UK’s only on-trade wine competition – the Sommelier Wine Awards

Home Winners > Winners 2019 > Sparkling Rosé: Rest of the World

Winner Details

Other Sparkling Rosé

2019 GOLD: 3 SILVER: 3 BRONZE: 2 COMMENDED: 4
2018 GOLD: 1 SILVER: 5 BRONZE: 1 COMMENDED: 6

If you’re a venue with a tight budget and parsimonious customers, this is the section for you. Without a ‘brand’ like prosecco, champagne or (increasingly) the UK behind them, these wines might not sell themselves, but my God you get some good stuff for the money.

A big shout-out to Pierre Jourdan and Graham Beck from the Cape, too. Both houses put in a really strong showing in this year’s competition, with both picking up Golds for their Brut and their rosé.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘Huge variety, and not reflective of price point at all. One of our favourites was the cheapest and we hated the most expensive.’ Sue Jones, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn

‘I definitely found some useful wines here. These can be good competitors for English sparkling and for lighter champagnes, too. At the higher prices they would have to be very strong to compete with champagne, and they’re not there yet.’ Alan Bednarski, Texture

‘Some went all the way up to £40, which is where it becomes difficult. Like any wine, you have to sell it – that’s your job.’ Laurent Richet MS, team leader

‘For a wine list these shouldn’t be too fruity, but rather be more complex and delicate; balanced, to go well with food.’ Pasquale Moschettieri, Benares Restaurant & Bar

Award winners

Found 12 wines

Sparkling: Rosé, excluding Champagne

Clos Cabriere, Pierre Jourdan, Belle Rose 2017, Western Cape, South Africa

Team leader Laurent Richet MS was taken with this Gold winner’s ‘lovely light pink colour, with rich flavours of peach, tangerine and the red berries and blossoms of summer on an elegant palate’, while Gymkhana Restaurant’s Valentin Radosav found notes of ‘delicate citrus, green apple and tarragon’. Finding it ‘fresh and crisp, with nice acidity and a gentle sparkle’, Bianca Potenza of Bluespoon Andaz Hotel - Amsterdam imagined it would be ‘a good pairing with salmon’.

£11.43 Hard To Find Wines

Graham Beck, Brut Rosé 2012, Robertson, South Africa

Team leader Laurent Richet MS admired this Gold-winning brut rosé’s ‘lovely onion skin colour, with ripe fruit and orange zest’, before adding that ‘the palate brings tangerine and raspberry to a bright, clean and long finish’. Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth, Simpsons & Edgbaston found ‘marzipan, sourdough and dried grapes on the nose, with good perlage and a lovely intensity’, while Grape Times UK’s Harry Crowther appreciated its ‘clean finish with almond and marzipan’.

£15.51 Bibendum

Akarua, Brut Rosé -1, Central Otago, New Zealand

‘Classic rosé,’ began consultant Emanuel Pesqueira, who spoke highly of this Gold Lister’s ‘great balance and fine intensity’, before declaring it ‘a great food wine’. Team leader Lionel Periner, meanwhile, described it as ‘elegant and aromatic, with cooked red fruit crumble notes and a spring flower element too, with a good body and a long finish’. The combination meant it would be ‘good with new season lamb’, suggested The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones.

£17.84 Liberty Wines

Colucci's, Rosé Spumante 2017, Veneto, Italy

Team leader Lionel Periner noted: ‘Pale pink colour, aromas are open with red berry fruit and a floral character. The palate is creamy, fresh and dry with bright berries and strawberry flavours while the finish is fresh with a nice acidity.’

£10.45 Colucci's

Taste Hub, Serenello, Spumante, Rosé -1, Veneto, Italy

Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth, Simpsons & Edgbaston found ‘stone fruit notes with good complexity and some ripe pear’. He further noted: ‘The palate is long with a floral, peach blossom, fruity and honeyed finish.’

£7.35 LWC Drinks Ltd (Merchant and Shippers)

Rotari, Brut Cuvee 28+, Trentodoc Rosé -1, Trentino, Italy

Francesca Turra of Mondrian London noted: ‘A clear, elegant pink colour; aromatic notes of orange and lemon lead to a more baked stone fruit palate with pleasant yeasty and toasted brioche notes. Nice perlage and a refreshing acidity keeps the finish fresh and bright.’

£11.64 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Félix Solís, Comte de Chamberi, Rosé Sec -1, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Team leader Laurent Richet MS noted: ‘A lovely pink colour, with a clean fruit-forward style. Almost off-dry but with lovely candied fruit and a strawberry candyfloss appeal.’

£6.22 Matthew Clark

Ca' del Bosco, Franciacorta, Rosé Cuvée Prestige -1, Lombardy, Italy

Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth, Simpsons & Edgbaston described a ‘deep rose colour with baked red fruits and pear’, and found it ‘well balanced with a buttery finish’.

£36.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars