PRODUCTION NOTES:
We had a very dry winter/spring that helped the building works but meant that the vineyard suffered as water stocks were not replenished. Yields were initially low from an uneven flowering and poor weather during this period. We had some rain in the late spring but virtually none fell in the summer months (we normally have some thunderstorms or a few days of low pressure). Lack of water meant the grapes were small and concentrated and took longer to mature.

AGEING:
The wine was fermented in small stainless steel vats and then matured in aged Allier French oak casks. Bottled in January 2018.

TASTING NOTES:
The terroir in the Douro is still largely unexplored and by making wines with harmony and equilibrium from our vineyards, we try to enable the grapes to express themselves in the bottle. The La Rosa style is to make well defined wines without too much extraction, tannin or oak. Wines that are rich and full-bodied whilst being fresh and lively with a good acidity and minerality.

This young, structured wine from a family-owned estate has good balance between its acidity and the black-currant fruits. They are supported by young tannins that will soften as the wine matures. Drink from 2023.

AROMA:
On the nose, wild herbal, shrub-like flavors of the Douro are evident. The ripeness of the La Rosa 2018 is almost perfect, giving good aromatic complexity but maintaining all the freshness and elegance that the excessive summer heat sometimes gives to Douro wines.

FLAVOR:
Quite full bodied with lively tannins highlighting the flavors and giving the wine life. Long and versatile, it is a wine for almost all food and all occasions.

FOOD MATCH:
Being quite approachable as a young wine, it can either be drunk now or kept for up to 5 or so years. Serve at cellar temperatures, this is ideal with any meat dish or cheese. A versatile wine, it also goes well with spicy dishes as well as robust fish.

13.5% ABV

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Aging: Now - 5 years+
Alcohol 14.5% | RS .6 g/dm3
Total Acidity 5.4 G/dm3
Volatile Acidity .6 G/dmc
Ph: 3.63 SO2: 140 Mg/dm3