Antica Terra Angelicall Rosé 2015 Magnum
Antica TerraGrape: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2015
Type: Rosé
This rosé is fermented on its skins like a red wine, then abandoned partway through. Somewhere between day 4 and day 8, when the aromatics of the fermentation peak, just enough juice is drawn off the vat to fill a single barrel. It finishes primary and secondary fermentation in that barrel and stays on its lees for a year before bottling. The point is to stop on the edge of tannic extraction, which is why this drinks like neither a rosé nor a red.
It pours a deep copper-pink, closer to a light red than a rosé, opening with aromas of blood orange, wild strawberry, and dried rose. On the palate, the frame is fuller than the color suggests, balancing tart red fruit with a savory, almost broth-like depth from the year in barrel. A year on its lees builds a rounded weight through the middle that most rosé never develops. Acidity stays high and keeps the whole thing lifted rather than heavy. It finishes dry and faintly tannic, with a grip on the back palate that reads as red wine.