Life is too short to drink bad wine

The top rose wine from Ch. Sainte Marguerite. Lovely medium salmon colour. Packed with red fruit on the nose and a nicely balanced fruity taste. There is a lot of nice and decent rose wines around. the quality seems to be improving every year and this one is no exception. Ch. Sainte Marguerite 2012 Cote de Provence, Ca 12€ Fresh and elegant

This Rose has a lovely pink salmon colour. Just beautiful! On the nose lots of delicious peach and apricot. The taste is dry with a nice acidity and a good balance. For just 7€ this is a very good bottle of rose! In addition is the bottle square and quite unusual, although the bottle is slightly heavy (especially when you buy a six pack...). Great stuff from Ch Berne near Lourges. Ch. Berne 2012 Cote de Provence Ca 7€

Oh yet another very drinkable rose. This time Ch. Rasque also from Cote de Provence. Had this at a trendy Lebanese restaurant in Nice called L'Ybane. Medium terracotta colour with a fresh nose of red fruit and some peach. The taste is fruity with a nice minerality and medium body. 50/50% Grenache and Cinsault and 4-6 hours of maceration to obtain the colour. Ch Rasque 2012 Cuvee Alexandra Cotes de Provence. Ca 15€   

The reasonable version from Ch. Minuty called Moments. Bone dry rose with a nice acidity and minerality. Discrete smell of peach and orange. Main grapes are Cinsault and Grenache which means that the alcohol content might be high (13%). Pale terracotta colour (at least when compared to the terrace wall...) Ch. Minuty 2012 Moments Ca 12€

It's hot, it's lunch time and what else than a pale Rose for such an occasion. This one, bought at the local Nicolas, was only around 6€ and it turned out to be a very good one as well. Lots of fruit and no tannins. Perhaps a bit short on acidity but ah so drinkable. Time for a rest before entering the pool site again... La Rose des Vents 2012 Coteaux Varois en Provence What's price got to do with it?

This Rose produced by Ch Berne in Cotes de Provence has a lovely deep terracotta colour and a very hand glass cork that can be re-used. Delicious red fruit on the nose with perhaps a less quality taste, but overall a decent wine for only 6€. Widely available and perfect lunch wine. Romance 2012 Berne Cotes de Provence

It's summer holiday and lunch downtown Antibes at Le Chrono. 50cl bottles are very useful in those situations and Chateau Valentine makes a rose called Caprice de clementine which is widely available in the region. Pale salmon colour with lots of red fruit on the nose and a very nice fruity taste. Good value for money. Caprice de clementine Rose 2012 Cotes de Provence Ca 6€ Bring it on....!

Touch of summer and time to bring out the rose. Found this reasonable rose from Cote de Provence in the local wine shop. Pale salmon colour and a wine filled with delicate strawberries and lots of red fruit. Perfect on it's own or with salmon. Croix de Basson 2011 Cotes de Provence, NOK 135 or 6€...

This is a lovely Rose wine with a juicy and perfectly balanced taste. The color scheme is more Tuscany colored inspired as it is more towards orange brown or burnt Sienna. Purchasing this wine will set you back 10€ at the local Casino super market. Ch. Mouresse 2010 "L'Excellence" Cotes de Provence Perfect for the terrace on its own...

This is an expensive rose in Provence terms, around 15€, which is totally unheard of in the land of cheap rose plonk. But sometimes it's worth to pay more even for rose wines. Lovely smoked salmon colour. Nose is full of seductive strawberries with a great fruity dry and fruity taste. Perfect for lunch, pre dinner dinner or even after dinner. Clos Gautier, Cotes de Provence 2010 Smoked salmon colour perfect with BBQ salmon?

Minuty makes several different wines with Ch Minuty as the main one and Ch Bailly as their second wine. Both are lovely fruity rose wines with a nice minerality. Bone dry wines, perfect in hot weather and on the terrace or in the garden.. Widely available with prices ranging from 10 to 13 € for the Minuty and around 7-8 € for the Ch Bailly. Ch Minuty, Cotes de Provence, low price around 10€, sunny sunny must be funny....

The selection of rose wines in Provence is enormous. They come in different colours, different bottles , different prices and with a different mix of grapes. We came across this bottle at the local cave just outside Antibes. At 10€ it is a pricy Rose but this one is worth the extra cash due a lovely, lively fruit and delicous minerality. Great terrace and lunch stuff! MIP 2010, 10€, excellent rose at medium price for a noggie...

Came across a beautiful pale rose wine the other day. Its called MiP (made in provence) and comes from Domaine Sainte Lucie at the piemont of la Montagne Sainte Victoire (north of Marseille). Dominant grapes are Cinsault Grenache and Syrah. Lovely red fuit aromas with a very good fruity taste and a perfect acidity. A bit pricy as it was around 10€ but worth every penny. "MiP" Domaine Sainte Lucie 2009, Cotes de Provence, 10€, pale rose at its best