Bodegas El Coto Rioja Rosado – Journey Through Rioja Wine #4

50% Tempranillo, 50% Garnacha rosé wine from Rioja, Spain.

SRP of $10 and available widely for around $8. Sample received courtesy Rioja Wine for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“Our Rioja Rosé blends Grenache and Tempranillo grapes harvested in the higher altitude vineyards of the Alavesa District. Brief contact with the skins imparts a delicate cherry tint, while carefully controlled fermentation captures the flowery aromas of red fruits in this clean, dry rosé.

13.0% Alcohol”

Rioja, or DOCa Rioja as the winemaking region is known, is about the size of Delaware and consists of three sub-regions; Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja, each with distinct traits that combine to offer a little bit of everything. DOCa Rioja also has its own government that requires winemakers to abide by a strict set of guidelines for their wines. In other words, they take wine seriously here. As a result they make some seriously good wine. While most of this wine is red they also make a pretty good rosé, evidenced by today’s wine.

The 2010 Bodegas El Coto Rioja Rosado starts with pleasant aromas of watermelon, strawberry, sweet tart candy and floral notes. The wine tastes of melon, strawberry and raspberry and is juicy and smooth with some mineral notes. Those mineral notes become very pronounced on the finish and take on a slate-like character. This overpowers most, but not all, of the juicy fruit and gives this wine an interesting twist.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.