Volatize This! A “Jerk”-Approved Spanish Rosé
Fresh off of a super fun tasting last night at Waterfront Market, I was inspired to write this tasting note. We hosted our first official wine tasting offering up a small plates wine pairing dinner featuring dishes from the market and some of our favorite food and summer friendly wines- a crisp mountain Italian white, a German off-dry Riesling, a New Mexican sparkling, an Italian bubbly dessert wine and a delicious Spanish rosé of which I shall speak.
I’m so proud of our selection (and prices- hello NoVa residents, I’m talking to you- this is the best deal going!) that I have to brag a bit and when better than the brink of summer to boast about our delicious Spanish rosé?
In two words, this rosé is both juicy and refined. Exactly what you want out of your perfect pink juice.
Made by the well known Bodegas Muga, this is a classically made Rioja rosé. Muga has been churning out beautiful Riojas since the ’30s so these guys know what they’re doing. After harvest, the rosé grapes spend 12 hours in the tank with their skins imparting that beautiful deep salmon pink color. They then ferment for 25 days in wood vats before they are bottled on their own lees (yeasts) for 2 months. This process gives the wine a nice rounded out character, balancing out the acidity and giving the wine a bit of its toasty brioche notes.
This wine, as most rosés (with the exception of a few weighty beauties- namely the Tempier Rosé which easily falls into my top 5 wines of all time- Egads, what a wine!), should be sipped fresh and new. You don’t want to cellar these pinkies, go ahead and drink them, they’re fresh and ready to go. Steve Martin’s character in “The Jerk” would heartily approve “Bring me some fresh wine!”. Well, here you go. This is as fresh as it comes and begs for a sun-drenched Meditterranean terrace- the better to sip it on. But my backyard deck in the ‘burbs does just fine as well. You’ll be pretty psyched wherever you decide to pop this top.
Here’s What I Get:
In addition, this vino really gives you the 3-2-1 punch of that bitter-acid-sweet trifecta. It may not sound delicious, but those three elements together= vino nirvana. Trust me folks. This one’s clean and classic, a great representation of the Rioja limestone land that it’s planted on and the winemakers know to leave well enough along and let these grapes speak for themselves- namely the soft plushy Garnacha, white Viura and a bit of that Riojan Tempranillo for a swift kick. A great juice to pair with loads of stuff- pretty much anything but Julia’s boeuf bourguignon. Well, that may be a slight exaggeration but it’s not far off- this one’s very versatile. Bust it out at your next bbq or drink with a summer salad. It’s not picky.
Cin Cin and Enjoy!
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