The Tarantas Sparkling Rose’ is 100% Bobal grape grown in certified organic vineyards near the town of Valencia in the Utiel-Requena DO near the Mediterranean Ocean in western Spain. Bobal is the 2nd most planted Red grape in Spain (behind Tempranillo) and until recently was used for producing inexpensive, everyday jug wine. Tarantas is the oldest all organic winery in Spain and they decided to raise the Bobal grape above the levels of low-cost local wine. When you are producing a local wine that costs a Euro or two, where the vines are planted and grape yields are not particularly crucial. But growing grapes for fine wine is a different story, believe it or not, grape vines produce the best wine when they are grown in poor soil, fertile ground makes for boring wine. Next thing to worry about is yield, in this case, a large yield isn’t good. Vines only produce enough energy to properly sustain so many grape bunches. Say a vine sprouts 6 bunches of grapes in the spring, but it is determined that the ideal number per vine is 3 bunches. The worst looking 3 bunches are cut off and left to fall to the ground and act as fertilizer. Poor ground and a limited number of grape clusters per vine start to improve the quality of the grapes and like the saying goes,”good wine is made in the vineyard.” An interesting Bobal fact is that Bobal is a grape with some of the highest concentrations of Resveratrol. A few years ago there were numerous reports about how Resveratrol which is a compound found in Red wine was a wonder drug for your heart and arteries. You could drink your way to perfect health. I don’t think it proved to be the magic elixir the stories made it out to be, but hey, it can’t hurt. The alcohol content is 12%.
The color is salmon pink, with energetic little bubbles that fade before long. The nose is slightly candied, cherry hard candy, watermelon, spice, and vanilla cream soda. This is not a sweet Sparkling Rose, it is crisp with solid acidity. It tastes of rhubarb-strawberry pie (not sweet), tart cherry, and a little melon. The mid-palate adds a little raspberry in a bowl of cream, and a late slap of very tart cranberry. The acidity is solid, this will pair well seafood and pasta. The finish is full and really lasts.
The Tarantas Sparkling Rose’ is a very tasty Bubbly. Ten bucks, unique, tasty and it has bubbles, what more needs to be said. The flavor profile may read as sweet, but it is not, this is tart, clean, and crisp. Bobal was not a grape that I was very familiar with, but it does a great job with Rose’ and Sparkling Rose’.
