Chateau Champagnes – Charles de Courance Brut Rosé

Next up in our Chateau Champagnes review series, we’re going to be tasting the Rosé version of the Charles de Courance Brut Champagne we’ve previously tried. Like the standard Brut, at under €20, it’s also on the cheaper side, but since we’re trying these in France we’ll allow a healthy discount on international prices.

The Grapes

As with any mainstream Champagne, the grapes used fall into the classic trio which you’ll find featuring in the classified wines from this region – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. The combination of these grapes together is what gives Champagne it’s distinctive taste, and a great way to spot other similar sparkling wines with comparable taste which are made in other regions (since they are unable to use the Champagne classifier).

Tasting notes

Unlike the standard Brut, this Rosé has a lovely deep color and a distinctive salmon hue with a more intense, almost “burned” nose. Just like the standard bottle however, the Rosé also comes with a significant carbonation, releasing huge amounts of light and small bubbles. This in itself isn’t that atypical for a Champagne but does seem to be a signature of the Charles de Courance bottles.

Flavorful on the palate, the first notes are of ruby red grapefruit and spiced botanicals such as nutmeg or ginger. Other light fruit notes of raspberry and strawberry come through gradually, in a light taste with moderate acidity. Apple notes and citrus closely follow on the palette, bringing together the wine beautifully in a well-rounded taste.

Once again, the dryness of the wine shines through well. We’d also consider this bottle a contender for the Extra Brut label, but the Rosé does exhibit more sugary notes in the form of the lighter fruits that power through the undercurrents of the taste. All in all, the wine is well balanced, without any specific aspect of it overpowering the full picture.

In the final tastes, the citrus fruits and berry-style fruits tend to dominate the palette somewhat, leaving a decently long finish which hangs around and reminds you of the pleasure you’ve just had in your drink.

Food pairing

The classic pairing with Rosé Champagnes are ones we’d certainly recommend here – namely, seafood such as smoked salmon or shrimp, and of course, red fruits. The latter is something we’d be extra keen on for this Charles de Courance, more so than the regular bottle, since the fruity notes of the wine will really highlight the comparable tastes in the food.

For those feeling extra exploratory, you could even experiment with something like roast duck alongside this Rosé Champagne. While classically you may expect something with far more body like a deep red wine to be served with such a flavorful food, we’ve found that a light Rosé (and especially a Rosé Champagne) can actually serve to counterbalance the powerful punch that the rich duck packs.

Final notes

For a low priced bottle of Champagne, Charles de Courance Brut Rose impresses. Similar to it’s standard Brut counterpart, it will not blow you away, but it is an excellent wine to serve as an accompaniment to canapés, with a meal, or just to crack open a bottle to start the evening.

Again though, one main notable factor is the strong carbonation of the wine. If you’re someone who prefers a more flat and subtle Champagne, then this may not be the bottle for you, but if you enjoy a vigorous wine then this is definitely something you should grab yourself a bottle (or ten) of!

You should be able to find this Champagne easily at a variety of retail locations or online with ease. The vineyard produces a significant quantity of bottles, so it should be more than easy enough to get your hands on some if you’d like to try them out!