
2023
Region
Spain › Vino de Mesa
Type
red · still
Grapes
Brancellao, Mencía, Field Blend, Gran Negro, Alicante Henri Bouschet, Trousseau
Alcohol
12.5%
Volume
750 mL
Sugar
1.5 g/L
Interesting - people say this bottle isn't quite representative, but to me it reads like Mencía. Black berries, flowers, juicy, a touch of oxidation. Bright and tasty, beautifully balanced, elegant, gentle. I really like it. A bit of liquorice and chocolate. Freeze-dried berries and dried herbs. Beautiful.
Lousas Parcela Rosende from Envínate, a project by four winemakers working across Spain's most distinctive terroirs. The Lousas wines come from Ribeira Sacra - steep, slate-terraced vineyards along the Sil and Miño rivers in Galicia - though the 2023s are sold as Vino de Mesa, without appellation of origin.
Rosende is a specific parcel within the Lousas range. According to Luis Gutiérrez (Wine Advocate, 97 points), the 2023 is "without a doubt, the finest Rosende to date," placing it at the level of their Seoane bottling. He notes a clear step up in perfume, precision, and elegance over previous vintages. Drink window: 2025-2035.
Field blend of mostly Mencía with up to 15% other red and white varieties. Picked September 13th. Fermented with full clusters in bins and a large concrete vat. Matured in neutral 228L barrels and a 2,000L oak foudre for one year. 12.7% alcohol. 4,960 bottles and 45 magnums produced. Bottled November 2024.
2023 vintage context: a rainy winter, normal spring, then heavy June rains complicated vineyard work. The late-August heat wave (peaks of 41°C) was followed by more rain during harvest, forcing multiple picking interruptions. Despite the difficulties, the wines turned out floral, fragrant, and fine-boned - likely the result of rigorous sorting and selection.