INSIDER'S PICK: 2023 AMEZTOI 'RUBENTIS' ROSE GETARIAKO TXAKOLINA $25.99

One of our more unique Rose wines we get each year, yet routinely one of the most loved and definitely one of the best Roses we have for year-round drinking. The Basque region around the city of Bilbao is vastly different from the rest of Spain; environmentally, culturally, right down to their own quasi-independent regional government. Their identity is so self-dependent that even their finest local Football club, Athletic Bilbao, has a policy over the last century to only sign Basque raised or Basque trained players. It should come as no surprise then that their wine culture features grapes that are theirs and theirs alone as well. The majority of their wines are white from the Hondarribi Zuri , tailor made to pair with some of the finest maritime cuisine in the world, and the primary grape for their red wines coming from the Hondarribi Beltza grape. Ameztoi is largely credited for popularizing this Basque style of Rose, an even blend of the red and white varietals pressed and vinified together with the slightest bit of natural carbonation. Pale, Provence-esque salmon color in the glass with the tiniest pinpoints of bubbles on the surface, the aromas are full of citrus and dried strawberry, with a little bit of the coastal zest the white wines are so known for. The palate is light with a tart lime zing to it popped by the slight tickle of carbonation, mouthfilling and quenching at the same time, finishing with a bit of savory red fruit at the end to remind you that there is some red wine elements here as well. Fully dry yet still under 11%abv, this is about as easy drinking and energetic a Rose as you will find. ​

---