Recommendations

★ ★ ★Exceptional  ★ ★Excellent ★Very Good

Here’s a bouquet of rosés for Mother’s Day: delicious, pale pink wines that are ideal for warm weather and cool breezes. The first three selections are from importer Robert Shive,through his Allen Walker Collection.

(Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post)

Domaine d’Astros 2014

★ ★ ★

Maures, Provence, France, $15

A subregion of Provence, Maures is just outside St. Tropez. The wine combines the crisp, refreshing acidity we expect from rosé with a sneaky ripeness that emerges mid-palate, finishing with a fruit salad of flavors from watermelon to raspberry. Exciting rosé. Alcohol by volume: 12.5 percent.

Washburn in the District and Maryland: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Gallagher & Graham Fine Spirits, Van Ness Wines and Liquors; on the list at Al Dente, Bistrot Lepic & Wine Bar, the Hamilton, Ici Urban Bistro, La Piquette, Le Chat Noir, Matisse, Petits Plats, Pinea, Woodward Table. RNDC in Virginia: Available at Whole Foods Market (various locations).

★ ★ ★

Crisp and mineral, this delectable wine unfurls strawberry and melon flavors over an extended finish. Lovely. ABV:12.5 percent.

Washburn in the District and Maryland: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Gallagher & Graham Fine Spirits, Van Ness Wines and Liquors; on the list at Al Dente, Bistrot Lepic, the Hamilton, Ici Urban Bistro, La Piquette, Le Chat Noir, Matisse, Petits Plats, Pinea, Woodward Table. 

★ ★ ★

Côtes de Provence, France, $24

Here’s a good example of how a fine rosé will hold up, even improve, in its second year after the vintage. (We tend to rush them, as if there were a freshness date and the wine would go stale 12 months after harvest.) This wine, which includes a dollop of rolle (the French name for vermentino), is lovely, and it shows a bit more complexity and depth than we tend to expect from rosé. It is definitely a wine for food; think summery, garlicky dishes or salads. ABV: 13 percent.

Washburn in the District and Maryland: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Gallagher & Graham Fine Spirits, Van Ness Wines and Liquors; on the list at Al Dente, Bistrot Lepic, the Hamilton, Ici Urban Bistro, La Piquette, Le Chat Noir, Matisse, Petits Plats, Pinea, Woodward Table.