Six of the best: pink champagne

1] Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé 1998 (£85)
US wine-critic Robert Parker declared this a "consistent winner with surprising depth". It's also the taste of a high quality summer.
www.champagne-billecart.fr

2] Bollinger Grande Année Rosé 1999 (£85)
Bollinger isn't that well known for its rosés, but if this is the standard it sets, it won't be long before the house quickly gets a reputation. This displays the perfect balance of acidity and fruitiness. Go on, give yourself a treat.
www.champagne-bollinger.fr

3] Laurent Perrier Grande Siecle Alexandra Rosé 1997 (£144) Described by one critic as  "Burgundy with bubbles", extra age gives this a delightful complexity. Wine buff Michael Broadbent described 1997 as a year of "remarkable growing conditions" and this full-bodied champagne is just the sort of wine he predicted.
www.laurent-perrier.co.uk

4] Dom Pérignon Rosé 1996 (£180)
One of the great names in Champagne and one of the greatest years. Did anyone make a bad champagne in 1996? That's largely academic, because here "the Dom" shows everyone how it's done, with a well structured pink wine that fairly fizzes with summer fruits. Drink it on it's own or match it with some seasonal food.
www.domperignon.com

5] Krug Rosé (£185)
Refined, balanced, elegant and just ever-so slightly blushed. Thanks to a gentle blending of a small amount of skin-fermented Pinot Noir grapes to the traditionally fermented mix of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, this is as delicate a rosé as you'll find.
www.krug.com

6] Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 1999 (£340)
At a recent vertical tasting of Cristal, Louis Roederer's chief winemaker described 1999 as "the year with the lowest acidity levels since 1959". In other words, he explained, global warming is having an impact on the Champagne region, in a good way. That's reflected in the purity and balance of this rosé, which the house coyly claims is so rare, it's "a mere fantasy".
www.champagne-roederer.com