Ayala : Rosé Majeur

Intense and spicy, packing gingerbread, strawberry and brioche flavors into a sinewy frame. This has the power for food, with a toasty aftertaste. Drink now through 2012. 8,330 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.

Bruised red apples, raspberries, wild strawberries, rose petals and white toast. The palate offers a great mousse, nice acidity and mature fruit. Refined, with subtle lees-ageing richness and a mix of Pinot Noir breadth and Chardonnay brightness.

A pure and fruity style not without complexity, showing fresh roses, violets, strawberries and berries. Medium-bodied. It’s vinous on the palate, almost like a red wine. Polished, crisp and long with fresh dough and toasted bread. Very silky bubbles. Drink now.

(50% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier; 7 g/l dosage; disgorged in March 2014; L1427A4B03): Bright orange-pink. Fresh strawberry and tangerine on the lively, floral nose and on the palate. Spicy and incisive, with sappy red fruit and rose pastille flavors underpinned by juicy acidity and a subtle chalky nuance. A mineral element adds bite to the finish, which lingers with strong tenacity and a repeating floral character. Six percent of the Pinot Noir component in this blend is in the form of still Pinot Noir from vineyards in the Montagne de Reims.

A lacy and elegantly styled Rosé Champagne, the NV Champagne Majeur Rosé Brut is always a high proportion of Chardonnay, with it clocking in at 51% of the blend for this vintage, with 10% Meunier and the rest Pinot Noir (6% of which came from Aÿ). Based on the 2019 vintage, it saw the same reduction of dosage as the Majeur Brut, from 7 grams per liter to 6 grams per liter of dosage. On opening, it pours a pale pink-silver color and is fresh with aromas of white peach, fresh rose petals, and fresh strawberry. Medium-bodied on the palate, it offers a delicate mousse, fresh notes of orchard fruit, a delicate, chalky texture, and clean lift on the finish. This is a charming and refreshing style to drink 2023-2033.

This redcurrant rosé is perfectly invigorated by its Chardonnay dominance. The small proportion of red wine blended in makes it subtle and airy. The fruit notes show a distinct red-berry hue, but it is above all the aromas of orange zest and pulp that sharpen the senses, delivering a refreshing, energising feeling.

Rosé Majeur offers straightforward fruit, a soft, creamy texture, indulgence and tenderness. A rosé made for aperitifs, lively, refreshing and summery, with a fine, delicate mousse.

The nose is fruity, fairly creamy, and offers a touch of freshness. It reveals notes of lemon and white fruit, joined by light red-fruit hints (strawberry, raspberry), blackberry, and subtle notes of crème anglaise. The palate is fruity, lively, rich, and delivers smoothness, creaminess, and tension. The effervescence is fine, linear, and fairly abundant. On the palate, this Champagne shows notes of raspberry, blackberry candy, and, more delicately, cherry, along with fine notes of lemon, mandarin, redcurrant, and a discreet touch of crème anglaise. Good length.

For this producer, this is a surprisingly soft wine. With its creamy texture and red-fruit flavors, the blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is lightly textured and ready to drink.

Based largely on the 2015 vintage, the NV Rosé Majeur Brut spent two and a half years on the lees before disgorgement. It offers charming aromas of ripe apples, red berries and crushed mint. On the palate, it is full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with a youthfully ebullient mousse, ripe acidity and a moderately intense finish. This rendition is a touch more sun-kissed and open-knit than the best examples, but it remains a creditable effort.