Alentejo winery Howard’s Folly, created by British entrepreneur Howard Bilton and highly regarded winemaker David Baverstock, has launched its first rosé wine ‘Sonhador Rosé 2019’.
To create a “fresh and balanced” rosé, David Baverstock concocted a 65% Aragonez and 35% Castelão blend to highlight the “aromatic nature of these varieties, such as vanilla, raspberry and strawberry”.
“The palate shows mature and intense red berry fruits with good body and texture, vibrant acidity adding to a long and profound finish,” says the Estremoz-based winery.
The wine boasts “refreshing and complex aromas, with ripe wild forest fruits, raspberry jelly, and a touch of vanilla spice”.
Getting the colour right was also very important, according to the winemaker.
“This rosé is a pale salmon pink due to a short and well controlled maceration,” Baverstock explained.
He also said that the wine is “completely dry” and has “no residual sugar”.
The grapes are produced in Portalegre to the north east of the Alentejo on the granite foothills of the São Mamede mountains, “where cooler temperatures, along with many old vines, give complexity and freshness”.
British wine critic Jancis Robinson recently gave her take on the wine, saying: “Fresh nose with notes of red fruits, but its acidity is quite evident. Some rose aromas. I’m not sure I’d guess it is Portuguese, but it must be very welcome on a hot day in the Alentejo.”
The retail price for a case of six ‘Sonhador Rosé 2019’, which can be ordered on Howard Folly’s website, is €72.
