Meininger's International Rosé Award was held for the second time at the beginning of April. 307 wines from all over the world were awarded this year, including 55 wines with 90 points and more. The awards were presented at the ProWein trade fair in Dusseldorf.
As in the previous year, the focus of the competition was on both national and international wines, which were examined more closely during the tasting. The Rosés submitted were proof of how much complexity and versatility they can contain. The tastings show what an enormous change rosé wines have undergone in terms of image and quality during the last years. There were fruity, fresh and particularly elegant rosés as well as sophisticated, partly matured wines aged in wooden barrels. Some samples scored with clear grape variety aromas, others attracted attention as multi-layered cuvées.
More than 600 Wines from 14 Countries
Germany was in the lead with a total of 311 rosés in competition, followed by France and Italy with 106 and 96 samples respectively. Due to the large number of international producers from a total of 14 different countries participating, the competition is regarded by wine producers as a valued opportunity to distinguish themselves with their wines on the international wine market.
Particularly in the EU countries, strict regulations apply when it comes to the production of rosé wines: According to the current EU regulation, for example, the designation Rosé is only permitted if a wine has been produced exclusively from the must of red wine grapes and the end-product has a pale to light red color. The blending of several red wine varieties is also permitted, as is the addition of red wine to deepen the color of the rosé. Anyone producing rosé within the EU must also indicate this on the bottle label with the words rosé or rosé wine. In many other wine-producing countries, however, the legal situation is different: for example, Rosé wines may also be produced from a blend of red and white wines. In addition, pale pink wines made from white grape varieties with red skins - such as Pinot Gris or Red Muscat - are often also marketed under the name Rosé.
Four Categories
During four tasting days, a 50 member expert jury did a blind tasting. In order to optimally evaluate the different rosé wines, all submitted samples were first assigned to the following four categories:
- Rosé dry (Category I)
- Rosé dry with wood (Category II)
- Rosé fine fruity (Category III) and
- Rosé with residual sweetness (Category IV).
Above Average Qualities in All Categories
From delicate pink shimmering wines, which convinced with elegance, finesse and freshness, to pink-colored, fruit-influenced examples, the dry rosés of category I, with 450 submitted samples, offered the most comprehensive insight into the diversity of rosés. But also finely fruity rosés (Category III), which took second place in terms of quantity with 112 submitted wines, scored with above-average quality and convinced the experienced tasters. At the same time, the more complex wines, often aged in wood, also proved how much potential they have and that rosé can indeed - depending on the style - be enormously storable.
All awarded rosés can be found here.
