The Terras Gauda O Rosal 2015 is a blend of 70% Albariño, 20% Caiño, and 10% Loureiro grown in Bodegas Terras Gauda vineyards located in the O Rosal sub-district of Rias Baixas in northwest Spain.Virtually all the wine produced in Rias Baixas is White wine with Albariño comprising 96% of the vines planted.grapes. Loureiro and Caiño are indigenous local grapes that sometimes blended with the Albariño. The O Rosal sub-district is situated on the north side of the Miño River (the northern border with Portugal) with the Atlantic Ocean as the boundary to the west. The Terras Gauda O Rosal isn’t a New World wine made for export, this is the wine that best represents the quality of the vineyards and the expertise of the winemaking. The O Rosal is meant to be consumed young, no aging necessary, and was fermented and whatever aging was needed occurred in stainless steel tanks. The alcohol content is a mild by today’s standard 12.5%.
The color is a clear, shiny, golden-yellow. The nose is a mix of melon, honey, peach, pear, lime, green apple, with a delicate floral edge. This is a tasty wine, firm, balanced acidity with a pretty cool interplay between the fruit and the citrus flavors. It tastes of pear with a burst of acidity, lemon, mild. unsweetened pink grapefruit, tart apple, and peach. The mid-palate shows a touch of cream, guava, and a squeeze of lime. The acidity is very balanced, this is a food wine and a sipping wine. The finish is subtle and lingers on and on.
The Terras Gauda O Rosal 2015 is an excellent wine. It lists for $24 which is normally above our cutoff for value wine, but I think this does fit well into the value wine category. This is the best wine expression from a top quality winery located in an up and coming wine area and it still sells for under 25 bucks. And Terras Gauda is not unique in that respect, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of top quality yet still reasonably priced wines from producers in Spain, Italy, southern France, California, basically all over. Yes, the Bordeaux. Napa’s, and Champagnes of the world make great wine, but they don’t come cheap. There are delicious, quality wines available that are maybe slightly off the beaten path, but great wines at a fair price are available if you take the time to seek them out.
