PROTOS ROSADO 2015 – DOP RIBERA DEL DUERO
Available at Carrefour priced at 5·30€
Think Pink, in Spring! I often do and it works!
Whilst Spring is a beautiful season in its own right, when the vines start to leaf, buds break on shrubs and trees and winter-shy flowers bloom again, it’s also a month of transition. We move, and not always slowly, from the colder temperatures and darker nights of winter to a more temperate and lighter season.
Many of us like to drink mostly red wines in Winter. Full bodied red wine adds a certain warmth to our cosy comfort zones and sharing a bottle in front of a log fire is one of the highlights of the season. However, when the evening light fades later, and our lighter clothes are moved to the front of the wardrobe, it sometimes doesn’t seem quite correct to stick with red.
It’s clear to me – rosado wine is the answer. Made with the same varieties that make the Spanish reds we love so much, rosé wines retain an element of the fully flavoured red about them. The colour changes, of course, from the deep and dark rosados with attitude, that are really wannabe reds, to the lightest, palest pink, a colour now synonymous with Rosé de Provence; and everything in between!
Rosado is often erroneously considered a feminine drink, only – one for the girls. What nonsense! Yes, rosé has a delicacy, perhaps found wanting in red wines, but that doesn’t make it weak. Would you expect a red Ribera del Duero wine to have no presence, to be insignificant, lightweight? Neither would I – and this Protos Rosado 2015*, made with the same variety that makes the magnificent reds, Tinto del País (aka Tempranillo), has body as well as elegance!
You’ll find some strawberry and raspberry notes on the nose, with a refreshing red currant acidity too. This soft red fruit theme follows onto the palate, where the overall flavour is a delight, that lasts after swallowing. You can pair this wine with light meats, mushroom dishes, crab and certainly fish, and vegetarian paella.
* Note: there are very few 2014 Spanish rosado wines that are still drinking well now. Look only for 2015 rosé now!
Colin Harkness
International Wine Judge,
Writer, Broadcaster & Critic.
