At once classic and original
That’s the least I can say about the Clarete by Oscar Alegre and Eva Valgañón,
the most original rosé from Rioja.
This is not really a rosé as we usually know it, i.e. a wine made from red grapes with short skin contact. No, this is a much more serious wine, one that was far more common over 100 years ago than it is today.
The grapes come from
a single vineyard of 80 years old, where red and white varieties are interplanted.
Instead of vinifying them separately,
Oscar and Eva chose to co-ferment them, à l’ancienne: the white Viura is destemmed and fermented together with Garnacha (and a bit of Tempranillo), which goes whole bunch into the tank. After 3 days of maceration, up to 65% is pressed, after which fermentation continues (using only native yeasts from the vineyard) in cement vats.
The result? This Alegre-Valgañón Clarete 2023.
Make no mistake – this is a refreshing wine (the label says it all:
“Refresca que da gusto”), but it’s a far cry from your average rosé. The 2022 vintage received 94/100 from James Suckling – rare for a Clarete!
This is a gastronomic rosé with beautiful complexity.
And one that actually needs time.
To be honest, it will be even better next year.
A bit of bottle age does it good.
Production is limited to just 6,000 bottles, of which only about 1/10 makes it to Belgium each year.
Don’t miss your chance to cellar this original, old-school Clarete!
And at this price, there’s really no excuse!