Naranjas Azules

The very pale rosé 2023 Naranjas Azules Garnacha was produced like a blanc de noirs from old-vine Garnacha, without skin maceration, only with the juice from the direct pressing, and it fermented at low temperature in concrete and was bottled unoaked. It's not a shy wine, with 14% alcohol, keeping very good freshness and notable acidity. This is always expressive, extroverted and clean, and this year, it has a little darker color (the grapes were smaller, so there's a different ratio of juice to skin) and notes of rose petals and herbs. It has a chalky texture and good freshness and is bone dry, with a bitter twist in the finish. 30,000 bottles and 600 magnums produced. It was bottled in March 2024.

I also tasted a very recently bottled 2019 Naranjas Azules Garnacha from a lower yielding and riper year, despite which the alcohol and acidity are more or less the same as in 2018. It's very pale but has a little more color than the 2018, since 2019 was a warmer year with lower yields and more concentration. So, the wine is powerful, perhaps a little too young now, with marked acidity that makes you salivate, the stony sensation in the texture and a long, almost salty finish. 90,000 bottles and 500 magnums. It was bottled in January 2020.