Honorio Rubio Rioja Lias Finas Rosado

Super interesting rose, if a bit polarizing. Not Tondonia rosado level complexity, nevertheless stands apart from most other roses. Fully throttle with razor wire acidity, citrus peel, robust strawberry fruit, and a ton of saline minerals. Slightly discordant waxy texture, presumably from the viura. The one major detractor for me is what I perceive to be American oak, with a characteristic dill pickle note, which certainly clashed with the white pizzas we had. According to the bottle, it’s only aged …

Again similarly pleasant and full of character — yet by comparison, again it seemed a bit dull contrasted with prior bottles/vintages.

2+ months after the prior: this had the same lovely waxy characteristic that we have grown to expect, and yet this recent bottle seemed just a bit dull compared to others. Still, quite enjoyable over three nights.

Two months later: lovely, again with very a pleasing and characteristic saline and waxy quality, over three nights.

Earthy, saline, waxy. Beautifully distinctive, and a worthy successor to the equally delightful 14 and 16. Very enjoyable under home confinement over three nights.