Costco Advent Calendar Wine #15: Flutter Rosé (Aude, France)

Fifteen wines into the 2025 Costco advent calendar, and finally we uncover a rosé! Thank goodness. I know it’s almost winter, but I will never turn down pink wine, no matter the season.

The package of Flutter Rosé is appealing, too–its millennial-friendly label swathed with dusty pink, tasteful foil accents, and Luna moths. But will it have you clutching your heart and batting your eyes? Time to pour.

The Label

From the producer (Flying Blue Imports): “This French rosé presents an intense nose, characterized by vibrant notes of red berries and fresh-picked fruits. On the palate, it is full-bodied and flavorful, with pronounced aromas of wild strawberries. The wine offers a refreshing finish and a delightful balance of intensity and elegance.”

The Tasting

For once, Flying Blue’s copy-bot barely overstates the tasting note. This is a pretty nice little rosé!

Medium salmon in the glass, it offers up assertive fruits: Sugared cranberries, strawberries, and pleasantly oxidized orange peel and apricot. Traces of exotic herbs, too–bruised lemongrass and Thai lime leaf.

That nose promises so much, but the intensity falls off quite a bit when you go to drink it. It’s completely dry and light in texture. A watery tinge of strawberry and orange juice colors a neutral, clean palate. It has moderate acidity so that it tastes refreshing (not sour) in the absence of any lingering sweetness.

According to the label, Flutter Rosé is only 12.5% alcohol by volume. But the flavor is so thin that the booze pokes through rather annoyingly, like a streetlight through a gauzy curtain. Blend of Grenache (60%) and Carignan (40%).

One quick aside: This wine comes from the Aude department in Languedoc, in southern France. I’ve been seeing more of Aude IGP on wine lists and in shops, and it’s a region to watch–especially for affordable apertif-style rosés and white blends.

When compared to Provence-pink wines (so pale and slight that you barely notice you’re drinking them) and the serious gastronomic rosés of Bandol and Tavel (marvelous, but attention-grabbing and pricey), Aude IGP occupies a necessary middle ground. Think fruity, Grenache-based rosés with medium body and color and savory hints of spices, herbs, and earth. Even unremarkable versions (like this one) are easy to drink and to pair with a huge variety of dishes.

So, although I would’ve liked a bit more flavor intensity from Flutter Rosé, it was a welcome surprise from the Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar. Just enjoy it chilled, with food, and preferably ASAP. I drank mine with chicken-fried chicken with red-eye gravy (a nonsensical food name, I know–but ask a Southerner), turnip greens, and buttered cornbread.

Wine: Flutter Rosé (2024) – Aude IGP, France

Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar Number: 15

Grade: B

Finish the bottle? All by myself.

Vineyards in Aude, France at the start of autumn (Adobe Stock).

I’m tasting all 24 wines in the 2025 Costco Wine Advent-ure calendar! See previous reviews here.

Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.