1) Biodynamically-Farmed
Sparkling Catalan Beauty
2016 Raventós i Blanc, De Nit (Of the Night) Rosé Brut, Spain (20% off, £19.16, Berry Bros & Rudd)
For romantic rosé that’s as bubbly as it is stimulating (and less expensive than most English fizz), top quality Cava or Crémant should be top of your list. This classy, biodynamic, zero-dosage, traditional-method offering from the breakaway, higher-specification Catalan Conca del Ríu Anoia DO created in 2013 – with lower yields than Cava, plus longer minimum ageing requirements of 18 months, only vintage wines etc – is sure to make your Valentine blush the same colour as this wine! Just relax and let the gentle saline and glorious raspberry, strawberry, plum and pomegranate characters sweep you away. One for tapas, fish and chips or tandoori chicken.
2) Stonking Pink co-op
Own-Label Supermarket Bubbly Bargain
Les Pionniers NV Rosé Champagne, France (Was £22 but down to £20 till Feb 18)
Champagne is hard to beat as a mood-setter. If you are drawn to buy ‘budget’ Champagne – don’t; look to this bottle, which hits that sweet spot where quality meets ace value instead. Made by resurgent Piper-Heidsieck, and a blend of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, Co-op’s characterful own-label bubbly is delicate and stylish with scents and taste-bud-tingling flavours of toasty brioche, raspberries and red berries. A charming way to start the evening, and just the ticket for sushi and smoked salmon. Impossible not to fall in love.
3) BreathTaking Discounted
Full-Bodied Rosé from a Legendary Champagne House
Bollinger Rosé NV Champagne, France (£37.49 offer, 25% off, to Feb 18, Waitrose
This is seduction at its most alluring and mouth-watering. Bollinger Rosé NV has doubled in quantity since its much-acclaimed introduction in 2008, yet it still represents just a quarter of a million bottles, barely one-tenth of the Special Cuvée. Think wild strawberries, plums and patisserie with the tiniest suggestion of spice, figs and pink grapefruit, plus torrents of purity, complexity and epic length. Every hedonist’s dream and a brilliant match for lobster, posh Chinese and fruity desserts. Having popped the cork, you might as well pop the question too, as assuredly the response will be ‘yes’ with this blissful rosé in the glass. Pounce on the Waitrose offer.
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