01/06/2020
It's been a scorching, almost Mediterranean, late spring day here in the UK - so the perfect foil at the end of it is a cool refreshing glass of rose!
Rose can be made from a wide variety of grapes, in many different styles, and with varying degrees of sweetness, but on a hot day like today I'd go for a crisp, dry rose from Sancerre in the Loire region of France.
It's world-famous for its crisp and minerally sauvignon blanc wines, but perhaps you didn't know that a minority area of Sancerre is planted to pinot noir, the only permitted red grape variety, which is used for the production of both red and rose Sancerre.
Sancerre roses have a fantastic freshness and minerality, and in the case of the one I'm quaffing tonight from Domaine des Vieux Pruniers, there's a delicious aroma and flavour of ripe raspberries and strawberries to boot.
The pinot grapes that made this wine grew on a combination of sloping and amphitheater vineyards, making the most of the available sunlight and warmth to obtain maximum ripeness of the fruit in this cool climate area. That ripeness translates to a nice intensity of fruit flavour in the wine, that's partnered with a lovely long, dry, crisp and refreshing finish.
Rose Sancerre like this is all about elegance, fruitiness and freshness. It's a delight to drink and really cooling after a day's filming under the hot sun. A perfect aperetif/cooler on its own, this would also be good to drink alongside light summer salads, creamy goats cheese, and salmon or white fish dishes.
I suspect that Provence rose fans will get on well with pink Sancerre, though in the latter the wines are mostly a little crisper. If you haven't tried rose Sancerre just yet, consider this motivation - because now is the perfect weather to give it a go!