By now many of us are sold on rosé as a great all-rounder, especially in the warmer months. We’ve moved on from concerns about the simple, lolly-water, grenache-heavy versions that gave rosé a bad name in the past, and are enjoying pale, dry, refreshing food friendly wines. So what’s left to say?
Well, recently I’ve been digging deeper into pink wines and finding some delicious drops from small producers. Let’s call them ‘natural’ as some are organic, others are biodynamic, and some are just lo-fi with a little extra skin contact bottled unfined and unfiltered. Here’s my pick of the top natural rosé wines, get down to your local independent bottle shop and stock up now.
Smallfry Rosé Barossa Valley (SA)
This biodynamic winery foot-stomps cinsault, grenache, and mataro, then allows the juice to ferment with wild yeasts and undergo spontaneous malolactic fermentation. This produces a remarkably soft, savoury rosé with a hint of white pepper on the back palate. Try it with gnocchi alla Sorrentina.
Koerner Tiver Clare Valley (SA)
Second generation winemakers, Damon and Jonathan Koerner, take sangiovese and sciacarello (a Corsican grape) from their family vineyard, ferment it naturally and leave it on lees for about 5 months, to produce this pale, refreshing rosé. Great with eggplant Parmigiana.
Soumah Ai Fiori Yarra Valley (Vic)
With a passion for Italian varietals, Soumah combines nebbiolo with a splash each of shiraz and white savagnin to create a beautifully balanced wine with a slightly floral nose. The name is Italian for ‘in the flowers’. There’s a faint hint of fruit on the palate and a dry, tangy finish. I love it with vegetable antipasti.
La Petite Mort Rosé Granite Belt (Qld)
This unashamedly experimental label from Queensland’s cool Granite belt produces some delicious quirky wines. Their pinot noir and sangiovese rosé has a touch of pinot cherry fruit followed by a completely dry finish. It’s a natural with warm duck & orange salad.
Logan Clementine Orange (NSW)
Pinot gris from the slopes of Mount Canobolas is wild yeast-fermented on skins, some by carbonic maceration, to produce this beautiful pink-orange wine. It has great texture, a touch of bitterness on the back palate, and soft tannins that work well with meat dishes such as spice-rubbed lamb backstrap.
Updated 01 Dec 2024
