Rosé All Day on Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day approaches! And since our mothers are the absolute best, they deserve only the best—on all days, but especially their special day!

So what do you serve your mother on Mother’s Day? Whatever she wants, of course. But for this review, we opted to do rosés, as they remind us of our mothers: beautiful, welcoming, and delightful.

Disclaimer: if you’re looking for sweet rosé, we apologize. All of these are dry (not sweet).

So first up in our tasting? The Cuvée du Roy Tavel, 2021. Tavel is a subregion of the Rhône Valley in France that makes only rosés, so it’s pretty famous for them. Our immediate reaction was, “Ooh, this one is pretty!” We’re naturally eloquent. But truly, this is a lovely little wine just to look at, with it’s dark pink color.

This Tavel smells like rose water, lightly floral. It even tastes a little like roses (or like you would imagine roses would taste by the smell—we don’t routinely taste roses), but it also tastes like tart cherries and raspberries. It’s pretty light, despite it’s dark color. It’s a nice example from Tavel.

In a nutshell,

The wine: We disagreed here. Bart says B+, Katie B-. Not everyone’s tastes are the same!

The price: $15

Would we buy it again? Bart says yes, he’d love to drink it on his deck. Katie says probably not.

Moving to our next rosé, we stayed in France but went to the region of Provence for the Caves d’Esclans Whispering Angel, Côtes de Provence Rosé, 2022. Provence is very well-known for making rosés, so it was only natural we pick one up from here as well.

As you can see, the color on this rosé is much lighter, but surprisingly, it has more aroma than the Tavel. This one interestingly has an herbal, sage-like character to it. Provence is known for having an herbal quality due to the garrigue that grows there (an aromatic shrub from the Mediterranean). Bart says it reminds him of stomping through the grassy pastures while hunting pheasants early on a November morning. So if you’re looking for a rosé that is less fruity and more herbal, this is the one for you.

In a nutshell,

The wine: B

The price: $25 at Jacob Liquor

Would we buy it again? We might choose something else if we’re going for a rosé personally, but we did enjoy this one

Up next! We tried the Chateau Ste. Michelle Rosé 2022. This hails from Columbia Valley, Washington State, and as you might expect when moving from French to American wine, this one is fruitier!

This was our clear winner. It’s bolder (but still rosé, so don’t get any wild ideas) and bright, and it reminds us of cherry blossoms and tart cherries and a fistful of raspberries. It has a longer finish as well, so the flavors linger in your mouth. This wine sings, “Mom, you are beautiful,” like Julie Andrew’s singing in the Alps. If you want a crowd-pleaser rosé for Mother’s Day, this is it.

In a nutshell,

The wine: A-

The price: $11 at Jacob Liquor

Would we buy it again? Yes

Food pairing ideas: rosés, being lighter wines, often go with lighter foods like fish (salmon’s a great option), light pastas

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers out there! We love you all!