Winemaker Notes
A lovely blush pink color – maybe a little lighter than the previous few years. The nose charges at you with candied strawberry, rose petal, and that ubiquitous but undeniable strawberries and cream aroma that just keeps going and going. On the palate, a certain elegance – these fruit forward flavors persist, while the classic Nero d’Avola acidity comes in to keep things fresh and crunchy; evolving the flavors into a slightly underripe stone fruit spectrum – white peach or nectarine. The most in balance and engaging Rosato Delinquente has made for a few years, and everything they want to see from this wine.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
Quite the powerhouse region thanks to its proximity to the Murray River (and thus irrigation potential), Riverland produces over half of South Australia’s total annual harvest. While its warm Mediterranean climate promotes large volume production, many smaller, premium producers abound. Australia’s usual suspects—Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet—do great but a continuing local push for heat-loving Italian varieties like Vermentino and Nero d’Avola promises future diversity.