Unfortunately, there is no indication on the label what grapes are used in this red blend Rosso I purchased at the winery this week. Not only that there is no “Rosso” wine on their website but there is a Rosso Cabernet yet its bottle picture does not say “Rosso Cabernet” but “Rosso”. Let’s assume, if we can recover from this dizziness, we are drinking the Rosso described on the website. In that case it is a blend of 40% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Syrah, 9% Cabernet Franc and 4% Pinot Noir. Not to flog a dead horse but if the wine is described as Rosso Cabernet on the website why are only two grapes comprising the blend in the Cabernet family?
In face of this dizzying confusion let us try a 2021 Rosso as described on the bottle in front of me.
Aroma: A good dose of blueberry and blackberry complimented by black licorice and plum.
Palate: Moderate creeping tannins. Again quite like the 2021 Merlot with a pleasant if not enticing aroma which on the palate more or less disappears. Some of the fruit leaks weakly into the palate.
Personality: I am a bit of everything that fails to translate into much of anything worth remembering. At least with the 2021 Merlot the Merlot character was lurking and identifiable. There is no identifiable variety you can trace in this wine.
Price: $20.15 CDN (Ontario).
Food Pairing: Let’s hide under “a Friday night wine”.
Cellarbility: Nada.
RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 83/100.
(Riverview Estate Winery 2021 Rosso, VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake, Riverview Cellars Estate Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, 750 mL, 12%).
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