Ostatu 2023 Rosato Rioja Alavesa, Rioja

750ml bottle

13.5% abv

Bright pink. Assertive, minerally nose of strawberries, raspberries, currants, and citrus. Fresh and balanced palate, textural with refreshing acidity and length.

Village: Samaniego
Sites: La Paul, Carrera, and Los Caños
Elevation: 600-650m
Grapes: 70% Tempranillo, 27% Garnacha, 3% Viura
Vine Age: 20-60 years
Soil: Stony, calcareous clay and limestone
Fermentation: Indigenous yeast in stainless steel tanks at low temperatures on the lees for 37 days
Farming: Certified Organic by ENEEK (Basque Organic Regulatory Council)
Carbon Neutral: Yes
Added SO2: None
Vegan: Yes

Grapes are farmed organically, and only native yeasts are utilized to ferment in stainless steel tanks, yielding a light, refreshing rosé from Rioja with substance, as well as charm.

Vinification – After a manual harvest, the grapes are destemmed and gently pressed before undergoing a short maceration. The wine then ferments with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks at low temperatures (15°C to 16°C) on the lees for 37 days. Afterward, the wine is cold stabilized and gently filtered through diatomaceous earth before bottling.

The secret lies in the high-altitude, bush-trained vineyards of indigenous tempranillo, garnacha, and viura vines in the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria mountains. Ostatu's is a singular mountain rosé produced from some of Ostatu’s oldest and highest-elevation vineyards in the village of Samaniego: La Paul, Carrera, and Los Caños at 600m to 650m. Samaniego is located directly at the convergence of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean climatic influences, which mold the character of the vintages. This unique soil and climate also lend a certain austerity and structure to Ostatu wines, which differentiates them from the Rioja wines of other subzones. Ostatu is pure Alavesa mountain wine, born of the tension and energy of an extreme climate.

Rioja Alavesa is the smallest of the three wine-producing sub-regions in Rioja, Spain. It is situated to the north of the River Ebro, straddling the La Rioja region and the Alava province within the autonomous community of the Pais Vasco (Basque Country).