When you think of rosé, your mind likely goes to summer barbecues and pretty pink bottles. But while rosé may be synonymous with great weather and good times, this versatile style increasingly offers complex, characterful wines in Australia.
Rosé can be made from a wide range of grape varieties, influencing its production – it can be made in almost every wine region in the country – and the resulting style of the wine. Popular base varieties include grenache, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, sangiovese, merlot and nebbiolo, however, many winemakers are branching out to other varieties (there's a tempranillo rosé below).
The range of varieties used to make rosé, and the broad spectrum of styles – from dry, to off dry and sweet – make it ideally suited for pairing with food. Pale, crisp pinks are ideally paired with fresh seafood and salads, while more structural, full-flavoured types can stand up to richer, oilier foods. Rosés with a little sweetness can handle the heat and are great with spicy dishes.
If you're unsure about making this call yourself, who better to trust than the winemakers themselves? Below we spoke to the producers behind the five rosés – Barristers Block, De Bortoli, Medhurst, Vinaceous Wines and Wicks Estate – about what makes their rosé unique, and how best to enjoy their expression.
Barristers Block
Winemaker Lachlan Allen says: This rosé was made from our cabernet sauvignon vineyard in Wrattonbully – this was a new varietal for our rosé, but we love it. It’s dry and carries some really beautiful notes.
H. What makes your rosé unique?
LA. While cabernet sauvignon rosés are not new, it is for us. This rosé was actually a really last minute decision to how we can best utilise our cabernet sauvignon vineyard, and we will now continue to use this varietal for our rosé going forward, it's just worked really well.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process?
LA. We have always leaned towards a drier style of rosé, so this one was always heading in that direction. We tried to pull through some fruity tones and we aim to create just an enjoyable wine. Something that makes you say ‘yum’.
Wine to try
2024 Barristers Block Wines Charlize Rosé
Made from cabernet sauvignon fruit. A pretty coral hue in the glass. Notes of cantaloupe, white cherries and Pink Lady apple come forth, followed by sage and thistle leaf. A hint of white pepper. Some leafy, pulled paperbark savoury notes and a touch of cumin powder. This is dry and delicate with good middle-palate staying power. – Shanteh Wale, Halliday Wine Companion.Best enjoyed: This rosé is perfect with your ‘summer’ foods – seafood, salads, or even some Thai. For me, I like to enjoy it outside on a nice summer's night, enjoying the weather, maybe a nice barbecue with some friends.
RRP $32 | Drink now | Shop this wine | barristersblock.com.au
De Bortoli
De Bortoli Yarra Valley estate manager Leanne De Bortoli says: I enjoy rosé for its approachability and its versatility. I think La Bohème Dry Rosé shows the best aromatic expression of a pale dry rosé from Yarra Valley. Some years ago, we were at the forefront of Australia’s rosé movement to get more people to understand and enjoy the difference between pale, dry rosé against the darker, sweeter style.
H. What makes your rosé unique?
LDB. Years ago, Steve and I were in the south of France and we had a pale rosé which piqued our interest. It was pale pink, dry and delicious. We decided to make a pale dry rosé the following year here in the Yarra Valley from grown-for-purpose fruit. The La Bohème Dry Rosé was the catalyst behind starting the very successful La Bohème wine range.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process?
LDB. Grown-for-purpose fruit is harvested and pressed immediately. Juice is settled overnight then racked to vats and casks and allowed to ferment naturally. The wine is stirred post ferment and undergoes malolactic fermentation to give creaminess and complexity. The wine is matured briefly in older oak casks to give further palate texture and depth of flavour.
Wine to try
2024 La Bohème Dry Rosé
Pale salmon colour. Delicate red fruits, gently aromatic. Dry, creamy, textural, persistent and seriously delicious.Best enjoyed: La Bohème Dry Rosé is a pale and dry style that's great to enjoy on its own as well as paired with food like charcuterie. I particularly enjoy this wine with sashimi of blue fin tuna. Sometimes I cure my own salmon and will use it as part of the curing process too!
RRP $21.95 | Drink to 2027 | Shop this wine | debortoli.com.au
Medhurst
Winemaker Rohan Smith says: The fruit is grown specifically for rosé and there is a huge attention to detail in the production of this wine. It is 65 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 35 per cent shiraz, which combine to give a delicate chalky texture and red-fruited characteristics. It is a fun wine to make and we hope as much fun to drink!
H. What makes your rosé unique?
RS. The intensity of this rosé is quite special – both from an aromatic and flavour perspective, with lovely fruit definition and concentration of flavour. It is a reflection of the site from which it comes and it is a rosé that, from inception to bottle – from vine to glass, every step and decision in the process is careful and deliberate.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process?
RS. The focus is on producing a rosé with intense aromatics and flavour as well as a lovely fine textural line. To achieve this, the fruit is hand-picked, cooled and then pressed with yields tightly controlled to ensure that the juice is both pale in colour, has freshness and depth of flavour. Fermentation occurs in tank (95 per cent) and old oak (five per cent) and is slow and cool to capture the delicate fruit characteristics of the site.
Wine to try
2024 Medhurst Estate Rosé
A brilliant and clear vibrant salmon hue in appearance with a pale copper blush. The nose opens up with delicate jasmine florals, candied orange and wild strawberries with a hint of fennel. The palate is brimming with fresh cassis, juicy redcurrants and blood orange and is finely textured with lovely fruit weight. This single vineyard rosé has a trademark long, chalky line and a delicate, dry finish that will leave you salivating for more.Best enjoyed: We believe that rosé has its place on a table at all times of the year. Assemble some great company and charge your glass with this serious rosé and serve slightly chilled with fresh seafood. Or, for something different, pair it with perfectly cooked lamb cutlets or fresh goat's cheese.
RRP $30 | Drink to 2027 | Shop this wine | medhurstwines.com.au
Vinaceous Wines
Managing partner John Waldron says: I love producing this wine because we focus on the savoury rather than sweet. Tempranillo is the grape of choice. Less overtly fruity than the traditional shiraz, merlot or cabernet varieties commonly used in Australia for rosé, tempranillo provides attractive savoury fruit aromas but with a licorice-like flavour and palate profile.
H. What makes your rosé unique?
JW. Region, variety and style. All the fruit is sourced from a single vineyard from the region of Geographe in Western Australia. Uniquely produced from the tempranillo grape, exhibiting a Turkish delight musk, which delights the palate with fruit sweetness, it races to a beautiful zingy, crisp finish that invites another sip... and another... where did that bottle go?
H. How do you approach the winemaking process?
JW. The vines were planted in 2000. We machine harvest, ferment 100 per cent stainless steel for freshness, settle three months on lees for textural complexity, then bottle.
Wine to try
2023 Vinaceous Salome Tempranillo Rosé, Western Australia
Tempranillo as an underpinning for rosé wine is often a great idea. No slouch here. It's cool and refreshing with sour and sweet red cherry fruitiness abundant, elements of rosewater, lychee, some sweet spice and a trill of alpine herbal elements in there. Good to see some decent flavour and weight to the wine, too. Pleasing stuff. – Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion.Best enjoyed: Rosé wine can be enjoyed any time of year, but it's often associated with summer and friends. Vinaceous Salome Tempranillo Rosé is actually pretty versatile; it goes well with Mediterranean dishes, anything grilled, its versatility shines when paired with grilled vegetables like skewers of colourful bell peppers, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.
RRP $23 | Drink to 2026 | Shop this wine | vinaceous.com.au
Wicks Estate
Winemaker Adam Carnaby says: The 2024 Estate Rosé is vinified from pinot noir fruit off our estate vineyard and another local grower. Spicy floral notes combined with cherry and cranberry flavours are balanced with fresh acidity and a dry, savoury finish. Great with food or enjoyed by itself nicely chilled from the fridge!
H. What makes your rosé unique?
AC. I would say that the big point of difference with the Estate Rosé is its dryness. We do not add sugar back to create fruit sweetness and believe the dry finish is an integral part of the style, creating a slightly savoury note with a sense of chalky texture.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process?
AC. We are big fans of the Provençale-style rosé, so this influences what we do in the winemaking process. The pinot noir fruit is gently pressed with little skin contact to encourage a pale colour. No settling enzyme is used and we ferment the cloudy juice in tank at cool temperature with no oak influence to enhance the purity of fruit.
Wine to try
2024 Wicks Estate Pinot Rosé, Adelaide Hills
There's richness here for sure, reined in by a pulsing seam of lemony acidity that propels the wine forward with great velocity. Lemon, white peach and grapefruit with a touch of oatmeal, white flowers, crème fraîche, crushed stone, a whiff of sea spray, nutty oak and gentle spice. Lovely. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 95 points.Best enjoyed: Best enjoyed chilled in the warmer months (but not exclusive to!) in the garden or on a balcony somewhere! Drink as an aperitif or with barbecued chicken or seafood such as salmon carpaccio or crispy fried snapper.
RRP $23 | Drink to 2027 | Shop this wine | wicksestate.com.au
Top image credit: Barristers Block.
