’ is now an apt descriptor for top-class rosé, not just red, white and sparkling wines.
This year two rosé wines – one still, one sparkling – were awarded Best in Show. There were just 50 wines out of the 18,143 evaluated to receive this plaudit in 2024, accounting for just 0.28% of the total wines tasted.
Scroll down to explore the top five rosé wines of DWWA 2024
Sparkling performances
This year witnessed an important first in the history of the awards – a Best in Show award for an English sparkling wine. Chapel Down, Rosé Brut, Kent NV (97 points) was deemed ‘hard to resist’, by the DWWA Co-Chairs. ‘It’s petal-pink colour couldn’t look prettier in the glass, while the aromatic fruits are satisfyingly restrained and subtle, and the palate clean and emphatic,’ they said.
The non-vintage blend is not new, but its style has evolved over time. Chapel Down’s head winemaker Josh Donaghay-Spire said: ‘Over the last 15 years the vineyards we have planted have been on better sites and have benefitted from our increased knowledge on how to get the maximum potential from our Kentish terroir.
‘These better sites have made higher quality wines and led to greater confidence and investment, which has allowed us to plant even better sites with the best equipment and people – and so the virtuous circle continues.
‘This wine is now benefitting from Kent Downs sites we planted prior to 2018, which have a high proportion of Chardonnay – 57% of our vineyard acreage is planted to Chardonnay.’
The award-winning blend is predominantly (61%) Chardonnay with 23% Pinot Noir and 9% Pinot Meunier. The remainder? Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir Précoce (also called Early Pinot Noir or Frühburgunder).
‘Early Pinot Noir is a variety I have been interested in for around 10 years,’ said Donaghay-Spire. ‘Once initial experiments were complete, we planted a beautiful site at Little Bokes Farm in Hawkhurst with the variety and it has been used in our wines since 2020.
‘By using this variety, which can’t be grown in Champagne, we have reduced the tannin concentration of our sparkling rosés, which means less sugar is required to balance the wine and the natural fruit flavours come through even more clearly.’
Of winning the Best in Show Award, Donaghay-Spire said, ‘This award is a landmark on our journey of the exploration of the terroir of Kent and a great moment to reflect on how far we have come in creating a brand-new wine region here.’
Other English counties claimed Gold medals for their rosé wines too. Roebuck Estates, Rosé de Noirs Brut, West Sussex 2018 scooped a Gold with 96 points (the wine also has 17 per cent Pinot Noir Précoce).
In Hampshire, Louis Pommery, England Rosé Brut, Hampshire NV won Gold with 95 points. Louis Pommery was the first Champagne house to launch an English sparkling wine (others have followed suit), a move that seems to be bearing fruit, in more ways than one.
And, on the topic of Champagne, Laurent-Perrier, Alexandra Grande Cuvée Rosé Brut 2012 won a Platinum (97 points) for its 80/20 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend.
Still rosé: Provence and (way) beyond
In the still-wine categories, rosé strongholds such as Provence dominated the Awards: the second Best in Show award in the rosé category went to Château d’Esclans, Les Clans, Côtes de Provence 2022 (97 points). No great shock there – but there were also notable ‘strange and wonderful’ wins from such off-the-beaten-track areas as Menorca, Pennsylvania and Moldova.
As the judging panel so aptly put it: ‘The Côtes de Provence archetype still tends to set the rosé benchmark for style desiderata’ – and Château d’Esclans, the internationally famous Var property piloted by Alexis Lichine, has been a huge driving force behind the rosé renaissance.
‘Predominantly Grenache blended with Rolle and a dash of Tibouren, Les Clans has a classic delicate peach-pink colour and a haunting aromatic profile that mixes cream, white almond, peach and gardenia notes.’
On the palate it is ‘deeper than many of its peers to the point where you could almost say ‘concentrated’, said the panel, ‘and perhaps shows brighter acidity than some of our previous winners. That cream, though, naps and envelops all, and the white almond depth fuses admirably with the wine’s vinosity to provide the dominant structural frame, rather than relying on acidity.’
Another wine from the southern French region, Robert De Salvo, Bastide de La Ciselette, Bandol 2023 was awarded a Platinum (97 points).
Bandol is the largest of Provence’s micro-appellations, and about 80% of the wine produced there is rosé. This worthy wine combines 70% Mourvèdre with Grenache and Cinsault.
Moving beyond the pink heartland of Provence across the border to Spain, Rioja claimed a Platinum for Hacienda López de Haro, Classica Gran Reserva, Rioja Rosado 2012, a blend of Garnacha Tintorera and Viura that scored 97 points.
It was Spain’s first-ever Platinum for a rosé in the DWWA (although it did receive a Best in Show in 2022 for the same wine (2009 vintage)).
Things got really interesting in the Gold category where, among the 21 winners, was a pink from the US state of Pennsylvania: Mazza, The Perfect Rosé, Pennsylvania 2022, made from 100% Chambourcin (95 points).
Other Golds from the wilder fringes included Bodegas Torralbenc, Isla de Menorca 2023, a blend of Monastrell with Merlot and Syrah (95 points).
From Eastern Europe, Vinaria Purcari, 1827, Stefan Voda, Moldova 2023 (95 points), which blends Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with the local Rara Neagră, was another notable Gold, from a forward-looking producer who won a Best in Show with a white-wine blend in the 2020 DWWA.
Also notable was a Gold for Camel Valley’s Pinot Noir rosé 2023 from Cornwall, UK, with more rosé wines featuring from Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.
Still or sparkling, from classic territories or new ground, admirers of the pink stuff have never had it so good.
DWWA 2024: Top-scoring rosé wines to try
Chapel Down, Rosé Brut, Kent, United Kingdom NV
97 Best in Show
Its petal pink couldn’t look prettier in the glass, while the aromatic fruits are satisfyingly restrained and subtle, and the palate clean and emphatic. The English-season acidity – always prominent, but satisfyingly ripe here — is lent interest by a mineral-salt undertow as well as a soft sherbet charm. Alcohol 12%
Laurent-Perrier, Alexandra Grande Cuvée Rosé Brut, Champagne, France 2012
97 Platinum
Glistening red cherries and macerated strawberries meet creamed vanilla biscuits and pastry. Deeply gastronomic with a lush crunchy texture, vivacious mousse and an engaging flow of acidity which sails through to the long savoury finish. Alc 12%
Château d’Esclans, Les Clans, Côtes de Provence, France 2022
97 Best in Show
Delicate peach-pink in colour, with a haunting aromatic profile that mixes cream, white almond, peach and gardenia notes with pastel finesse. On the palate, it is deeper than many of its peers to the point where you could almost say ‘concentrated’, and perhaps shows brighter acidity than some of our previous winners. That cream, though, naps and envelops all, and the white almond depth fuses admirably with the wine’s vinosity to provide the dominant structural frame, rather than relying on acidity. Is there even a hint of green olive? Maybe; maybe not; it’s Provence rosé, after all. Hints and whispers are all. Alc 14%
Hacienda López de Haro, Classica Gran Reserva, Rioja Rosado, Spain 2012
97 Platinum
A unique and compelling proposition, with alluring orange peel, dried fig and baked strawberry aromas which combine superbly with the honeyed walnut and vanilla charm on the palate. Weighty and opulent with a lush, toasty length. Alc 13%
Robert De Salvo, Bastide de La Ciselette, Bandol, Provence, France 2023
97 Platinum
Sensational perfumed red berries, citrus blossom and dried herbs cascade over the sumptuous core of lush orchard fruits. Inviting and creamy with a grapefruit pith acidity and a ribbon of saline minerals holding everything together. Alc 13.5%