Marlborough Wine Show Champion Rosé 10 years in the making

A standout vintage topped off 10 years of careful winegrowing for the Babich Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé 2023, helping it to pick up the title of champion Rosé at the 2023 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect.

Winemaker Jens Merkle says to receive the Scenic Hotel Marlborough Champion Rosé trophy was hugely rewarding for the team, which selected the site for the grapes some 10 years ago.

Since then, careful thought has been put into nurturing just the right clones, and harvesting them at optimal ripeness to create an award-worthy Rosé.

He shared a little about the process and how it felt to pick up the trophy…

How did it feel to pick up the Champion Rosé trophy at the 2023 Marlborough Wine Show?

We were absolutely stunned to receive the trophy! We knew when we entered the wine that it had potential and we were very happy to receive a gold medal. Winning the trophy was very much the cherry on the cake!

Babich Wines has been making wines for many years. What do you believe goes into making a quality Rosé, and what makes Marlborough a good place to do so?

 As with all winemaking, you need the perfect grapes to make an outstanding wine. We selected a vineyard 10 years ago, from which we could get just the right fruit.  We grow the grapes from there specifically to make our Babich Rosé. From harvest right through to the finished wine, the entire winemaking process needs to be very gentle to avoid phenolic extraction and to get the colour we desire.

Marlborough is a wine region that grows some of the best white wines in the world. With Rosé being more or less made like a white wine with red grapes, this puts us in the ideal place to make some of the best Rosé wines as well.

Can you tell us a bit about the Babich Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé? What was it about the 2023 vintage that made it such a standout?

 As I said before, we selected the site where we get the grapes from 10 years ago, and our viticulture team ensures that we grow the Pinot Noir grapes specifically to our Rosé standards. The grapes we have chosen are a selection of four different Pinot clones (667; 777; 115 and 10/5).   

Typically, the grapes are harvested when they are around 21 Brix. The harvest happens in the early morning hours when it is nice and cold. This helps to avoid excess phenolic and colour pickup. We also look at the acid content at harvest to avoid any adjustments later on.  

Over the last 10 years, we have trialled a few different things on the winemaking side to see what works best and, by the looks of it, we nailed it this year! Excellence through experience! Vintage 2023 was a standout on all varieties in Marlborough and one of the best in the last decade – the Pinot Noir Rosé was no exception. We got the ideal ripeness and, with the cool nights, we could capture a lot of the aromatics - typical Marlborough!

Top food recommendations for pairing with your Rosé this summer?

It needs to be well chilled, and enjoyed in a favourite place where you can relax.

But, of course, if you have a grilled crayfish on the BBQ, that would work very well too.