McGuigan Torode rosé wine launched at LWF

Australian winemaker, Neil McGuigan has once again collaborated with Hunter Valley-born TV presenter and chef John Torode, this time to create a limited edition Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir rosé – the second in the MT series.

Combining their passion for food and wine, they worked together to develop a rosé that steers away from the rich and intense flavours associated with traditional Australian style rosé wines from Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Instead, the McGuigan/Torode 2016 Rosé has been made from Pinot Noir grapes, offering a more delicate, crisp and zesty, dry flavour, which works equally as well on its own as it does paired with food.

Neil McGuigan, says: “It all began with an idea we had two years ago, which led us to create our first great wine together – a classic Hunter Valley Semillon. This whet our appetites to create a second instalment in the MT collaborations range, which is a delicious Pinot Noir rosé. It’s uniquely balanced so it suits a broad range of dishes – perfect for a chef such as John.”

John Torode adds: “Neil and I took a chance with this rosé and we’re thrilled with the result; the colour and flavour of the wine is superb. I’ll be pairing a bottle with my grilled squid with rocket salad recipe, which I created to match the wine.”

Sourced from the cooler vineyards of the Adelaide Hills, the MT Pinot Noir rosé is refreshing and bright, with crunchy blueberry notes on the finish.

Speaking at the wine’s launch event at a rooftop BBQ held during the London Wine Fair last week, Neil said about development of the rosé wine: “Last year John came to me and said ‘look Neil, people are drinking a lot of rosé in the UK and I think we should do something with rosé. I want you to make me an Australian rosé that can be enjoyed by everyone at any time and within a large array of food’ and I said: Mate, easy, no bother at all, give me a hard job to do! 

“If we were doing white wine, I suppose I would have chosen Chardonnay and done some trickery with it and, if he asked for a red, I probably would have used Grenache or a Grenache blend -maybe even Tempranillo - but rosé really needed some thinking.  So, clearly the challenge with the rosé was getting the style correct.  The right amount of fruit, the right amount of lightness and the right amount of palatability coupled with the right amount of refreshing but not drying tannin.  So it wasn’t easy. 

"What we did was select some mature, cool climate Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. Adding in the appropriate level of tannin from the skin contact was actually the hardest thing we but in trying to get the flavour right, the result was a wine that is salmon pink in colour, rather than the traditional blue-pink that you can see from a lot of Australian rosés - but I have got to say it really does look very, very nice.”

The McGuigan/Torode 2016 Pinot Noir Rosé will be available from late June, at an RRP of £10.

9 May 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor