M. Chapoutier Belleruche Rosé 2016 Côtes du Rhône, Rhône, France 75cl

Belleruche is M. Chapoutier’s Côtes du Rhône range, named after a lieu-dit and made to show the approachable, everyday side of the region. It draws on the house’s deep knowledge of southern Rhône fruit and its many grower partners, and it aims for easy drinking rather than grandeur.

This rosé blends Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah, a classic southern Rhône trio for pink wine, giving red fruit and a fresh, easy character. It is made in a pale, dry style for straightforward drinking rather than for keeping, with Cinsault lending delicacy and Grenache the ripe berry fruit.

This is a 2016, so as a rosé it is well beyond its usual drinking window; expect an evolved, softer profile rather than the bright snap of a young pink. The southern Rhône had a fine, ripe 2016 for its reds, though rosé of this style is simply not built to age.

In youth the wine shows delicate red berries and citrus with a refreshing, dry finish, and any surviving freshness is best shown off well chilled. It remains a gentle, undemanding glass rather than a keeper.

Belleruche Rosé is an unfussy aperitif and lunch wine, suited to salads, grilled vegetables and light summer dishes. If you reach for dry Provence pinks, it sits in similar territory. As with any rosé of this age, judge it on opening: if the fruit has held, it makes a gentle, low-key glass, and if not, it is simply a wine past its best. Either way, it is one to finish rather than keep.