Kokova Magazine

Christmas is a great time to have a good glass of fizz or flat to accompany your meal, greet your guests with or relax into the night after a truly festive day. And this year your table can be pretty in pink with the wonderful selection of rosé wines that are now readily available.

We took a selection of rosé wines and put them to our testers, who consisted of a 'wine is not my preferred drink' drinker, a 'seasoned red wine drinker' and a 'classic white or Malbec drinker' who avoids all things rosé. The results were surprising and definitely offered us a good insight into what will be on the table come December 25th.

As with all wines, not only do they vary from bottle to bottle but your palate will vary from day to day depending on what you have or are eating. With all wines we recommend a second chance before you decide on your final opinion, and take your time.

Our selection below were cold but not refrigerated. Many would excel at a lower temperature but others enjoy being a little warmer to allow those layers to escape. Hold the wine for a little longer in your mouth and give it a swill around, allow it to breath and mix with the air and see what happens.

There will always be the Friday night "I need a large glass now and want to see the bottom of it fast" glass of vino but if you are looking for a wine to enjoy, take a 'Flake Moment' - sit back, relax, unwind and explore the stunning selection of rosé wines that are now in circulation.

We found a good selection at the Waitrose Cellar, including their cheapest own brand for a base starter - and we had a few in hand already to review.

The results, we have to say, bode well for putting a bit of colour onto the table this year so we can enjoy a selection of Pretty Pink for the festive season, just as much as having a Merry Red or Winter White Christmas!

Rosé is no longer just for the girls!

Waitrose Spanish Rosé - RRP £4.99 (13.5%vol)

Tasting notes: Plump and juicy, with red cherry flavours and a hint of peppery spice from sun drenched Garnacha grapes. "Ripe & Juicy bottled in North East Spain"

"Nice enough for a budget wine but a little too peppery on the way out. If you are looking for a good cheap wine it wouldn't be the worst one at the party for the price."

Non-wine Drinker: Drinkable, not too sweet, bit of an after-burn 2*
White or Red only: Nice aroma, looks good, not overly sweet but a lot of peppery after burn 2*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: Not too heavy for a 13.5% and tastes OK. Drinkable 3*

Tilimuqui Malbec Rosé - RRP £6.79 (12.5%vol)

Tasting notes: Intense floral aroma, light, well-balanced, fresh and fruity. Fairtrade sourced, Famatina Valley, Wine of Argentina.

"We were expecting quite a heavy rosé from this bottle but discovered a light, pleasant and easy drinking rosé. One for the fridge for when rosé loving visitors arrive."

Non-wine Drinker: Expected a heavier wine and this is very 'grape-y' - you can taste the grape as if you had just eaten them 4*
White or Red only: Unexpectedly very delicate for a Malbec inspired wine, no afterburn, light and refreshing 4*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: Again - very drinkable, very light and refreshing 4*

Wild Thing - RRP £7.99 (12.5%vol)

Tasting notes: Selected and supplied by Vintage Roots, organic rosé in aid of the Born Free Foundation. Refreshing and fruity Tempranillo based, tangy wild strawberry, raspberry and cranberry fruit characters.

"This was clearly a wine that we all found not to our liking. It had a musty, odd plastic-y undertone, that came through after the fruit. We have scored as such but will source another bottle to try, just in case we had a 'bad' bottle. "

Non-wine Drinker: No real aroma, odd sub-taste that dominates. 2*
White or Red only: Liked the aroma but again that odd sub-taste 1.5*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: Agreed on the under taste and it distracts from the wine 2*

Li Veli - RRP £7.99 (13%vol)

Tasting notes: Bright pink with salmon and raspberry reflex; fruity bouquet, with delicate red fruit and flower notes; in the mouth it is balanced, pleasant and full, with a fresh acidity. Fruity aftertaste. Made with Negroamaro grapes and generally known as a 'one night wine', not because of its quaff-ability but because of the short maceration time on the skins.

"An almost amber hue to this rosé has it looking quite dark and heavy. Sharp on taste but very drinkable, more like a young red. Sharp finish is great for those not keen on the higher levels of sweetness from a lot of rosé wines "

Non-wine Drinker: Not bad, a bit sharp for me but I prefer a sweet rosé 3*
White or Red only: This is a nice rosé simply because it doesn't drink like one. Sharp, fuller-bodied, like a very young red wine 4.5*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: A nice heavy rosé, with that sharp edge you get from a red. A nice choice for me as I prefer red wine 4*

Innocent Bystander Moscato - RRP £8.99 (5.5%vol)

Tasting notes: Naturally effervescent, Gordo and Black Muscat from old vine, situated along Victoria's Murray River, Australia.

"Complete opposite reactions on this one. It is a great alternative to champagne for the table or for greeting guests, and the price works. Love the addition of a beer flip top too - once opened it was made to be drunk!"

Non-wine Drinker: Love it! A champagne alternative without too high a volume. Greet the guests, have with dinner, honey all the way! 4.5*
White or Red only: Just 'no' - much too much honey, like drinking cough syrup with fizz. I don't like honey 0.5*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: Not ot my taste but a good champagne alternative, value for dinner drink, light and sweet 4*

Mirabeau Cotes en Provence - RRP £9.29 (13%vol)

Tasting notes: Fragrant, crisp and lipsmackingly refreshing. Dry, from sunny Provence, bursting with fresh summer berries. High altitude Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault blend.

"There is nothing wrong with this wine and it is a perfectly respectable bottle to grace your table. An 'International Challenge Silver Wine Winner, it is very drinkable for a dry rosé - at a reasonable price. Grab a bottle on the way and your host should thank you."

Non-wine Drinker: Dry over sweet, minor burn. Very middle of the road for me. I would skip for a cheaper brand from above 3*
White or Red only: Smells very nice and it feels more sweet than dry. A little too much for my taste but a good wine 3.5*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: Nice average wine, nothing to complain about. Some of the others are just as good but cost less.4.5*

Vina Real - RRP £11.60 (12.5%vol)

Tasting notes: A blend of 85% Viura and 15% Tempranillo grapes. Clean, fresh and almost transparent, with a touch of coral color. Light and fresh on the palate with crisp acidity and floral aromas aftertaste, with balanced aromas of roses and red fruit.

"This would be a good wine for both sweet and dry rosé drinkers. It hits the spot, has a good aroma and would grace any table and suit most meals for those that want rosé."

Non-wine Drinker: Middle sweet, good balance, would suit most drinkers 3.5*
White or Red: Small burn for me that quickly went, leaving a good balanced wine. If I had to drink a rosé it would not be rejected 4*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: Inoffensive rosé. Again, good balance, nothing stands out but nothing offends 3.5*

Denbies Rose Hill - RRP £11.99 (10.5%vol)

Tasting notes: English regional wine, Dorking, Surrey. Vibrant nose of summer fruits, palate bursting punnet of strawberries and raspberries, with a hint of toffee apple and a persistent cassis finish.

"This was the surprise in the pack. And the one with least left in the bottle at the end of the session. Our red/white wine drinker loved it, maybe because it hit the red spot more, was deepest in colour and had some really good notes all the way through."

Non-wine Drinker: Mild, sweet edge, nice aroma and very drinkable 4.5*
White or Red only: Love it! My choice, and a surprise too as it feels heavy but isn't. Deep colour, great taste - perfect for me 4.5*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: A little like watered down squash, maybe a bit too subtle for my palate but will work for those that want something sweet 3.5*

Mirabeau Pure - RRP £12.99 (13%vol)

Tasting notes: Very pale, delicate violet pink with a hint of salmon weaving into the colour spectrum. Strawberry notes appear first closely followed by raspberries and white cherries. Then a merest whisper of that most elegant of fruits, rhubarb. The acidity is crisp and integrated and the fruit provides an element of texture and complexity.

"A great aperitif, something to start the evening off, great guests with or enjoy with the girls and a salad, or light brunch. Quite a lot of volume for such a light drink so you might want to be looking for a taxi home as it lends itself to be drunk. And as the only corked bottle it would be a shame to waste it. "

Non-wine Drinker: Best of the two from Mirabeau. A good wine but a little disappointing when you look at the previous wines on price 3.5*
White or Red only: This is so delicate and light, yet full of flavours falling around. Great to start and when you want something light 4.5*
Seasoned Red Wine Lover: Light, not much body to it. Drinkable but on price there were others I'd choose - slight disappointment 3.5*