Laborie Rose NV Sparkling

£17.99

£23.99 per litre · incl. 20% VAT

In Stock

Pale blush bubbles from one of the Cape's oldest estates, made in the same traditional method as Champagne. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay come together for a sparkling rosé that's all red berries, plum and a whisper of honeyed brioche. Crisp, celebratory, and easy to love, whether it's an anniversary or just a Friday.

Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.

Region

South Africa

Grape

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Oak

This was followed by bottle maturation of approximately 18 months. Maturation This Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) was matured on lees, in bottle, for 18 months

UK wide delivery

Expert curated

Sourced direct

Our Verdict

Cap Classique is South Africa's quiet love letter to Champagne, and Laborie is one of the producers who started writing it. We listed this because, glass for glass, it offers more genuine traditional-method character than almost anything else under £20 on our shelves, that toasty lees-derived complexity you usually pay twice as much for. It's our go-to recommendation for anyone curious about MCC but not ready to commit to a £30 bottle, and it's a quietly clever gift for sparkling-wine drinkers who think they've tried everything. Pour it blind alongside a non-vintage Champagne rosé and watch eyebrows rise.

Tasting Notes

A pale blush in the glass with a fine, persistent bead. The nose leads with red berries, wild strawberry, raspberry, joined by flambéed plum and a flash of pomegranate. The palate is crisp and refreshing, with the bottle age (eighteen months on lees) showing as a soft honey-cake warmth underneath. A twist of pink grapefruit cuts through on the finish, leaving everything clean, tangy and ready for another sip.

Wild Red Berries

Fresh strawberry and raspberry lift from the glass, giving the wine its bright, summery character and unmistakable rosé charm.

Flambéed Plum

A warmer, slightly caramelised plum note adds depth behind the red fruit, the signature of Pinot Noir handled with care.

Honey Cake Lees

Eighteen months on lees builds a soft, biscuity warmth, honeyed sponge and toasted brioche underneath the fizz.

Pink Grapefruit Finish

A clean citrus snap of grapefruit zest keeps the finish refreshing and dry, perfectly balancing the riper fruit notes.

About This Wine

Here's a sparkling rosé that punches well above its price tag. Laborie has been making wine on the slopes of Paarl Mountain since 1691, that's not a marketing line, that's three centuries of accumulated know-how, and their Méthode Cap Classique programme is where all that experience really shines. This pale blush bubbly is made exactly the way Champagne is: a second fermentation in the bottle, then eighteen months resting on the lees, slowly building those tiny, persistent bubbles and that telltale layer of biscuity richness.

The blend is classic: 55% Pinot Noir for body and red-fruit charm, 45% Chardonnay for elegance and lift. Expect aromas of crushed strawberry, flambéed plum and pomegranate, followed by a palate that's bright and refreshing with hints of honey cake and pink grapefruit on the finish. A small portion of the Chardonnay goes through malolactic fermentation, which softens the edges without dulling the freshness.

Serve it well chilled. It's brilliant solo as an aperitif, but really comes alive with delicate seafood, think prawns, oysters, smoked salmon blinis, or a plate of sushi. It's also exactly the bottle you want to arrive with when someone says "don't bring anything" and you absolutely have to. Delivered across the UK, ready to make any moment feel a little more occasion-worthy.

Food Pairing

Brilliant as an aperitif with a bowl of olives and salted almonds, but it really earns its keep at the table. Pour it alongside smoked salmon blinis, dressed crab on toast, or a platter of prawns with aioli. The bead and citrus lift cut through richness beautifully, think creamy goat's cheese tarts, or a Sunday brunch of eggs royale.

—Smoked salmon blinis with crème fraîche
—Dressed Cornish crab on sourdough
—Pan-fried king prawns with garlic and lemon
—Goat's cheese and caramelised onion tart
—Eggs royale for a celebratory brunch

How to Serve

Temperature

Properly chilled. Two to three hours in the fridge, or twenty minutes in an ice bucket before pouring.

Decanting

No decanting needed, you'd lose the bead. Open just before serving and pour gently down the side of the glass to keep the mousse lively and the aromatics intact.

Glass

A tulip-shaped flute or a white wine glass with a narrower bowl, the slim shape preserves the bubbles and concentrates the red-berry aromatics.

Cellaring

Store on its side somewhere cool, dark and stable. A consistent 10–14°C is ideal. Drink within two to three years of purchase for best freshness.

Ageing & Cellaring

Built for early, joyful drinking, the freshness of recent disgorgement is the whole point. That said, it'll happily hold for one to three years, picking up a touch more brioche and honeyed complexity as the lees character deepens in bottle.

The Land

The vineyards sit on the lower slopes of Paarl Mountain, where decomposed granite mingles with clay-rich loam. Those soils hold just enough moisture through the dry Cape summers to keep the vines balanced, while the elevation and mountain breezes pull warmth out of the nights, preserving the bright acidity that any good sparkling wine lives or dies by.

The Winemaking

Made in the traditional method that gave Champagne its name, this is whole-bunch pressed from hand-picked Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with only the gentlest free-run juice making the final cut. A small portion of the Chardonnay goes through malolactic fermentation, softening the edges without losing the lift. After blending, the second fermentation happens inside the bottle itself, and the wine then rests on its lees for around eighteen months. That's where the toasty, honey-cake depth comes from, patience, not shortcuts.

About the Producer

Laborie

Laborie has been making wine since 1691, when a French Huguenot named Isaac Taillefert was granted a farm on the slopes of Paarl Mountain. He brought his name from a village in Champagne, which is why this estate, three centuries later, still feels destined to make sparkling wine. Within seven years of arrival the family was producing wine that visiting travellers compared favourably with small Champagnes, and the vineyards have been worked continuously ever since. The original Cape Dutch manor house is a National Monument, the surrounding vines have outlasted empires, and today Laborie sits within the KWV stable as one of the Cape's most reliable names for Méthode Cap Classique.

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