A rosé wine made in Spain by two women winemakers – one Irish and one Spanish – is set to make a big impact on the Irish wine scene this summer. The first vintage of Rós, a low-intervention wine, fermented with wild yeasts, will go on sale at branches of O'Briens, nationwide, early next week.
Lynne Coyle, who is director of wine at O'Briens and holds the Master of Wine qualification, collaborated with Alicia Eyaralar of Bodegas Tandem in Navarra to make the wine with grapes grown on a two hectare plot of old Garnacha vines.
Just 1,000 cases of the wine were made, and although Coyle has received interest from the UK, Australia and Hong Kong, and says that a few cases may make their way there, the majority of the wine will be sold in Ireland, with a retail price of €16.95 a bottle.
Rós, which is Coyle’s first foray into winemaking, is described as “The Sassy One”, in a line-up of 16 wines from six countries which are included in the O'Briens rosé promotion which launches on April 29th. During the promotion, there will be a buy one, buy a second half price, offer – which will bring Rós down to €12.70 a bottle.
“We wanted to make a wine that reflected the area, the vintage and the grape variety,” Coyle says of her collaboration with Alicia Eyaralar. She describes the wine as having “a delicate, pale colour, with quite a strong raspberry and strawberry aroma profile.”
And what does it taste like? “On the palate it is dry, but has ripe fruit mid-palate, and refreshing acidity, which is important for balance and helps the wine to work well with food.”
The name Rós and the wine’s distinctive label are the work of Coyle’s son Edward, a student at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin. “He was very keen to help with the concept,” she says.
"Rós means rose in both Scottish and Irish Gaelic," Coyle says and it is a reflection of her Scottish heritage. The label is inspired by the work of the Scottish architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
