The Champagne region has been growing grapes since Roman times. In the early 1500s, Champagne was described as “the ordinary drink of kings and princes”, favoured by the elite of Paris. However, these pale still wines did not contain any bubbles; the area only really became synonymous with sparkling wine in the 19th century, although several famous producers were founded in the 1700s. Nevertheless, Champagne is the newest addition to France’s pantheon of fine wines.

Today, there are few vineyards that can touch its celebrity and renown. The region, situated just 90 miles northeast of Paris, is responsible for producing the best of sparkling wine. Champagne offers a potent combination of freshness, elegance and unrivalled depth that very few can replicate. It is also increasingly celebrated for its rosé wines, a style that became achingly trendy in late 2021.

A good rosé Champagne is magnificent: refreshing, elegant, and bursting with red fruit aromas and ripe acidity. On a warm summer’s evening, rosé Champagne is heaven in a glass.

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How rosé Champagne is made

Every bottle of Champagne, white and rosé, is produced in the strictly demarcated Champagne region. In addition, all Champagne must be made using the traditional method. Still wines are bottled with added yeast and a sweetened wine solution, called liqueur de tirage. This kickstarts a secondary fermentation in bottle, dissolving CO2 into the wine. The Champagne is then aged on the lees (dead yeast cells) that remain in the vessel before this sediment is ejected and the bottle resealed. A small volume of normally sweetened wine, called dosage, is added before resealing. All rosé Champagne undergoes this process.

So where do the differences lie? They occur before the base wines have seen the inside of a bottle. There are two principal ways to make rosé Champagne, outlined below.

Maceration method

This is a common procedure in creating still rosé wine. Nonetheless, relatively little Champagne is made this way. This is because the process is very difficult to perfect, as any winemaker will freely admit. Broken red grapes, typically Pinot Noir, are chilled and subject to a light maceration, which refers to a period of time when the grape juice is in contact with the skins. All the colour is imparted from the red grape skins, as grape juice (both from red and white varieties) is clear to start with. The skins remain in contact with the juice for a short period, usually about two to three days depending on the depth of colour you want to attain. This juice is then pressed and fermented without any skin contact, creating a rosé wine. All still rosé is produced this way, macerating the juice and skins to extract some colour pigments, over a short period. In the case of Champagne, once the rosé wine has finished its fermentation, it undergoes the secondary fermentation process, mirroring white Champagne.

Unfortunately, it is easy to over extract colour (and tannin) from the skins during the maceration. This can have a detrimental effect on the balance and mouthfeel of the Champagne, if not carefully managed. Yet there are masters of the craft; Champagne house Laurent-Perrier produce an exceptional maceration style. It is renowned for its impeccable freshness and delightful palate of summer fruits.

The blending method: Saignéé

Almost all Champagne, including rosé, is a blend of at least two grape varieties, wines from different sub-regions and, in the case of non-vintage (NV) Champagne, a mix of young and older wines. There are exceptions: certain producers market a single-vineyard wine, produced from one grape variety and from one harvest. But they are relatively uncommon.

Most NV Champagne relies on three grape varieties—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier—to forge a sparkling wine that is greater than the sum of its parts. Vintage Champagne is based on wines from just one year, while NV incorporates a percentage of older ‘reserve’ wines, to enhance complexity and balance. Although rosé Champagne made this way largely shadows its white counterpart, it also includes a small percentage of (coloured) red wine, added before the secondary fermentation. The red wine, usually Pinot Noir, darkens the hue and changes the structure. Great care must be taken to avoid an excess of tannin, resulting in an unbalanced cuvée. However, if the addition of red wine is expertly managed, then an exquisite rosé style will emerge.

Enjoying rosé Champagne

Rosé is not a new member of the Champagne fraternity. According to the archives of legendary house Veuve Clicquot, at least one producer has been blending white and red wines to make a sparkling rosé since 1775. However, there has been a surge of interest in the category over the last 15 years, with new labels entering the market. At its best, rosé Champagne has no equal. There is a wide selection of brands and styles available, from salmon-pink rosés to deeply coloured wines. They are all utterly delicious.

NV Rosés

Almost every Champagne house now produces an NV rosé wine. Non-vintage rosés are fruit-forward and deeply perfumed, ideally served as an aperitif. They tend to have slightly less acidity than ‘standard’ Champagne, due to the inclusion of red wine. Moreover, the wines are often very expressive from the outset, offering a delicate, floral style of fizz.

Vintage Rosés

This is a rarer category of rosé. Produced from wines made in one particular year, vintage rosé is aged for longer on the lees before release. In addition, the winemaker will select superior base wines to create the vintage cuvée, ideally from exceptional harvests.

The character of vintage rosé is usually more structured and complex than the NV equivalent, with a greater capacity to age.

Prestige Cuvée Rosés

The prestige cuvée segment was famously established when the Russian Tsar Alexander II demanded a new batch of luxurious fizz, produced by Louis Roederer in the 19th century. That brand became known as Cristal. It is perhaps the most widely recognised luxury sparkling wine in the world.

However, the upper echelons of Champagne are not simply a marketing exercise. Winemakers use only the best raw materials to make a prestige cuvée, often aged for seven to 10 years before release. Today, many houses concurrently produce a white and rosé version of their most glamorous label.

Some of the finest examples include Cristal rosé, Dom Perignon rosé and Dom Ruinart rosé. They are a monument to the category, with the depth and vinosity of a good red Burgundy. Many prestige rosés are based on wines from one vintage. Krug rosé is a notable exception.

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