Rosa D”Oro is just different.
While most Lake County vineyards put their efforts into Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and other popular varietals, the Kelseyville label prefers Italian grapes. So they bottle Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo and the like.
OK, Sangiovese is not that much of a stretch. And they also bow to convention by producing a Zinfandel … sort of.
Primitivo is an Italian version of Zin, considered genetically identical. Yet somehow the end result is a little offbeat, in a most likeable way.
Rosa D”Oro”s 2011 Primitivo lends plenty of fruit on the nose, red and ripe. This is sparked by a raspy note of pepper and an indication of something soft, like rose petals. So far, so Zin.
On the palate, however, it reveals a meaty, rough-hewn aspect under the niceties of fruit and spice — a masuline edge that fails to break the easy, flowing spirit of the wine. There is no inkling of hearty dried fruit often found in its kindred varietal.
Nick Buttitta planted the grapes in 1998 and 1999 along the Kelsey Bench. Each year the winery produces Primitivo from the same patch — a practice he expects will help bring consistency from vintage to vintage.
But Buttitta couldn”t resist bringing out the 2012 for Rosa D”Oro”s wine club members — more evidence that the label is a bit different.
“The ”12 will change in it”s profile,” he admitted. “But it tastes very much like the ”11 did a year ago.”
The younger wine presents less intriguing aromas, like fruit on the vine in the process of ripening. The flavor is lean, yet bright — watermelon and citrus more than red raspberry and plum. Pepper shows up on the finish, scritching at the back of the throat.
It”s a lighthearted romp by comparison, though one with obvious breeding.
“The peppery finish develops,” Buttitta explained. “The youth of the ”12 keeps it masked.”
It”s revealing to sample vintages a year or so apart, of course. In 2011, rain hit the vineyards just before harvest, followed by an unwanted dip in temperatures. The next year saw near perfect growing conditions.
Buttitta shrugs, noting that 2011 produced worthwhile grapes. They picked the Primitivo at 26 Brix. The wine weighed in at 14.4 percent alcohol in the end, close to the 2012”s 14.5 percent.
“Our Primitivo is fairly consistent,” he said.
That being the case, it”s even more interesting to try the same grapes at maturity and six or so months away. The difference is a peek behind the scenes into mind of the winemaker as he or she sets a target profile and tries to coax the wine in that direction.
The 2011 is a nice, versatile table wine. The 2012 will be there shortly.
For a distinct Lake County winery, the two Primitivos are not so different, after all.
