AS THE 2022 WINNER of the only competition in South Africa exclusively for Rosé wines, Groote Post is one of the country’s ‘pink’ wines of the year:

• Aaldering Pinotage Rosé 2022 at R225pb ex-cellar, Devon Valley-Stellenbosch: trophy at the Michelangelo Awards (SA)
• Allée Bleue Shiraz Rosé 2022 at R90pb ex-cellar, Franschhoek: top of its class at the Shiraz SA Challenge
• Groote Post Limited Release Pinot Noir Rosé 2022 at R99pb ex-cellar, Darling: winner of the Allan Mullins Award at Rosé Rocks (SA)
• Meerhof Premium Grenache Rosé 2021 at R155pb ex-cellar, Riebeek Kasteel: double gold medallist at the Veritas Awards (SA)
• Merwida Papenkuils Vlei Vygie Pinotage Rosé 2022 at R62pb ex-cellar, Rawsonville: double gold medallist at the Veritas Awards (SA)
• Napier Petite Marie 2021 (from Cabernet Franc) at R95pb ex-cellar, Wellington: best in class at the National Wine Challenge (SA)

There were no fewer than 31 ‘still’ wines plus six sparklers judged worthy of a double gold medal at Rosé Rocks 2022. A few weeks earlier there were six wines praised at the Pinotage Rosé Competition, and a couple of weeks before that there were eight double golds (in addition to the trophy) at the Michelangelo Awards (SA). According to Norma Ratcliffe, former owner/cellarmaster of Warwick in Stellenbosch and panel chair at Rosé Rocks for which there were 120 entries in 2022: “Rosé winemaking is truly world-class in South Africa.” There are “more sophisticated styles appearing,” commented fellow judge Kelly-Marie Jacobs, Zonnebloem winemaker at Distell.

Previously, top awards for South African Rosé on the world stage have been few and far between: grand gold for Escapades Pinotage Rosé 2013 from Stellenbosch at Mondial (BE) in 2014, gold for Graham Beck Pinot Noir Rosé 2009 from Robertson at the Sparkling Wine World Championships (UK) in 2015, gold for Holden Manz Rothko Rosé 2017 from Franschhoek and Florence Pinotage Rosé 2021 (Aaldering) of Stellenbosch at the Drinks Business Masters (UK) in 2018 and 2021 respectively, and double gold for the Ken Forrester Silver Rose 2021 of Stellenbosch at the Global Fine Wine Challenge (AU) in 2021.

Locally, no (still) Rosé has achieved better than silver at the Trophy Wine Show, and at the Veritas Awards the only one to earn double gold prior to the Meerhof and Merwida in 2022 was Stettyn Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2020 from Villiersdorp at the 2020 edition of the competition.

The late Allan Mullins CWM, co-founder of Rosé Rocks eight years ago, was a fan of pink wines from the Cape, outspoken about the rising standards of the category. It would seem that his optimism is shared by a growing number of critics, going by the positive reviews on several fronts recently.