Lovely dark salmon-pink color; floral nose; delicate red cherry and strawberry on the palate.
Fresh, engaging, light in the mouth, subtle easy drinker with nice balance of acidity and dry/off-dry sweetness; 100% garnacha (grenache) grapes. Garnacha makes exquisite rosé. It is Spain’s most common red wine grape. It has more land planted to vines than any other grape in the world; impressive, but Spain’s practice of spreading vines further apart than most other countries also is a factor. Garnacha, however, has played second-fiddle to Spain’s specialty, tempranillo. Tempranillo makes the power reds that manly men and achieving women quaff. Granacha is softer and fruiter than tempranillo, which is why it makes such delicious rosé.
The Navarra region, where this wine is made, is famous for producing quality granacha rosé and the slightly darker clarete. In France, grenache makes the sublime rosés of Provence, and it is the lead grape in the epic Southern Rhône wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas. Regardless of what tempranillo backers knock back, grenache is a major noble grape.
Bodegas Príncipe de Viana was created in 1983 as a project of Caja Rural de Navarra, an agricultural lending institution founded to provide financial assistance for the sustainable development of Navarra’s farming sector. Reflecting wine’s nobility among agricultural products, the project takes its name from an historic Navarran title of Spanish royal succession dating to 1423. And reflecting its mission, the vineyards emphasize sustainable practices. The winery also supports social causes such Saray’s its fight against breast cancer, Oxfam’s fight against poverty, and Solera’s effort to find solutions to chronic disease, with emphasis on prevention.
Bodegas Príncipe de Viana Edición Rosa 2014 is a delicately lovely and delicious wine that appeals to range of palates and levels of wine sophistication. Easily scores points as an aperitif; also will pair with salmon and other fish, lighter fruits and cheese, omelettes (could be part of a sensational special event late breakfast). Well worth a taste. $21
Bodegas Príncipe de Viana website
Other photos: Príncipe de Viana vineyard, Príncipe de Viana harvest
