Oliver’s Taranga Chica Mencía Rosé 2026

Always fascinating to see what wineries, and presumably their marketing departments, come up with to differentiate themselves with their labels. These guys have a rather cute habit of noting something about the year of the wine. Different for each wine, even if it is the same vintage. Case in point, this wine is noted as coming from “the year we filled the office with indoor plants”. Okay, not quite the year we climbed Everest or sailed solo across the Pacific, but each to their own. And in the end, it is always what is in the bottle, rather than what is on it, that matters. This has proved itself one of the better Rosés made in this country. A dry style from the Mencía grape, the team here were the first to plant it in Australia and they use the carbonic maceration technique in making the wine. Anyone looking for a top notch Rosé to enjoy over summer will not be disappointed with this wine. Burnt orange/pink, the nose gives us aromas of strawberries, watermelon and dried herbs. Chockful of flavour, undoubtedly the OT signature, the wine is of medium length with a clean and fresh finish. Would be ideal as a combination with spicy foods. For enjoying over the next couple of years.

Ken Gargett

Contributor at Winepilot

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.

Wine writer and critic