“The taste was richer than the French wine with a delicate berry flavour that was clean and dry with a longer finish than expected from this style of wine.” Wine columnist RICHARD CALVER pits an Aussie rosé against a French one.

It was one of those days out of the box: sunny with a light breeze, and three of us decided to have lunch at the usual Thai restaurant on the foreshore.

The weather suited a summer drink that would match well with this type of food and so we decided to consume and compare a couple of rosés. 

According to Wine Australia, this style of wine, measured by retail sales, has been growing about 5 per cent a year since 2023. Rosé consumption (a different measure to retail sales) in Australia grew by an average of 13 per cent a year from 2020 to 2025. 

But rosé still remains at around 7 per cent of the wine produced in this country. 

We enjoyed both the rosés we consumed and they sell at a reasonable price. 

I bought a French-made wine, a Gerard Bertrand Cote des Rosés 2024, at a Kingston bottle shop and paid $28. The internet shows that some outlets have it on sale as low as $24.

The label shows that the wine is made from a blend of grenache, syrah and cinsault varietals. It is made in Languedoc in southwest France.

Most French rosé is made in Provence, not the proximate Languedoc, with Wine Australia indicating that 91 per cent of vines in Provence are used to produce rosé, which comprise between 85-90 per cent of that region’s production.

In any event, the nose on this Languedoc wine was floral with a hint of grapefruit. Its colour is deep pink, almost orange.

On taste, it is dry, which we appreciated, yet has a hint of watermelon, not a standout but very pleasant.

It matched the crab fried rice very well with the acidity on the finish cutting through the richness of this dish. 

The Australian wine that stood in comparison was a Yarra Valley Dominique Portet Fontaine Rosé 2025.

The label puffs that the Portet family has “10 generations of French winemaking experience” but does not say from which varietals the wine is made.

It is priced at $28 from the winery. On the winery’s website they say that: “Merlot adds softness, shiraz brings spice and cabernet sauvignon gives structure and drive.” 

Ergo, completely different varietals from the Languedoc wine. But this is a blend that works. We all preferred this wine to the French. 

Its colour is brighter than the French wine, with a salmon pink hue. On the nose there was a hint of cherry and some floral notes.

The taste was richer than the French wine with a delicate berry flavour that was clean and dry with a longer finish than expected from this style of wine.

It went well with the spicy chicken dish. It is in fact very close to the style of the French Provence wines that I’ve tried in the past, especially the dry and mouth-filling finish. In all, despite the Aussie’s nod to Provence, it was the better wine.

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ‘Til your good is better and your better is best.” –St Jerome