2007 Txakoli Gurrutxaga Rosado

Since my trip to Spain last fall, I have been a big fan of Txakoli, a Basque wine with a bit of effervescence. Most Txacoli is a white wine, though there is a rarer red wine as well. I have had both red and white Taxacoli but was unaware that they also made a Rosado.

Coincidentally, I recently read a review of the 2007 Txacoli Gurrutxaga Rosado on Amy's LA Wine Blog. The next day, I found that exact wine at the Lower Falls Wine Co. and I bought a couple bottles. It also came highly recommended from the staff at Lower Falls. I decided to open the bottle the other night with dinner. I just had to taste this wine.

The 2007 Txacoli Gurrutxaga Rosado ($19.99) is from the Bizkaiko Txakolina D.O., the largest of the three D.O.s with Txacoli. Bodega Gurrutxaga was founded by Iñigo Gurrutxaga in 1998. The mountain-side vineyard faces the Atlantic Ocean, thus benefiting from the refractory quality of the ocean. The wine is made from 100% Hondarrabi Beltza, the red txacolina grape. The vines are only about fifteen years old and sustainable farming is conducted. The wine is fermented in staintless steel. It only has an alcohol content of 10.5%.

This wine had a nice, rosy color with a nose of fresh strawberry. On the palate, it was a dry Rosado with the typical Txacoli effervescence. I find that light effervescence to be very refreshing. The fruit flavors were subdued, but there were definite elements of strawberry, raspberry and maybe a touch of almost peach. A nice complexity for this price point. It is definitely a more Old World Rose, very much like a fine French Rose. I loved this wine and we quickly finished off the bottle. This would be an excellent summer wine, especially with its low alcohol content.

Rose is supposed to be a versatile food wine, able to pair well with most any food. So I put that to the test, pairing it with homemade fusilli, meatballs and Andouille sausage. I think the wine stood up very well to the food. It helped cut some of the spice of the sausage and did not get overpowered by the tomato sauce.

I think I should have bought more of this wine when I had the chance.