Rosé Réserve Brut – 2016

Raspberry, mint, and freshly baked country bread

The 2016 Rosé Réserve Brut is the younger of the two rosé vintages, pressed from pure Pinot Noir and vinified dry. Not a heavy food companion, but a bright, playful sparkling wine with herbal spice, fine freshness, and zest.

Rosé Réserve Brut 2016 is the rosé sparkling wine from the Raumland sparkling wine estate in Flörsheim-Dalsheim, grown on nearly 30-year-old vines in the Dalsheimer Bürgel vineyard. Pale copper in the glass, fine perlage, and beneath it, a fruit character that plays with herbs and mint. Marie-Luise Raumland, in any case, does not consider sparkling wine an occasional drink.

Raspberry, cherry blossom, and a hint of mint

On the nose, the Rosé Réserve shows red forest berries and raspberry, accompanied by cherry blossoms, rhubarb, and a Mediterranean herbal note.

Only then does freshly baked country bread emerge, accompanied by a touch of yogurt and a balsamic trace. On the palate, delicate citrus notes and toasted nuts are added, while 7.1 grams of acidity per liter stand against 5.0 grams of dosage, keeping the sip upright. Bright, clear, and animating in the glass, it is cleanly structured right through to the long finish.

With 12.5 percent alcohol, this vintage carries a bit more weight than its 2015 predecessor, yet remains the more playful of the two. Where the 2015 appears spicy and powerful, the 2016 takes a step back and focuses on freshness.

With sushi, crustaceans, and vegetarian cuisine

The bright fruit and herbal spice make it the sparkling wine for Asian cuisine, where many sparkling wines are overwhelmed.

Sushi and maki suit it well, as do crustaceans, and roasted vegetables with sesame highlight the nutty notes from the yeast lees. Cured salmon with dill picks up on the herbal note without stripping the wine of its freshness. A vegetarian menu also finds a companion in this wine that masks nothing while remaining present.

Served at 7 to 9 degrees in a universal glass, it remains animating as it slowly opens up over the course of an evening. It is just as at home as an aperitif before dinner as it is between courses.

A small share of wood and much patience

Volker Raumland presses the whole cluster and ferments the parcels separately before the assemblage is created over many months. The Pinot Noir vines grow on shell limestone and Terra Fusca, a clay-rich limestone brown loam that retains water well.

For the 2016, 95 percent of the base wines were aged in stainless steel and the small remainder in wood, which lends a quiet spice to the berry fruit. The sparkling wine was bottled in June 2017 and disgorged by hand in August 2024.

Marie-Luise Raumland studied business administration and has been part of the business since 2019, which the family officially handed over in December 2025. Her statement that sparkling wine is not an occasional drink fits this bright vintage particularly well.

Robert Parker gave the 2016 95 points, at the Vinum Sekt Award 94 points were enough for second place, and at the Meininger Sekt Prize 93 points earned first place. Impressive. Alongside it, we have the more powerful 2015 Rosé Réserve, as well as other sparkling wines from Flörsheim-Dalsheim and our entire sparkling wine assortment.