Friday 11 August 2017

Alba Rosado Brut Nature 2015 13%, Viticultores Alba

Appearance
Quite a full rosé colour, a sort of light slightly orangey red  fading to salmon pink, decent mousse.
Nose
Gentle, super fresh and attractive with notes of ripe red fruit like pomegranate, redcurrant and strawberry. There is a slightly mineral air and a certain crispness from the Tintilla, and the Palomino also makes itself apparent in a faint apple note.
Palate
Fresh, fairly crisp and good and dry. It is beautifully balanced and clean which helps drive home those fruit notes, and there is a gentle chalky texture and a mineral hint in the background. Soft ripe red fruits predominate and make it very moreish, and it has very good length.
Comments
Yet another winner from Viticultores Alba who are obsessed with their wine being as natural as possible. They don't interfere in anything and take what the vineyard has to give. This charming wine is made from a blend of Palomino (93%) and Tintilla (7%) grown organically in the albariza vineyards of Sanlúcar. It is fermented in a stainless steel tank using natural local yeasts and bottled while still fermenting to retain the sparkle. No SO2 (sulphur dioxide) nor any other additive is used and the wine is as natural as is humanly possible. It is disgorged to order, and this particular bottle was disgorged by hand in October 2016 having spent about 21 months en rima - or completing fermentation in bottle. Only around a thousand bottles were made. Brut Nature means no addition of sugar ("dosage"). With sparkling wines sugar is sometimes added to balance the tartaric and carbonic acidity of the wine (eg Brut Champagne contains between 6 and 12 g/l sugar yet still seems dry). The addition of sugar in Alba wines is completely unnecessary and is never done.
Price
27.00 euros, Er Guerrita


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