This year, we did a rosé tasting. I'm honestly not a huge rosé person and this tasting confirmed it even more. I tried to get into it when it first started to take trend but it's just not my favorite. However, it was a lot of fun and it is always so interesting to hear everyone's opinions.
There were 14 of us participating in the tasting. We had 7 bottles of rosé all differing in price (we all thought that amount was perfect!). The thing about a lot of wines such a champagne, cabernet, etc. is that they have such different price ranges. Everything from a $2 bottle to a $250 bottle, etc.
With rosé you don't really have too many options in the 'higher' price range so our lowest price range started with Trader Joe's Shaw at $3.99 and the priciest we could find in the state store was Rock Angel at about $33. We tried to find Domaines Ott which runs around $40ish, but couldn't find it in a state store.
The way we chose is just walking into a state store. Because of its popularity, there are so many rosés to choose from! Here is what we ended up with:
- Trader Joe's Shaw $4
- Whispering Angel $20
- 40 Rosé $18
- Cotes de Rose $18
- Miraval $22
- White Girl Rosé $15
- Rock Angel $33
This was a blind tasting so we got these small clear cups off of Amazon which were perfect. We had someone in the kitchen and that was the only person who knew which wine was which. We all tasted them one-by-one together, and then lined them all up once we had all 7 to assess their colors, and to compare tastes.
We had snacks for fun and some to cleanse your palate. Snacks included:
- Hummus and veggies and crackers/pretzels
- Chips, guac, salsa, cowboy caviar
- Fruit
Snacks are totally up to you but something bland like a cracker or pretzel is good for cleansing your palate so I recommend at least having something like that available! Here were the results (in order of my personal preference):
Whispering Angel $20
This is probably one of the most popular rosés and I thought it might not be my favorite because popular doesn't always mean 'best'. But for me, it was smooth and very easy to drink. Most people had this at the tops of their lists. I would personally buy this over anything else after this tasting!
Miraval $22
For me, Miraval and Whispering Angel were almost a toss up at which one I liked better. I thought Miraval had a slightly 'lighter' taste than Whispering Angel but otherwise, it was very crisp and easy to drink.
40 Rosé $18
I had never heard of this before but the bottle is funny because it looks like a 40 oz drink! My sister picked this one out at the store! I thought this one was lightly sweet in a refreshing way. Even though it was a bit sweeter than the others, I would still definitely consider it dry.
Rock Angel $33
This had really noticeable notes of fruit or citrus (comes from Chateau d'Esclans which is the same producer of Whispering Angel). Apparently, many sommeliers consider this a superior wine. I thought it was smooth and had a deeper taste... a little less refreshing than the other ones we tried and more bold flavor.
Cotes de Rose $18
This one has the most beautiful cut glass bottom and a glass cork. Based on looks, this would have been #1 on my list. I thought it was fruity in a sour way and it just seemed to taste of alcohol, if that makes sense. I don't think I would ever buy these last three on my list.
Trader Joe's Shaw $4
For almost everyone, this was at the end of the list, which I guess isn't shocking because it was the cheapest of the bottles. Oftentimes price doesn't equal bad, so I was a little surprised once this one was revealed! For me, it tastes very sour and didn't have much flavor at all.
White Girl Rosé $15
I wrote that this one tasted 'cheap'. It tasted thick, sweet, and even the scent was sticky sweet. It was undrinkable, in my opinion, and I only sipped it for the tasting and ended up tossing it.
So there you have it! It's kind of hard to write about tastings because I'm no sommelier. Taste is such a personal experience. My suggestion would be to throw a tasting party. It is so much fun and a good way to find new bottles you may love! Do you have a favorite go-to rosé?
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