The 10 Best Rosé Wines to Enjoy in Summer and Year-Round

Rosé wines are fantastic for sipping poolside, pairing with food, and enjoying year-round. Discover the best rosé wines for any budget here.

By Kristen Shirley

In just over a decade, rosé wine went from an afterthought to one of the most popular types of wine in the world, especially in summer. Rosé wines from Provence — and similar styles produced around the world — account for the majority of the best rosé wines, but there are actually several styles of rosé wine. Some are very delicate, pale pink wines with light flavors of red fruit and citrus, while others are dark pink, robust, and complex wines. You can learn everything about the different styles of rosé and the production process in our ultimate guide to rosé wine. While rosé is most popular during summer, the best rosé wines are worth considering year-round. Rosé wines are easy to pair with food and are a safe choice on many wine lists. Read on to discover the best rosé wines in the world.

What Is the Most Popular Rosé Wine in the World?

Many credit today’s obsession with rosé wine to winemaker Sacha Lichine, the mastermind behind Whispering Angel, the rosé that started it all in 2006. While Whispering Angel is still a wonderful rosé, it’s been surpassed by ultrapremium rosés from other producers, as well as at Château d’Esclans. Now, Whispering Angel ($25) is a solid, affordable rosé found around the world. It is accompanied in the portfolio by The Beach by Whispering Angel ($18) and The Pale by Sacha Lichine ($15), two easy-drinking rosés, and Rock Angel ($35).
But, Lichine also expanded the estate to focus on premium rosés, including Les Clans ($95) and Garrus ($125). Both are full-bodied, complex rosés with aging potential. This makes them great for pairing with food, such as lobster pasta, sushi, and grilled fish. While many rosés have light flavors, these wines are intense and powerful but still refreshing. Les Clans has a tropical and spicy palate, with notes of pineapple, ginger, and black licorice alongside raspberries and strawberries.
Lichine treats Garrus more like a Cru Classé white Burgundy, a type of Chardonnay, than a Provençal rosé. It’s made from the grapes of a single vineyard with ancient vines that are nearly a century old. (The older a vine is, the more concentrated and flavorful the grapes are.) The maison ferments and ages the wine in new large French oak barrels instead of stainless steel or concrete, which adds complexity, flavor, and texture. Garrus has notes of citrus, pear, peach, pineapple, and passion fruit. The maison describes it as “vintage Champagne without the bubbles.”

Haute Time Celebrates NFL Legend & August Cover Star Aaron Rodgers With Zenith Watches & Whispering Angel

By Adrienne Faurote

The August energy in New York is electrifying — as Labor Day approaches, in the world of sports, it means one thing: the NFL season is on the horizon. On Wednesday evening, Haute Time celebrated its August 2024 cover star and legendary NFL quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, after a rather exciting practice game between the NY Jets and the NY Giants. The evening, in partnership with Zenith Watches and the world’s most popular rosé brand, Whispering Angel, was an evening to celebrate Rodgers and wish him the best as he heads into his 20th year in the NFL.

The intimate cocktail was hosted at the incredibly sleek Bar Bastion, a cocktail bar nestled in the heart of Midtown Manhattan by The Bastion Collection designed by acclaimed French architect Joseph Dirand. As guests arrived, they indulged in premier wines like Whispering Angel (Rosé 2023, Côtes de Provence France), Rock Angel (Rosé 2023, Côtes de Provence France), as well as Château d’Esclans “Garrus,” (Rosé 2022, Côtes de Provence France) and Les Trois Croix (2016, Bordeaux, Famille Patrick Léon France).

The guests toasted Rodgers and his legendary career, and you could feel his infectious energy fill the room throughout the evening.

The Best French Wine Regions to Visit—and What to Drink When in Each

By Matt Ortile

It doesn’t get more French than wine—or perhaps more winey than France. If you’re venturing beyond Paris on your next trip to La République, the French wine regions are likely on your itinerary. And if they’re not, they’re worthy additions to any tour of the country. Wine is an essential part of the national culture, and it’s a treat to witness a particularly French brand of passionate expertise expressed beautifully in its vineyards, the good-time drinks and palate-challengers they yield, and the brilliant humans who make them with great care. Talk to any winemaker about their wares and you’ll inevitably go down a rabbit hole about not only their craft, but French society, geography, climate, and even politics. Indeed, the way into any French person’s heart—and to France’s itself—is a glass (or bottle) of wine.

To that end, here is a brief introduction to some of the best French wine regions, how to visit them, and what wines to try when you’re there. All told, there are 10 or 11 major wine regions in France, depending on who you ask. I’ve curated below a selection of seven, featuring places familiar to the casual wine drinker, like Bordeaux and Champagne; as well as appellations (specific areas classified by their wine-growing conditions) that are wine-nerd favorites, like Bandol in Provence, guaranteed to reward curious travelers and palates.

You’re in good hands here: As a travel editor whose areas of coverage include wine and spirits, I’ve spent extended time in a few of these regions; and in my personal life, I’ve fancied myself an oenophile (read: wine fan) ever since my mother switched me from formula to Pinot Grigio. I’ve also consulted some of the best books on the subject, including The New Wine Rules by Jon Bonné, Wine Simple by Aldo Sohm, and Wine Folly: Magnum Edition: The Master Guide by Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack. Grab a copy of one or all to further your own wine education.

With that out of the way, here are seven French wine regions to visit, where to stay, and what to drink. Santé!

Provence

In the last few decades, this region has claimed its place on the map for many travelers thanks not only to its photogenic lavender fields and seaside resort towns, but also the rise of rosé—and Provence makes plenty of the stuff thanks to the gorgeous weather. A Mediterranean climate with mild winters and warm summers ensures the local grapes (and humans) have a good time year-round; the winemakers here, however, have to be mindful of the fruits getting too much sun, as they risk over-ripening. As you’d expect, rosé pairs beautifully with the sunny and summery foods of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region; a full-bodied rosé from Var—the French department sandwiched by Cannes and Marseille, home to Saint-Tropez—is a perfect accompaniment to fishy bouillabaisse. But there’s more to Provence than its famous pale-pink drink: Darker rosés and lighter reds from the Bandol can be rich and almost smoky in a way that recalls bacon. How’s that for a summer drink?

How to visit:  The home of perennial crowd-pleaser Whispering Angel rosé, Château d’Esclans, is near Nice (an hour away) and Saint-Tropez (an hour and a half).

It was London in August: Chateau D’Esclans

Rosé wines are fantastic for sipping poolside, pairing with food, and enjoying year-round. Discover the best rosé wines for any budget here.

By Kristen Shirley

As she sat watching a singular airplane float through the blue sky overhead, she envisaged the peaceful warmth of South of France. She could smell the floral headiness, eyes closed; hear the sound of someone splashing in the piscine and somewhere in the background, the comforting hum of crickets. 

The sun shone so brightly in London on this August day that as long as she lifted her head slightly and kept her eyes closed, she almost believed she was in Provence. 

Opening her eyes, the reality of being in her city garden whilst the floods of paperwork completed over the day surrounding the complexities of her family’s estate lay before her, it slightly reimagined. It was a beautiful day – and she allowed herself finally the possibility of dreaming that next year, with all of this complete, she’d feel the warm Provencal grass in between her bare toes reminiscent of Summers as a child. For now, small treats whilst living alone; cooking (today a gently spiced seabass with a daring orange glaze), lifting her face to the sun when it appeared, good music harmonised with sips of her favourite Summer wine would more than fill her with gratitude.

As she poured a crisp glass of Whispering Angel, took a bite of her creation and a sip of the rose; her taste buds alight with dry orange and an after-burst of berries, she could have been anywhere at all – but she knew her heart was home.

Whispering Angel, though so apt a name for its profile, never really whispered. In fact, it arrived on the scene with such a graceful yet unapologetic entrance that it may as well have been surrounded by its own entourage. It was of sorts; on the menus of every major hot spot. Personally, I first tried it in 2017 on the roof terrace at Harvey Nichols in London which I used to frequent quite often before it became overtly touristy.

It must be said that up till only a few years ago, I was never really a rose girl (I mean I love all sorts of wines but rose would never be my first choice). In fact, years ago the closest I’d come to regularly ordering rose on a beach day would be a rather more shocking Rioja Rosado or similar at Marbella Club. Fruity, summery but mostly such a divine red colour; at some point I think I was rather obsessed with it. Which is surprising because I only really ever drink champagne (to be fair, I was only 22 at the time). But the allure of a typical provencal dry rose so beloved by the summer set has somewhat alluded me until more recently. 

Indeed, without exaggeration, it wasn’t really until Whispering Angel came along that I actually got excited about ordering rose over a lunch for example. Sitting with my best friend visiting from New York and joined by another friend of hers from Chicago, we were united that sunny afternoon in London at what used to be my favourite store restaurant over none other than Whispering Angel. The uniqueness of this fact is that it served such very different taste buds. K wanted something sort of complex with quite a lot of fruitiness, S wanted something super dry and I of course was somewhere in-between (obviously). Alas, by the time I fell for the creation of this daring vineyard, it had become so trendy I daren’t admit it to anyone for fear of being one of those people that follows the crowds…but in this case, the crowds were extremely cool for a change. It was a bit like when Taittinger became a little more commercial and I couldn’t help but be extremely pleased about it because it just meant they served my favourite champagne almost everywhere.

It was a delight to attend a tasting recently with Chateau D’Esclans where Kelly Stevenson, the brand ambassador, told the story (wearing a fabulous pink blazer, it must be said) of the vineyard – graduating us spectators from the most beloved Whispering Angel to Rock Angel to the houses’ own name offering ‘Chateau D’Esclans’. The latter, until Covid, was only available on the Wine Lists of some pretty major restaurants. During lockdown, fans of the wine were so disheartened that it wasn’t available to purchase freely that Chateau D’Esclans decided to offer it to select merchants for public consumption. 

There was only one rose wine that for me could compete with Whispering Angel in being consistently sophisticated yet easy going and extremely accessible to many taste palettes. I won’t mention it here because I don’t want to dilute but sufficed to say, it has since been discontinued so for me, Whispering Angel takes the crown. This is all about Chateau D’Esclans and rightly so.

With a history dating back to before the twelfth century, it is only recently that it became known for some of the best rose wine in existence. And of course this is a grace de Sacha Lichine who purchased it in 2006 and recognised that there was opportune to raise the profile of rose to rival some of the best wines in the world. He has of course done just that.

While I will admit that Whispering Angel’s big sister, Rock Angel is a bit too melon-centric for my tastes, I enjoyed all of the other offerings we tried. But for me, Whispering Angel is so perfectly balanced with a gentle complexity and lots of fun notes too that there’s very little that can compete for a consistently perfect choice for our rose-moments.

Sante!

Château d’Esclans elevates rosé to global luxury status

By Jorge Haro Larrea

These days, France’s beautiful Provençal region is gaining more and more attention and worldwide recognition, especially due to the freshness and flavour of its rosé wines. Far from being considered a mere aperitif wine, more and more producers are dedicating themselves to cultivating and producing rosés worthy of respect and noteworthy among the world of wines. At the forefront of this new ambition, difficult to ignore, is Château d’Esclans , a winery whose wines continue to grow in esteem and reputation, crossing borders and demonstrating the astonishing potential of French rosés.

Growing legacy in the wine world

Owing its origin to the meeting of several men with a history framed by vines and a love of wine, it was in the mind of Sacha Lichine that the desire to innovate and produce a premium rosé that would be on a par with the most prestigious wines was born. After acquiring the Esclans estate in 2006 with a clear objective in mind: to make Provence rosé an exceptional wine, recognised and respected throughout the world.

This new vocation required surrounding himself with skilled people, which explains the indispensable presence of the Léon family. Distinguished winemakers from generation to generation, they joined Lichine after working for years with the great Bordeaux vineyards. Their valuable advice oversees the entire production, from the harvest to the selection of the resulting wine, and is an inseparable part of the winery’s success.

It is in this idyllic setting, where the stones and vegetation seem to welcome the embrace of the sun, that the Château d’Esclans was built, a splendid monument whose construction dates back more than 800 years. Surrounded by 260 hectares, the property stands above the village of La Motte and is surrounded by the best Provençal appellations.

Flag bearer of a Provençal revolution

The various premium rosé vintages from Château d’Esclans enjoy unprecedented recognition for wines in this category. The best-known, Garrus, is famous for having long been the most expensive rosé in the world, at a price of €80 a bottle. A perfectly assumed luxury positioning, for wines whose texture and aromas resemble those of great white wines, adorned with delicate oak notes. In contrast to the more classic rosés, the bottles delivered by the estate’s nearly thousand-year-old cellars are not consumed in the year of production, but are kept for at least one or two years to enjoy a more complex structure and more developed aromas.

Château d’Esclans is an example of innovation and quality in the world of wine. Each new vintage is another step towards affirming rosé as one of the most prestigious wines of the French vineyard. This only makes one thing clear: rosé wine is here to stay, and its potential is truly formidable.