Is Sula Brut Rose a winner?
Where there was just one Indian sparkling rosé on offer in 2008, now there are four. Indage was the first to have a go under its Tiger Hills brand. Then came Zampa Soiree and Vinsura.
The latest addition is a brut style rosé from India’s largest wine producer, Sula Vineyards.
A blend of Chenin Blanc and a modest amount of Zinfandel (which accounts for the color), Sula's Brut Rosé leans toward shade of pinks, more salmon than orange.
It stands out because it's made in the méthode traditionelle style, in which secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle, as in the case of champagne.
But will it make your party sparkle on New Years Eve?
We asked three experts.
The critic: Subhash Arora, president, Delhi Wine Club
"The first thing that struck me about the Sula Brut Rosé was its presentation," says Arora.
"It’s aesthetically pleasing with a classy label design and would draw attention sitting on a shop shelf or the home wine cabinet. The gift box is a nice added touch."
Arora likes the slivers of bubbles, which are long and stretch to cover the length of the glass the wine occupies, always a good sign.
"The color is lighter than some of the rosés I’ve tried before so perhaps there’s only a modest amount of Zinfandel in there, denoting a lighter style," he says.
He calls the fizz the wine’s crowning glory.
"That’s what I look for in a good sparkling rosé," he says. "A bit more body than a clear sparkling, which comes from the red wine grape and just the slightest hint of rounded tannins, which is the hallmark of sparkling rosé."
He suggests pairing the Sula Brut Rosé with Chinese food, as it balances the salty flavor of this cuisine with its acidity and low alcohol content.
The sommelier: Lindsay Groves, The Oberoi, Mumbai
"What I look for in a good sparkling rosé are aromas reminiscent of strawberries, field berries, grapefruit citrus and floral notes, a lot of which, I find in the Sula Brut Rosé when I nose it," says The Oberoi's head sommelier.
"The fruit is definitely more overt than any of the dry yeasty notes one gets in a clear sparkling. The aromas are undoubtedly fresh and pleasing."
Groves finds aromas of grass, citrus, lemon balm, floral notes and undertones of cream and brioche in the wine.
"Another interesting thing about the Sula Brut Rosé is that it hasn’t just been made from a single red grape, but a blend of red and white," says Groves. "Usually rosé wines are produced by just letting the red grapes have brief contact with the juice to impart just a blush of color. But in the case of Sula, as is the case in that great French region of Champagne, both white and red are used."
"This is the perfect wine to sip on at the start of an evening, but also works well with a variety of canapés, and oysters, calamari, salads and will even work with sushi. This brut is a good value alternative to traditional champagne."
The winemaker: Ajoy Shaw, Sula chief winemaker
Ajoy Shaw describes the style that the winery is trying to achieve with this wine as "fruit forward with refreshing acidity."
He says the wine contains flavor characteristics of lush tropical fruit and honeysuckle, and pairs well with Indian barbeque starters.
“The wine is moderately yeasty and has good body, but it’s the fruit that defines this wine unlike rosé sparklings from the Old World that have a more bread-like character," Shaw says.
"This wine has been four years in the making and encapsulates a uniquely Indian preference,” he says.
The Sula Brut Rosé is priced at Rs 975 in Maharashtra.
