IN THE PINK

I ’m pleased to say that Hurlingham’s members have a long history of drinking pink wines. Well before I took on the role of heading up the Club’s Wine Working Group, I remember the prevalence of Marqués de Cáceres rosé on the Polo Bar Terrace as soon as the sun was out – although this Spanish rosado was more deeply-coloured than today’s fashionable offerings from France. Indeed, such was the rich pink of that particular wine, I recall one member topping up his glass with Campari – that way bolstering the ABV without affecting the appearance. 

Even if members’ preferences have remained strongly skewed towards pink wines, times have changed, and today’s desire is for something paler in look and lighter in style, and hence the shift away from Spain and towards southern France when it comes to the Club’s pink wine source area. But finding a good and inexpensive one from the French Med is not easy. In my view, such a wine should be light, but not sharp, fruity but not jammy, soft but refreshing. Crucially, it should be bone dry as well as youthful – hence our insistence on serving you the most recent vintage, which is from 2024. Every year we check the latest samples as well as blind-taste-test the Club’s current offering versus the competition. 

“It’s loaded with flavours of white peach and pink grapefruit, ensuring it’s both deliciously fruity and gently citric”

As a result of this, there are some changes to report. Before I reveal what they are, I should stress that our entry-point rosé, Le Tuffeau Grenache-Syrah from southern France, will not change, although we are moving to the 2024 vintage, which I think is a slightly superior wine to that from the previous harvest. 

As for the Club’s Provençal rosé, this will be new to you. We are bringing in a Côtes de Provence called Villa Estérelle from Château du Rouët – both in bottles and magnums. Hailing from a family-run estate in the foothills of the Estérel coastal mountain range, it’s loaded with flavours of white peach and pink grapefruit, ensuring it’s both deliciously fruity and gently citric. In short, it should provide the sort of mouth-filling refreshment that’s hard to sip slowly. So, while I would of course never dare to suggest you drink it like lager, if you do find yourself finishing the bottle quickly, you know why. 

And there’s one final rosé-related development to report. For those looking to move up the Provençal price and quality pyramid, we are bringing back the high-end ‘Cru Classé’ rosé from Château Roubine. With this, we have a three-tier pink wine offering that I hope suits different occasions and budgets, while remaining in line with current tastes for rosé that’s pale, dry
and refreshing. 

PATRICK SCHMITT,
CHAIR, WINE WORKING GROUP