Quantity is not synonymous with quality. This is demonstrated by this short but valuable list of 4 rosé wines selected by La Vanguardia’s 2024 Wine Guide, directed by Lluís Tolosa. This publication includes 100 wines, with a rating above 90 points, that throughout the year have impressed those who write its pages.
Among the wines in this compilation is the XR Rosé from Marqués de Riscal (DOCa Rioja), awarded as Best Rosé Wine. Experts have recognized it as the perfect rosé for its quality, conception and presentation, in addition to its pure personality and elegance made with old Grenache and Viura vines from Elciego, more than 50 years old.
Marqués de Riscal (1858) has the virtue of being an eternally modern and innovative classic. They were the great pioneers of Rioja more than a century and a half ago. They became surprisingly modern again by hiring architect Frank Gehry to design their hotel in the City of Wine (2006). And for three consecutive years they have led the prestigious World’s Best Vineyards ranking, as the best winery in Europe and the second in the world.
They are also constantly modern and innovative with their new range of wines. In previous editions of this guide we already highlighted the birth of their new red wine XR Reserva. The XR symbol was a tradition of the cellar master that lasted almost a hundred years in Marqués de Riscal. In the style of Bordeaux foremen, the winemaker marked the XR sign with chalk on the barrels that seemed to him to be extraordinary reserves. For almost a century (1869-1964) those extraordinary wines were never marketed. Now they come to the market with all their historical significance and a truly transgressive, modern and elegant presentation.
XR Rosé is the great novelty that is added to this new range of wines from Marqués de Riscal. It is the perfect rosé, due to quality, conception and presentation. Pure personality, elegant, ambitious and seductive. Made from a selection of old vines, Garnacha and Viura from Elciego, over 50 years old. Beautiful pale salmon color, very elegant and balanced on the palate, with the fruitiness of Grenache and the freshness of Viura, perfectly assembled. Without a doubt, Award for Best Rosé Wine 2024.
Author: Lluís Tolosa
It amazes me how different two brothers can be. Even if they have the same parents, they inherit different genetic combinations, they develop a hierarchy depending on what position they are born in and, ultimately, in some innate way their temperaments are different from a young age.
Daniela is playful, spontaneous, adventurous and with a mischievous attitude. Aitana is calm, calm, sweet and with a funny touch. Both are daughters of Gonzalo Celayeta and to each of them he dedicates a wine related to her personality. The first is a white Grenache fermented in an amphora that is called Huracán Daniela (we can already imagine why). The second, a very pampered and subtle wine that she has named La Huella de Aitana.
Both wines are from Gonzalo Celayeta Wines. But, in addition, Gonzalo is a wise young man who since 2006 has been technical director of the San Martín de Unx cooperative (Navarra). It is a reference winery, one of the best in Spain, which produces 1.5 million delicious liters of Garnacha. He does not lack experience and knowledge and with his own project he has been able to freely explore his concerns.
Aitana wine has always been one of my favorites. It is a rosé with a deep color, a perfumed aroma with nuances of barrel and a delicious flavor. It has the soul of a great wine and is confirmation that Navarra rosé is much, much more than a simple wine with aromas of strawberry and sweetness. There are 8,000 bottles of authentic pleasure, which make me think about how I would love to see more Navarrese rosés of this style. Author: Ferran Centelles
XF Sierra Cantabria is an ideal wine to enjoy on special occasions, ideal for summer, since its limited edition makes it unique and exclusive. As the producer herself says, it is ideal for a meeting of good friends. Many think that making rosé wines is easier and cheaper. But whenever we talk to winemakers, they confirm that rosé is their most complicated wine. In contact with the skins, when the color is decided, any minute can be crucial to obtain or not obtain these precious salmon or onion skin colors.
This XF is made by Xandra Falcó, Marchioness of Mirabel, as well as one of the queens of glasses in my book dedicated to women of wine. She signs this wine with her initials and with the Sierra Cantabria brand, the result of the friendship that unites her family with the Riojans Marcos and Miguel Eguren. It is a wine in tribute to her recently deceased father, Carlos Falcó, and her husband, Jaime Carvajal. Knowing her, I have no doubt that she did it with the firm intention of turning it into an avant-garde rosé. This wine reflects its philosophy, its commitment to quality and sustainability, with integrated and environmentally friendly viticulture.
Sierra Cantabria XF is a limited edition rosé wine that combines the best red and white grapes from the winery’s vineyards. Its fresh and balanced flavor, along with its aromatic intensity, make it an excellent option for those looking to enjoy an exclusive, high-quality wine. Author: Zoltan Nagy
María Burgoa is responsible for this project in which she puts all her love. What María tells us is that above all it is a totally family structure to produce quality wines based on tradition, but taking advantage of all the advantages of modernity and technology.
Their vines are between 50 and 100 years old, which provides quality to the grapes and effort in the field when working them. In his wines he tries to express the typicity of the soil, the climate and the varieties above what would be the human factor. In fact, one of its objectives will be to achieve the category of paid wine. It will surely come.
The production of this very gastronomic rosé wine arose in the year 2015, in the month of August and walking through the vineyard, a vineyard that is treated in the most sustainable and natural way. Likewise, in the winery and in the production of the wine, minimal intervention is sought. Aging is reduced to a brief contact of the wine with its lees in stainless steel tanks, which will make it a more primary wine as a whole.
Salmon pink in color and with even bluish reflections. It has aromas of strawberries, raspberries, red caramel, field flowers, herbs and menthol touches. Its mouthfeel is refreshing, tasty, with vibrant acidity and crunchy fruit in the mouth. Once again the aromas that we found on the nose ring out and its finish is long and floral.
Author: María José Huertas
