Mateus Rosé

Today I bought a bottle of mateus for the first time in some years and found that it does not taste the same; even the colour is different. I had up until now always liked the taste from first trying it back in 1974. I had wondered why it didnt seem as popular as it once was and now I know. I must say that i wont be buying it ever again.

Just bought a bottle Mateus Rose in London. The taste is terrible. The bottle has no production date but is marked bar code No: 5 601012 011500. The label has a Malay text saying it is imported by Caldbeck MacGregor (M) Sdn. Bhd. in Selangor (in Malaysia).

I have been drinking quite a lot of Mateus wines, but this one is probably old and has been stored in warm climate for too long.

Mateus should put a production date on their wines!

Mateus Ros . Reasonably priced. Light, refreshing (must be well chilled) easy to drink and has a pleasant effervescency (if there is such a word!). A pleasant drink, just to enjoy on it's own.

If you're looking for a pleasant, easy drinking rose, to enjoy as an apperitife- this is the one.

Some retailer's seem to forget that it is a cheap and cheerful wine!- try not to spend more that £4.40 per bottle (often to be got got under £4.00 a bottle (if buying a case).

Ah... the funny rounded bottle that I remember from the 70's. When the APs (that's the Aged Parents... funny how they never appreciated that nickname!) had their cheese and wine parties someone would always turn up with a bottle or two of Mateus Rosé.

This poor old wine has suffered for many years with its dated image, but now it could be making a bit of a comeback... hopefully a more successful one than its ill-fated alcoholic friend Babycham.

Recently I've noticed a few adverts on the goggle box trying to persuade us that Mateus rosé is a cool drink. So being a lover of all things pink and partial to the odd glass (or two) of wine, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Well, at the reasonable price of £4.35 a bottle, in Tesco, I couldn't go too far wrong could I?

I quite like the old fashioned styling of the bottle. Even though the bottle has been redesigned and updated, it still has a styling that takes me back to my youth when people would save these bottles to make into lamps; not something I would have in my house personally, but the nostalgic feeling is nice on a warm summer day when the birds are singing, the bees are humming and I have time to lie in the grass and dream... sorry, back to business here!

The worst thing about white or rosé wine is having to wait for it to chill; luckily I bought this after work one evening, so come Sunday, our first summery day for ages, I took the bottle(s) from the fridge, packed a little picnic and headed to our local green, as there was a jazz band playing that afternoon. There is something about jazz and rosé wine that go so well together...

Lying on the fresh green grass with the sun streaming over me, a light wind ruffling my hair and the strains of some good old traditional jazz playing, I popped the cork and poured a glass. The colour is delightful on a sunny day; not too dark and not to pale, some rosés can look a little insipid and almost vinegary.

The bouquet is light, fresh and quite summery, with a hint of fruitiness, and if you stick your nose in far enough the bubbles will tickle it... something we all ended up doing after a few glasses, when the giggles got to us.

The flavour is delicious - a refreshing, slightly sweet fruitiness that is lighter than a red wine and less acidic than many whites, and the slight fizziness is a pleasant tickle on the tongue with none of the over bubbliness of many sparkling wines and champagnes. The crispness of this wine and the fact that is of a medium flavour; not too sweet and cloying, nor so dry it puckers your mouth, means it is a very good lazy Sunday afternoon drink... the bottles seemed to evaporate in the summer heat at a fairly swift pace, but we all felt mellow and relaxed without going over the edge into staggering drunkenness.

Perfect with a summer picnic or for just drinking with friends. At 11% it pays to be a little moderate in your consumption, as tomorrow morning could find you clutching your head and cursing that stubby bottle.

And of course should you choose to recycle your bottles, as they still make pretty nifty candleholders... much easier to make than table-lamps!