The tulips have bloomed and the sandals are out, which means one thing: It is rosé season again! The time is right to enjoy one of modern life's great luxuries, a beautiful pink beverage whose pink hue belies its grown-up, not-too-sweet flavor. And also, we will enjoy it on the cheap, because Aldi's Exquisite Collection Côtes de Provence rosé is back on shelves this week.
Connoisseurs of inexpensive wines will recall that bottles of this stuff disappeared quickly last year and the year before, when the Côtes de Provence rosé made its American debut. The reason? For one, it sold for an incredible $7.99 — and the price this year will probably be the same, though Aldi's site just says "see price in store."
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Of course, there are many other wines selling for less than $8, but many of those also taste like vinegar, perfume, or something out of a juice box. This rosé lives up to that fancy "Exquisite Collection" moniker. In Refinery29's own (highly scientific) taste test, it was every bit as delicious as a rosé sold for twice the price. Plus, if you don't trust our untrained taste buds, it won silver and the Great Value awards at the 2017 International Wine Challenge.
Grenache, Syrah, and cinsault grapes from Provence, France, go into making this rosé, which Aldi says has "delicate yet intense flavors of strawberry and white fruit aromas, with a subtle quartzy spice." Why anyone is eating quartz is a question for another time. All we need to know is that it pairs well with fish, salads, and/or that Friday evening when you thought you were getting out of work early but someone made you revise the project you finished four days ago.
If you want to enjoy this simple, cheap pleasure in life, get thee to an Aldi soon, because it's available in limited supplies only.