6:30am Thursday 29th July 2010
By Sarah McCleery
Do you remember that story of Eeyore’s birthday? Pooh and Piglet set forth to visit him with a gift of honey and an inflated balloon.
I forget now what mishaps befall them but I know that by the time they reach poor Eeyore, the honey pot has been licked clean and the balloon is a burst rag.
I would forgive my parents having an Eeyore moment when I unpacked my picnic bag that had accompanied me on the East Coast train service to Scotland to present them with some half-eaten sandwiches and an already-opened bottle of Sancerre Rosé 2007 Les Ruettes from Marks and Spencer (£12.99).
I had cracked when the train’s air-conditioning packed in and the young boy sitting opposite started to show the signs of a child who had eaten nothing other than Yorkie bars, Kit Kats and chewing gum since boarding at Peterborough.
Still, there was enough left over to enjoy a glass with dinner and there was uniform agreement over its merits.
Made from Pinot Noir, it’s not the fleshiest pink on the shelves but I favour a crisp, crunchy, slightly herbal, summer-berry fruit rosé and it is just that.
Now that the summer holidays are well under way and we seem to be enjoying a decent number of summer days, an increasing number of us will be turning to rosé and, whether you are enjoying a furtive glass on the train, enjoying it in the garden, or at dinner with friends, here are some of my personal favourites.
The St Hallet 2008 Rosé (£6.64 www.waitrosewine.com) from Australia’s Barossa Valley is a riper, richer style that is hard not to like.
The extra weight of fruit makes it a good choice to partner some (not overly!) grilled chicken from the barbecue.
Another hearty, fruit-forward pink is Azul y Garanza’s Navarra Rosé (£8.25 www.vintageroots.co.uk).
Laden with ripe strawberry fruits and fresh acidity, it is a guaranteed party pleaser.
A wine that ticks all of my rosé boxes: lovely salmon-pink colour with dry redcurrant and raspberry fruits with herbal hints is the Bandol Mas de la Rouvière 2009 (£14.95 www.yapp.co.uk). It is a classy, arguably more grown-up rosé that will drink very well with a piece of simply roasted sea bass.
Whether you’ll be able to keep the cork in any of these until your friends come round is anyone’s guess!
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