Perrier Jouët Blason Rose Champagne, 75 cl

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The Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé cuvée is at once sensual and voluptuous, fresh and intense. Its manifold subtleties will best reveal themselves with the generous flavours of a lightly cooked salmon, or be brought out by an accompaniment that combines the aromas of red fruits and the freshness of baby carrots, tomatoes or sorrel sauce. The high acidity helps to cleanse the palate when paired with raw and cured foods, so don’t be afraid to serve it alongside oysters and carpaccio. As for sweeter varieties? Save those for young, buttery cheeses and fruit-forward desserts. How we test rosé champagne Like all Champagne, Perrier- Jouët lives and dies by its terroir. The Champagne house acquired two incredibly important parcels of land for its Chardonnay production in the mid-19th century: the Bourons Leroy and Bourons du Midi. Both are almost pure chalk, which ups the delicacy and minerality of the Chardonnay grapes used in the blend, not to mention is blossomy floral notes. To find the finest rosé champagnes to drink right now, our discerning panel of consumers and experts were presented with 25 bottles from the leading champagne houses. Unlike regular champagne, which can be slightly more limited, rosé champagne is versatile when it comes to food pairings. Lighter styles work wonderfully with the natural sweetness in prawns and grilled lobster, while fuller bottles can hold their own with earthier flavours, including game and truffles.

That one very recognizable Perrier-Jouët bottle? It has a name: Belle Epoque. The term is French for “ The Beautiful Age,” a period in French history from 1870 to 1914 during which industrial and cultural flourishing took place. That said, the “beauty” of the age was largely relegated to upper-echelon society. La Belle Epoque symbolized whimsey, excess, and, according to this article, “the very rich’s inability to deal with the grim reality of modern life” — in other words, industrialization.In a way, Perrier brought Champagne to another level of complexity it might have completely missed out on, as vintage ties Champagne to winemaking and time. Perrier-Jouet Brut – This is THE icon of Perrier-Jouët, and it is a perfect introduction to the floral, elegant and diamond-studded style of Perrier-Jouet. The bright and sparkling yellow dress of Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut recalls the radiance of life. The perfume of the Cuvée arouses curiosity by the striking freshness and vivacity of the floral and fruity scents, before giving way to subtle vanilla and buttery notes, giving the wine a fruity and homogeneous character. The fullness and liveliness are balanced on the palate and develop into a taste of roundness and vinous elegance. Available at Vinatis in different sizes. Rosé champagne is more than just an aesthetic win (who can say 'no' to pink fizz on the table?); it also perfectly complements a whole host of dishes. Pair lighter bubbles with the likes of crab cakes, seafood platters and goat's cheese canapés, or enjoy a glass on its own before dinner to freshen the tastebuds.

Prior to the mid-19th century, most Champagne was on the sweet side. This is because of the “dosage,” or added sugar, used to restart fermentation in-bottle all for the purpose of creating those vital, life-affirming bubbles Champagne is known for. In those days, dosage was on the higher side, leaving a significant amount of residual sugar. Rosé sparkling wines like Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and others make a fun and festive alternative to regular bubbles—but don’t snub these as not as important as their clear counterparts. Rosé Champagnes (i.e., those coming from the Champagne region of France) are made in the same basic way as regular Champagne, from the same grapes and the same region. Most other regions where sparkling wine is produced, and where red grape varieties also grow, also make a rosé version. How is sparkling rosé wine made? It’s made using just three grapes: chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier (the latter two being red grapes). Each champagne house will have its own cellar master — a figure responsible for selecting just the right quantity of each, to perfectly represent the brand’s signature style. The bubbles in sparkling wine are formed when the base wine undergoes a secondary fermentation, which traps carbon dioxide inside the bottle or fermentation vessel. During this stage, the yeast cells can absorb some of the wine’s color but for the most part, the pink hue remains. How do you serve rosé sparkling wine? After artist Emile Gallé came up with the now iconic flower print you’d likely recognize on the bottle (they’re Japanese anemones, beautiful in real life, too), the bottles were too expensive to mass-produce, so the handful of magnums with the design were cellared — and lost for about 60 years until cellarmaster André Bavaret rediscovered them in 1964 and shared the find with the house’s marketing and sales director, Pierre Ernst (who was, reasonably, super excited). The long-lost magnums were re-released in 1969 and named the Belle Epoque Cuvée. Only one other Belle Epoque bottle design, called “Florale,” has been commissioned since, and over a century later, from renowned Japanese floral artist Makoto Azuma in 2012.

The original husband-and-wife team was inspired by the winemaking possibilities of the Cramant and Avize regions within Epernay, and this chalky terroir went on to define the Perrier-Jouët style. In that classic tale of “one brother works, the other brother throws himself into an extravagant flourishing arts scene,” Henri Gallice and his brother Octave took over for their uncle Charles. Henri managed the family business while Octave headed to Paris to enjoy the aforementioned Beautiful Age. While Henri worked and Octave, presumably, loafed, that loafing paid off: In Paris, Octave met Art Nouveau artist Emile Gallé, who made a career putting elegant floral prints on vases, among other things. Octave commissioned Gallé to create the iconic Belle Epoque bottle design in 1902. And thus, it’s entirely possible the less hardworking brother had a more lasting impact on the Perrier-Jouët legacy than his hardworking brother. Our panel of 10 testers popped the corks of 26 leading rosé champagnes. They were asked to rate each, looking for fruity flavours, refreshing acidity and lively bubbles. Then came Perrier-Jouët Cuvée K, a Champagne dosed with a mere 5 percent sugar. It launched in 1846 and was exported to London. The result was a hit. By 1876, the term “brut Champagne” was popularized. Nothing in bubbly has been the same since.

True to its artistic heritage, Perrier-Jouët champagne resembles unique works of art. The design of the bottle combines harmony, finesse and elegance, characteristics of Perrier-Jouët. Unless you’re the one person at the party who knows how to say Moët & Chandon, you probably also didn’t know that you’re supposed to pronounce the “et” part of Jouët. Those two dots mean everything you learned about trailing off at the end of French words ending in “et” was wrong. Per this very helpful video from Social Vignerons, it’s pronounced “Pair-e-yay Zjhooooo-ET” (you don’t have to overemphasize the “et,” but we like people to know so they can learn, too). If in doubt, you can’t go wrong with a fruit-forward dessert, such as winter berry panna cotta. How we test rosé champagneWhen Charles Perrier took over for his parents in 1854, he managed the family business pretty well. He also helped alter the way Champagne is consumed and understood by emphasizing the vintage, or crop year, from bottle to bottle. Not only did that become a marketing tool, it connects Champagne to the seasons and (most vitally) the terroir, which is why the Champagne region is a proud, if confusing, patchwork of vineyards where yearly climate, soil, and winemaking impacts are carefully monitored and manipulated to create the most sublime vintage possible.