Both sparkling wine and rosé are seen as ‘good time’ wines – the kind of bottle you break out to celebrate, or use as a convivial poolside drink. So what happens when you combine bubbles and pink wine? The easy answer is that you have a party in a glass – but behind this veneer of frivolity lies some seriously technical and fearsomely difficult winemaking technique. With an extraordinary range of grape varieties, regions, and winemaking techniques involved, Australian sparkling rosé is a delightfully gonzo category – just the type of thing that we like to sink our teeth into via a Deep Dive …

We gathered every Australian example of rosé sparkling that we could find – with no restrictions on grape variety or varieties used, and no restrictions on winemaking techniques used to create the colour or the carbonation – and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the wines that made the panellists’ top-six selections from the tasting.

Our panel: Peta Baverstock, winemaker, Cuvée Co.; Sam Watkins, winemaker, Watkins Wines; Tully Mauritzen, wine buyer, Vinomofo; Sam Baxter, sommelier, Geralds Bar; Sarah Robinson, sommelier, Cumulus Inc..; Logan Howes, wine retailer, Seddon Wine Store; Jordi Yeates, wine retailer and store manager, Crooked Drinks.

The Top Wines

2021 Apogee Sparkling Rosé, Tasmania $81 RRP:

This traditional-method sparkling wine – crafted by Tasmanian sparkling luminary Andrew Pirie – appeared in the top six wines of the day for Watkins, Baxter, Robinson, Mauritzen, Howes, and Yeates. Watkins called it “a great example of a traditional-method sparkling rosé. Aromatically huge, with autolytic notes of fresh bread dough and pastries – then cherries, peaches and honey come through. The palate is rich, but with a nicely ripping acid line that cleans up the finish beautifully, and a mouth-filling and lingering mousse.” Baxter noted that “the wine’s careful, persistent bead and orange hue entices the eyes. It explodes on the nose, with toasted brioche laden with savoury maple, charred yellow peach skin and ripe white pear notes. An amazingly complex little bubbly – perfectly for matched for sashimi, sushi, and other raw fish dishes.” Robinson described how “my favourite notes in the wine show themselves when you let it relax in the glass for a moment – suddenly you’re at a campfire, toasting marshmallows, as the smell of warmed biscuits, rich caramel, and nougat fills your nose. I would absolutely reach for this wine before I reach for a bottle of rosé Champagne.” Mauritzen found that “this wine is instantly remarkable for its aromatics – one of the most pronounced of the day’s line-up. There’s an undeniable element of salinity here. This wine is remarkable for its ability to muscle up against most dishes – a great rarity with sparkling wines.” Young Gun of Wine.