BAROSSA ROSÉ NAMED BEST IN AUSTRALIA AT REAL REVIEW AWARDS

‘Not Your Grandma’s Rosé’ earned a 95-point score.

A $25 bottle from the Barossa Valley has just been crowned Australia’s best rosé, signalling what many in the wine industry say is a major shift in how Australian rosé is being viewed.

Chaffey Bros Wine Co. has taken out Rosé of the Year at The Real Review Top Wineries of Australia 2026 Awards, with its 2025 ‘Not Your Grandma’s Rosé’ earning a 95-point score.

The win marks a significant moment not only for the winery, but for rosé itself, a category long underestimated in Australian wine circles despite soaring popularity among drinkers.

Barossa rosé earns national recognition

The award-winning wine has been the winery’s best-selling release for more than a decade, built around old-vine Grenache and Mourvèdre from the Barossa, alongside small additions of Eden Valley white varieties.

Winemaker Daniel Chaffey Hartwig said the wine was always intended to challenge perceptions around rosé.

“Not Your Grandma’s Rosé has always been about elevating the art of making Rosé,” he said.

“By utilising the Barossa’s riches of old-vine Grenache and Mourvèdre, the focus is firmly on texture and flavour, with the end goal always being pure Rosé enjoyment and deliciousness.”

“We’ve taken a style people often underestimate and treated it with the attention to detail that it deserves.”

Australian rosé enters a new era

The 2025 vintage was handcrafted by Daniel Chaffey Hartwig, Theo Engela and Huon Fechner using minimal-intervention techniques designed to preserve freshness and texture.

The result is an aromatic, dry rosé with berry notes, bright acidity and a clean finish.

Chaffey Bros co-owner Daniel Chaffey said rosé is increasingly reshaping the identity of traditional wine regions like the Barossa.

“It’s fair to say, the rise of Rosé heralds a new era in the Barossa Valley,” he said

.

“Rosé is a relatively new style for this age-old, prestigious wine region, but its presence is having a knock-on effect in the most positive way.”

As Australian drinkers continue to embrace lighter, fresher wine styles, the result suggests that rosé is no longer an afterthought on the wine list. It is becoming one of the main attractions.