Libertation Tardive, in tandem with renowned rosé expert and Circle-member Liz Gabay MW, take a deep dive into the question of how well refined rośe can age. Dominic Buckwell, a co-founder of the aforementioned organisation, whose mantra is “Great wines take time”, and also a Circle-member, reports.
In October 2025, the not-for-profit organisation called Liberation Tardive, co-founded by myself, partnered with Liz Gabay MW, global rosé expert, for a unique tasting event in London, which included a debate about the ageability of rosé. A panel of experts comprising three masters of wine and Pauline Vicard of the Areni Global Institute for Fine Wine presented various wines spanning 30 years from eight different producers across France, Spain, Italy and Lebanon, and the discussion was chaired by Corney & Barrow buyer, Rebecca Palmer.
A number of conclusions were reached: firstly rosé can undoubtedly be a ‘fine wine’, however you define that. Pauline Vicard gave Areni’s definition, adding that whether a wine is considered “fine, classic or luxury” impacts how it is marketed. For Siobhan Turner MW, only one rosé currently has the reputation as a tradeable wine, which is Viña Tondonia from Rioja.
Co-founder of Liberation Tardive, Christopher Burr MW, reflected that: “fine wines are not only complex, persistent, and elegantly balanced, but have a sense of place, showing uniqueness of the vineyard or location, be that a valley or hillside site. Some of the rosés expressed their location, in particular Alexandre Bonnet’s Les Riceys from the Côte des Bar in the south of Champagne, almost in Burgundy. A single vineyard called La Forêt, produces a still ‘Rosé des Riceys’ from a steep slope of Kimmeridgian limestone, planted with Pinot Noir, clearly demonstrated a sense of place, with wines that were fine when young but with excellent potential to age.” The oldest was from 1995, still fresh and attractive, at least as enjoyable as the latest release from 2021, with the 2005 arguably the goldilocks of Ricey’s trio.
For me, Château de Pibarnon and López de Haro stole the show, with notes of savoury spices, citrus peel, balsamic and steak tartare being a common denominator. According to Liz Gabay MW, these are the original premium rosés, predating the Provençal pale pink ‘swimming pool’ rosés revolution, from an era when Rioja and Bandol defined the fine rosé market.
However, the diversity of style among premium rosés makes it impossible to generalise about typicity. Illustrating with the younger vintages of Garrus and Pesuqué from 2022, Richard Bamfield MW stressed a category which does not need age or complexity to be fine; there is so much diversity, and rosé has the potential to be ageable as well as any other wine style.
While all panelists agreed rosé can be fine, there was considerable debate as to its place on the market and related commercial considerations. An en primer market might help establish rosé’s fine wine credentials, but would the early release of wines which benefit from ageing actually help consumers access the wines at the optimum time of the wines’ development?
Answering the brief, the event concluded rosé can be fine and has potential to age, but many other questions were raised for further exploration. Further tastings are planned in 2026 for Liberation Tardive, focusing on older wines and how they age.
For further details please contact me at: [email protected].