Martin Berdugo Rosado
A spectacular wine from 100% Tempranillo grapes – with more colour, body, personality and strength than other rosés.
Grapes grown exclusively in the single vineyard estate surrounding Berdugo’s winery allows them to control quality from beginning to end. For this rosado they are selected from the south-facing vineyard contains gravel, sand, silt and light clay soils – excellent for concentrating flavours and aromas.
Harvested at night to best preserve the aromatic potential, whole grape bunches spend up to 12 hours in cold maceration at 7°C under a cap of CO2 before being bled off. After the must settles, a long, slow cold fermentation follows at 10-14°C. A great deal of care is taken to ensure the purity and clarity of the fruit and maximising of aromas. The wine is rested on fine lees to seek greater complexity and roundness.
Martin Berdugo are a modern, progressive, family company; easily witnessed by the contemporary architecture of the winery and their stylish labels. Less obvious though is their constant evolving and experimentation with the wine making. Martin Berdugo seek improvement at every harvest and have a passion to bring what they call an “element of difference” to those who share their taste and wine philosophy: one of style, flair, communication, discovery and “the creation of unforgettable moments”.
A striking vivid dark pink colour. There are intense, vibrant, primary aromas of fresh fruit – cherry, strawberry, raspberry, apricot – with light sweet touches of honey, notes of banana and citrus. The weight of fruit in the nose is confirmed on the palate – it is a silky and fresh wine, well balanced, with a very pleasant and persistent finish where its fruity fullness is wonderfully balanced by tannins and a crisp acidity. The finish is very long, a real and lingering feast of sensations.
Best drunk with food – such as rice dishes of all kinds from delicate mushroom risotto to shellfish paella; fried, grilled or poached fish and seafood dishes; also young cheeses.
About the Producer
Bodegas Martin Berdugo
Matrin Berdugo was founted in 2000 and their estate consists of a single 87ha vineyard of Tinta Fina (Tinto del Pais or Tempranillo) grapes located and surrounded by the Duero River; a major part of the vineyard is on alluvial beds covered with large stones.
The altitude at 800m is significantly higher than vineyards in Rioja, where the highest is at 700m. Cooler climate and more sun result in thicker skins, hence the difference in style from the same gape varietal.
The quality of the wines is influenced by a number of natural factors and, importantly, an attitude that “everything counts”
- meticulous spring and summer pruning: vines planted on a north-south axis have the leaves on the east facing side take off to maximise the morning sun, whereas those on the west are left to provide some shelter from the strong afternoon rays.
- the use of leading edge technology: weather predictions and micro climate observations come from ‘weather stations’ and sensors situated throughout the vineyards.
- terroir profiling and help in grape selection for the harvest uses aerial mapping and satellite photography.
A devastating fire in 2013, where they lost most of their stock as well as the winery gave an opportunity to remodel the buildings, so now all wine-making is gravity fed with no pumping.
The whole estate has been converted to organic production – the first 11ha were certified in 2020, the rest is expected to be in 2025.
The location of the cellar – surrounded by the vineyard – guarantees the reception of the manually harvested grapes in optimal conditions, where after the wine is vinified in sixteen 25,000 litre stainless steel vats and aged in 360, mainly American, oak barrels.
