The Jellybean Moscato Rose’ is a non-vintage blend of Moscato, with a smaller portion of Syrah grapes sourced from vineyards in Spain. Ok, maybe you are thinking, “Hey, isn’t Moscato a White Wine grape and isn’t Rose’ made from Red grapes?’. Well, that is where the Syrah grapes come in, it isn’t mentioned on the label, so it is probably used mainly to provide color and a bit of flavoring as well. The Moscato grape can vary in color (depending on the varietal) from pale yellow/green to almost black, but if they needed the Syrah for color these grapes are the light-colored ones. I noticed from the web that previous bottling of Jellybean Moscato Rose’ came from vineyards in Italy, so this Spanish Moscato Rose’ may be significantly different. The alcohol is a mild 10.5%.
Usually when describing Rose’ I use pink, Salmon, or amber (or a combination of all 3) to describe the color, but here, I think they were going for strawberry jellybean and I think they nailed it. There is also a bit of a fizz going on, not quite Sparkling wine territory, but there are bubbles. The nose not sweet at all, melon, dried strawberry, orange blossom, and kiwi. This Moscato Rose’ is surprisingly dry, yes, there is some sweetness to the flavor, but the flavor profile is balanced. It starts with strawberry and sweet, ripe cherry, and I swear, some banana cream. The mid-palate added some honeydew melon, with lemon and raspberry. There is enough acidity to balance the sweet nature of the Moscato grape. The finish is full and while it does fade quickly, it lingers for a long time.
The Jellybean Moscato Rose’ is an easy to like summer cooler. I am not a huge fan of sweet wine, I can appreciate a glass of sweet wine, but after that, I’m done. The Jellybean Moscato Rose’ has the balance and the flavor to go the distance. For pairings, I think fruit based summer salads would work, along with something like cold fried chicken. When I first saw the Jellybean Moscato Rose’ I thought it was the kind of wine your Aunt drinks, but it is a thoroughly modern and tasty Rose’.
