Do you know the difference between rosés and what kind of wines are the “clarete” wines?

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We often meet people who confuse and think rosé and ‘clarete’ wines ( Not to be mistaken with “claret wines”, mostly used as an unofficial way to describe Bordeaux red wines). are the same, but no, they are not the same. In fact, there are differences due to the types of grapes used, their elaboration process and even, their age.

And if you are not clear about the differences or just want to review these concepts, today in our blog we clarify the differences between them.

GRAPE VARIETIES

As we mentioned before, the first big difference between rosé and ‘clarete’ wines, is the type of grapes to be use

To make a rosé wine, we will opt for red grapes. Yes, red grapes. The characteristic color of rosé wines is obtained thanks to the time the grape must spends in contact with the grape skins. Thus, in rosé wines with a more intense and characteristic ‘raspberry pink’ color, the grape must has spent more time than in the case of paler, ‘onion skin’ style rosé wines. Therefore, we could say very briefly and opening an immense range of nuances that rosé wines are red wines made following the system of white wines.

In the case of ‘clarete’ wines, in addition to using red grapes, we will also add white grape varieties in different percentages (at least 25% of red grapes). 


Differences in the production processes of rosé wines

There are also differences in the rosé winemaking processes.

In the case of rosés, they can be produced thanks to two different types of winemaking: pressing and bleeding.

In the first case, in press rosés, the process is identical to the production of white wines but adding red grapes, while in the bleeding process, the grapes go directly into the tank without passing through the press. Once completely full, the grapes are ‘squeezed’ by gravity and the liquid part is extracted from the tank, leaving the whole grapes in the container.

In the case of ‘claretes’, we will also find two production systems, since we can use the bleeding technique and, on other occasions, we can start with red grapes and their must, and then fill the tank with must from white varieties.

AgING of rosé wine

Not only red wines can be classified by age into ‘young’ wines, ‘crianzas’, ‘reservas’ and ‘grandes reservas’, but also rosés and ‘claretes’ can be organized in this way, according to the time standards of each protected denomination of origin.

Thus, we will find wines with significant differences depending on the aging time of the wines in barrel and bottle, finding rosés and ‘claretes’:

  • ‘Young wines’ or ‘of the year’ with no or not enough time in the barrel to be considered “crianza”. They are the most common and are usually consumed in the year of production or the following year.
  • The ‘semi-crianza’ or ‘roble’ are wines that have spent less than six months in the barrel without reaching the aging periods, having slightly longer lives than young wines.
  • ‘Crianza’ wines are usually marketed in their third year of life after spending at least one year in barrels.
  • ‘Reserva’ is a rosé or ‘clarete’ that has undergone at least three full years of aging. 
  • ‘Gran Reserva’ rosés and ‘claretes’ are only found from exceptional vintages and are characterized by the fact that they are made with high quality grapes and spend at least two years in barrel and three years in bottle. This type of rosé and ‘clarete’ wines are rare and not very common.

The rosé wine of Bodegas Luzón: Luzón Colección Rosado.

In our particular case, the grape from which our ‘Luzón Colección Rosado’ had to be made was, undoubtedly, the Monastrell.

The elaboration method in this case is the “pressed” type that we explained before. 

The grapes are harvested early in the morning to preserve the temperature of the grapes. This prevents the grapes from fermenting before reaching the winery. The stems are separated and the grapes are subjected to a light pressing, after which the yolk must is de-stemmed and clarified (i.e. cleaned) and goes into stainless steel tanks that allow us to control the temperature of the must inside (at that time it is not possible to call it wine), and after 15-20 days and having completed its alcoholic fermentation, it is bottled and we have our Luzón Colección Rosado ready. A young rosé, salmon-colored, with expressive and suggestive aromas of red fruits (cherries, cherries) and flowers.

A wine whose palate stands out for its great balance, refreshing acidity, medium body and delicate texture, without edges, with a sweet and refreshing finish, with flavors that linger on the palate reminiscent of cherry candies and jams.

And you… Have you tried it?