Rosé of Garnacha, Orixe Sotelo ‘Rosé en Flor'

55% Garnacha/35% Tempranillo/10% Godello

The Rosé en Flor, hailing from Pierce Ranch Vineyard in Monterey County, is inspired by the legendary bottlings of the López de Heredia Rosado from Rioja Spain. This is not your average rosé. The wine exudes aromas of stone fruits & watermelon, layered with more savory elements of almond skin and dried flowers. On the palate the wine is filling and deeply textured but still carries plenty of acidity. This is meant to be an age worthy rosé that can be paired with even the most savory or umami complex dishes.

The Garnacha and Tempranillo were whole cluster pressed and blended from the get-go. The juice was cold settled for 72 hours before racking off the gross lees into 500L puncheons where it completed its primary fermentation. The puncheons were left on ullage [not topped] to prompt the sherry yeast to grow on the wine. After about a month, a noble bloom started to grow on the surface of the wine protecting it from oxidation and consuming any remaining sugar left in the wine. After 2 months they topped up the puncheons and ended the flor aging process. The wine proceeded to age in the 500L puncheons for an additional 6 months. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.