UP TO $25
LA LINEA TEMPRANILLO 2011, $21
LA LINEA has been producing some excellent tempranillo, which is not surprising given winemaker Peter Leske's fondness for the variety. He also makes a ripper rose with fruit sourced from the Adelaide Hills. I love its rose petal, strawberry and cream fragrance, yet this definitely has a tempranillo character with Redskins lollies and spice. Juicy and fresh, with crunchy acidity, this is a refreshing summer rose best enjoyed chilled by the sea with fish and chips.
UP TO $40
ULITHORNE EPOCH ROSE 2010, $34
MCLAREN Vale-based winemaker Rose Kentish added two terrific wines to her Ulithorne label last year: both were made in France. One a white from Corsica and this rose from Provence made at Domaine de la Sangliere. This is the colour I love in a rose, pale as onion-skin and - more importantly - dry, crisp and refreshing. There's a lot to like in this blend of cinsault, grenache and mourvedre with its touch of warm spice and red berry fragrance, strawberries and cream on the palate with crunchy acidity. Try Blackhearts & Sparrows outlets.
MORE THAN $40
RUINART NON-VINTAGE ROSE, $100
CONSIDERING Ruinart's vintage 1998 rose hovers at about $650, that makes its non-vintage seem a bargain by comparison, although it's a lovely champagne in its own right. A blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, it has an enticing copper-salmon hue with a smoky, almost iodine, character that adds some depth to its core of red summer-berry fruit and it's rather spicy, too. Plenty of fine bead and a dry, fresh, long finish makes this a perfect aperitif. Just don't chill it too much.
SPLURGE
CHATEAU D'ESCLANS GARRUS ROSE 2008, $195
A ROSE at this price might seem absurd but it's an extraordinary drink from the Cotes de Provence, highly regarded and sought after. It's not every day I taste the world's most expensive rose made from 80-year-old grenache plus rolle (vermentino) of the same age, so what's it like? Utterly complex, textural, fragrant with exotic spice and floral notes offset by red plums and cherries with a hint of sweetness yet definitely a savoury, dry rose. The palate has so much texture it initially tastes like a chardonnay with oomph. Match to grilled scallops or lobster. From Toorak Cellars, Armadale.
