Feudi di Guagnano, Rosarò 2019 | Salice Salentino Negroamaro Rosato DOC

Old vine Negroamaro rosé with a vibrant coral shade. Lush tastes of fresh raspberry, cranberry, and a hint of sea salt

Only 6,000 bottles of this Rosarò are produced per year. It’s made from Negroamaro grapes grown on 50-year old vines near Guagnano, in southern Puglia. This unique wine offers a much higher flavour concentration than a typical rosé – you can almost sense aromas of Negroamaro rosso in the glass. This is because the winemaker uses long skin contact to obtain a deep flavour profile and luminous colour, setting this rosé apart from the others. But most importantly, during winemaking, they separate the best 30% of the fermented wine and use it to produce Rosarò. The rest is used for other, less premium wines.

Winemaking: The Negroamaro grapes for this wine are harvested by hand. The grape juice is kept in contact with its skins for 24 hours after crushing, which extracts a lot of aroma and colour. This period of skin contact is much longer than a typical rosé, which explains why this wine has more vibrant flavours. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. Then, at the time of racking the best fraction of the resulting wine – the clearest part which has the most pronounced aromas – is separated into a stainless steel tank. It ages here for 3 months, and finally becomes Rosarò.

Tasting notes: Bright pink colour with orange hues in the glass. Pronounced aromas of raspberry, cranberry and blood orange, with a touch of fresh juniper bitterness and a hint of saltiness from the sea breezes. In the mouth, the wine is dry, with a high level of refreshing acidity, medium body and a slightly oily texture. This is an unusually rich and flavoursome rosé, with lots going on. Serve lightly chilled.

Awards: The Italian Sommelier Association (Vitae) 2021 – 3 Vines |  The Italian Sommelier Foundation (Bibenda) Guide 2021 – Four Grape Bunches