The approach of autumn reminds me of an error to which many winos fall victim, which is the assumption that rose is a summer drink, for picnics and flirtations in the grass. In fact, rose is welcome in every season, and has something of its own to say even on a frosty night in January. Those roses that need summer sun and butterflies to offset their bleak acidity are best avoided, and - as my colleague Victoria has eloquently pointed out - they are far from rare. She rightly praised the rose of Chateau de Sours, familiar from Majestic Wine (whose founder, Esme Johnstone, makes the stuff) and also from Corney & Barrow, who usually buy it en primeur. There is no doubt that this is an aristocrat among roses and, at around £7 a bottle, makes a perfect party wine, as apt for a winter book launch as a summer picnic and able to stand up to every kind of company and also (the real test) to none.
Nevertheless, even Chateau de Sours has its peers, and there is much joy to be had in comparing them. A good rose, to my mind, should last an evening, accompanying equally the hour of pre-prandial meditation, the dish of squid that starts the meal, the roast lamb that follows, and the stinking cheese that brings down the curtain. Roses from Provence are famous for this, as are those from the Coteaux du Tricastin.
But to my mind, there is no better all-rounder than the Amethystos rose from Greece, imported by Oddbins. This, made from a local grape that imparts a deep hunting pink to the appearance and a full octave of flavours to the taste, fills the air with its perfume. Imaginary insects flutter above the glass, and if you put your ear to it, after a glass or two, you can hear the murmur of the wine-dark sea.
The Amethystos is only one among an impressive collection of pink wines from Oddbins, many of which Sam the horse prefers on account of their in-your-face yeastiness. Our local merchant, Yapp Brothers of Mere, has other and more recherche discoveries, offering roses from Saint Pourcain, Irouleguy and the Bouches-du-Rhone, all of them dry, fruity and refreshing. Irouleguy, as the name displays, is in the Basque country, and Yapp's product, from the Domaine Ilarria, has a bright cherry-red colour and a clear, crisp attack that makes it eminently suitable to accompany egg and chips, though a true Basque would prefer jambon de Bayonne and piperade.
Finally, one should acknowledge the virtues of California, whose "blush" wines are far less embarrassing than they sound. Majestic carries the full, fresh, frothy, fruity Fetzer rose, from the Syrah grape, which at less than a fiver (if you buy two bottles), and with a gold medal from those ghastly ponces at the International Wine Challenge, is a genuine bargain.
