JP Azeitão Rosado, a beautiful rosé made with a modern style. This delicious rosé comes from the Bacalhôa winery, located on the Portuguese peninsula of Setúbal. In the beautiful village of Vila Nogueira de Azeitão, we find a beautiful winery. The winery has a long history in Portuguese wines. Over the years, it has grown into one of the largest in Portugal, without losing its traditions and ancient winemaking methods. Naturally, they have modernized extensively to further improve the vinification process. In 1998, they took a major step when José Berardo took the helm of this beautiful winery. He invested heavily in new grape varieties and entered into a partnership with the Lafitte Rothschild Group. This has led to fantastic results, including this beautiful rosé.
Portuguese rosé made from Syrah
JP Azeitão's Rosato is made from Syrah, a grape known worldwide and ideally suited for rosé wines. This is evident in this rosé wine from Bacalhôa. The vineyards are located at an altitude of approximately 400 meters and have reached considerable age. As a result, the plants produce full, powerful bunches. Due to the warm daytime temperatures in the vineyards, the subsoil is crucial. It retains a lot of moisture, allowing the deep-rooted plants to draw sufficient moisture from the ground. In addition, the wind from the sea, combined with the falling nighttime temperatures, provides the necessary cooling. Therefore, we can speak of a balanced growing season for Syrah grapes. Harvest begins when the grapes are fully ripe. After pressing, the Syrah juice is fermented at a low temperature to preserve its beautiful fruit aromas.
How does the JP Azeitão Rosato taste?
Well, those fruity aromas are definitely preserved. As soon as we open the bottle, the wonderfully fresh aromas greet us. Looking at the rosé in the glass, we see a beautiful light pink color, similar to what we're used to from Provence. That certainly bodes well. The nose offers lovely aromas of young red fruit like strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. At the finish, a fresh hint of citrus fruit makes us think we can smell summer. These aromas transform into refined flavor nuances of red fruit, with strawberry and raspberry predominating. Yet, this rosé is certainly not sweet, but actually refreshing, with a lovely hint of citrus remaining on the palate. The finish is certainly refreshing in combination with the red fruit.
2024
