The 25 Best Rosé Wines of 2018
With skyrocketing sales and tireless marketing, rosé is a 21st-century American success story. Previous generations of star-spangled wine consumers dismissed it as too French, too gendered, or too reminiscent of black-sheep White Zinfandel.
Of course that’s all grainy, black-and-white history now. In our rosy-hued present, pink wines have come to symbolize “all that is good about summertime,” writes Vanity Fair. They drive innovation and expansion, and empower juggernauts like Chateau d’Esclans’ Whispering Angel, the world’s most popular rosé, known to release 3.2 million-bottle vintages.
To determine our list of the 25 best rosés of 2018, we released an open call for submissions, scoured wine shops, and gathered a panel of beverage industry experts to taste as many pink wines as humanly possible. We opt not to taste blind, figuring modern consumers rarely shop without considering prices. This led to some tough decisions, like eliminating Garrus, Whispering Angel’s top-tier offering, from our ranking. Although our panel found it subtle, sophisticated, and undeniably tasty, we couldn’t justify its $104 price tag.
All of the bottles on our list are less than $37, and many come in under $20. Origins span Provence, the Willamette Valley, and sun-swept Greek isles. All are available nationwide.
Here are VinePair’s top 25 rosés of 2018.
7. PURSUED BY BEAR ‘BLUSHING BEAR’ ROSÉ, WASHINGTON, 2017
Crisp and dry, this pale pink wine from Kyle MacLachlan’s Columbia Valley label has a wonderful balance of fruit and minerality. It inspired one taster to wax poetic — “a kiss of flowers, a kiss of red fruit” — and its bright acidity left all reaching for another sip.
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