Top Picks

Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV, $72
A truly pink-pink Champagne. A delicate, enthralling nose, redolent of wild strawberry, coconut, tangerine, and chalk. An elegant wine with a creamy, almost pillowy texture. Ripe fruit with terrific depth of flavor, backed by racy acidity. A long, toasty finish rounds out an excellent rosé.

Krug Brut Rosé NV, $230
Not much pink in the color and not a lot of obvious red fruit on the nose or in the mouth, but a superb Champagne all the same. Classic Krug aromas of toast, grapefruit, ginger, yeast, and honey, with a hint of strawberry lurking in the background. Very winey and amazingly intense, with waves of fruit, spices, and minerals cascading across the tongue.

Moët & Chandon Brut Rosé Cuvée Dom Pérignon 1996, $400
A gorgeous shade of amber, and a gorgeous, complex nose to match, with scents of strawberry, tangerine, smoke, honey, sweet butter, and clove. A full-bodied rosé with ripe, elegant fruit, subtle acidity, and good, salty minerality. Unfortunately, the wine loses some of its vigor across the palate, fading on the finish. A stellar Champagne from a great vintage, but ends on a slightly disquieting note.

Taittinger Brut Rosé Comtes de Champagne 2000, $210
Fine little bubbles. A very seductive perfume, with notes of raspberry, pastry, blood orange, talc, smoke, and rosewater. A light-bodied wine that quietly detonates in the mouth, coating the palate in red fruits and dry extract. Terrific depth, persistence. A touch plump, but that's the only flaw in an otherwise outstanding Champagne.

Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé La Grande Dame 1998, $220
A dark rosé—almost the color of rust, in fact. Strawberries, red currants, cinnamon, salted nuts, and earth aromas. A very vinous Champagne, bursting with red fruits, earth, and minerals. Excellent concentration, acidity. Essentially a sparkling red Burgundy.

Other Vintage Rosés of Note

Aubry Brut Sablé Rosé Nicolas Francois Aubry 2002, $74.95
A very pale shade of copper. An inviting nose of roses, tart red berries, cantaloupe, and fresh-baked bread. Some citrus notes kick in on the palate, which is otherwise taut and mineral-laden. Finishes bracingly dry. A fine grower rosé that begs for food. Funky bottle, too.

Bollinger Brut Rosé La Grande Année 1999, $189.99
Smells like … Bollinger, with the classic Bolly hazelnut-white chocolate combo, along with notes of clove, dried berries, grains, and rosewater. Ripe, beautifully poised fruit on the palate, but the wine is a little too laid-back; could use more vigor. Still, an excellent rosé.

Pol Roger Brut Rosé 1999, $95
A wonderfully pure, clean bouquet of cherries, cinnamon, tobacco, and nectarine. The fruit is just as fresh on the palate and is supplemented by a nice floral kick. A long, fruity finish rounds out a very good rosé. Pol Roger doesn't get a lot of attention for its rosé; perhaps it should.

Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé Rare Vintage 1985, $90
Recently released by Veuve. Very Burgundian aromas of earth, tobacco, raspberry, and dry leaves, along with some toffee. The fruit has faded a bit, but just enough remains to counterbalance the acidity and minerals. You don't often encounter a rosé Champagne with this much age on it.

Vilmart Brut Rosé Grand Cellier Cuvée Rubis 1999, $99.95
Classic salmon-colored rosé from one the biggest names in grower Champagnes. Heavy on the spices, cinnamon and cloves in particular. Wild strawberry aromas and some toastiness, as well. Dense strawberry fruit in the mouth, with a bit of potpourri thrown in. With all these Christmas-y spices, a Champagne made for the holiday season. A distinctive, appealing rosé.

Other Nonvintage Rosés of Note

Delamotte Brut Rosé NV, $70
Lovely nose redolent of cherries, cumin, honey, and cured meats (yes, and better than it sounds). Light, elegant Champagne with good depth of flavor, persistence. The acidity is a bit muted—the wine tastes a bit fat—but otherwise very pleasant.

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé NV, $40
A charming nose of strawberries, rhubarb, mint, candied ginger, and mineral. Pleasingly tart rhubarb, strawberry flavors in the mouth. The wine stumbles a bit on the finish, but a very commendable rosé for an excellent price.

René Geoffroy Brut Rosé de Saignée NV, $57.95
Not only does this grower Champagne look like a red ale; there is a hoppy aspect to the bouquet, along with red berries, chalks, herbs, and an intriguing briny note. Tart cherries and berries across the palate, along with a strong minerality. A bruiser of a bubbly, completely unusual—but good.

Laurent-Perrier Brut Rosé NV, $80
Don't let the pale color fool you—a rich, mouth-filling wine, with notes of strawberries, potpourri, oyster shell, and iodine. Could use just a bit more depth; nonetheless, admirably complex for a nonvintage Champagne from a major house. The price, however, is a stretch.

Jean Milan Brut Rosé Charles de la Milanière NV, $56.95
A very dark rosé from this respected grower. A pronounced cranberry note on the nose, along with pretty floral scents. Cranberry dominates in the mouth, backed by subtle minerality and good acidity. An exuberantly fruity Champagne, but with a deceptive, pleasing dryness.

Moët & Chandon Brut Rosé Impérial NV, $45
A simple, inviting bouquet of kirsch, earth, and spices. A light, airy Champagne, but one with good depth of flavor and persistence. Doubly impressive because it's most likely cranked out in relatively substantial quantities.

Perrier Jouët Brut Rosé Blason NV, $60
A leesy, gently spicy nose, with dried strawberry, peach, and mineral aromas. An elegant, well-proportioned rosé that opens up nicely in the glass. This has always been regarded as one of the better nonvintage rosés, and rightly so.