What the Experts Say

Well made and well priced grenache rose.

Pale crimson in colour, blessed with sweet spice top notes, strawberried through the palate but with inflections of pomegranate and raspberry. There's a touch of spritz here but it's not overt and it doesn't detract. Basically, it drinks well.

90/100 - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

Our Notes

Coming out of my cage and I've been doing just wine. . . but it's never just wine, is it? This "Mr Brightside" rose stuns first in the glass, pouring a vibrant pink; Mr Riggs call the hue "pale strawberries and cream", which hints at the taste but really undersells the colour if you ask me.

Strawberry to start, bit of dried raspberry and a hint of cinnamon, then bright acidity calls to mind lime and pomegranate. A "killer" wine, even. Did you know frontman Brandon Flowers is of the LDS faith and won't touch alcohol? More for us.

Winemakers Comments

We in the office had been asking for a rose, and Ben sure has delivered. Now it's rose all day, after 5:00pm of course.

Dry, crisp, cherry.

About the Winery

Since 2001, winemaker Ben Riggs, a dead ringer for actor Michael McKean, has produced premium but unpretentious wines from a base in McLaren vale, making use of fruit from both that region and around South Australia.

The wines, driven by Riggs' own time-honed tastes and whims, are as personality-driven as the label's name suggests, and display lashings of regional terroir.