Look, it’s been HOT AS __ around here and as much as we love our big Cabs, they won’t satiate our needs for something refreshing. But THIS hits all the right notes. We all need more rosé in our lives, especially with warm, sunny poolside lounging, toes-in-sand, cornhole tossing, bocce ballin’ days ahead.

Enter Pink Rioja!

We landed more of this 91 POINT treat from the one and only CVNE. It’s got the zing of fresh Viura with the red fruits and depth coming from Tempranillo and Garnacha. This is dead serious thirst-quenching Rosé at an unbeatable price.

Wine Spectator raves “CVNE has refused to go to extremes, instead taking a measured approach to the struggle between tradition and innovation.” having crowned them with the “#1 Wine of the Year” award in 2013 for the “ability to balance past and future in such delicious harmony.”

And that can be found in this Rosé too.

A recent visit there by Antonio Galloni’s Vinous saw “One of Rioja’s most well-known, oldest, and largest bodegas, CVNE was founded in 1879 in Haro. Today the property owns over 500 hectares of vines. Over the past decade the quality of these traditionally made wines has been on a steady rise. Today I would count CVNE among the region’s top producers, up and down the range…” describing this wine as “Light, brilliant pink. Peach, strawberry and melon on the nose and palate. Fleshy and seamless in texture, showing good weight and a hint of peach on the lingering finish.”

Strawberry? Watermelon? Strawberry-watermelon?? We can’t decide which one pops more but honest-to-goodness, this is very, VERY crushable!

Once you load up for the warm months ahead, be sure to check out “10 Things every wine lover should know about CVNE” here.

¡Salud!

91 Points – James Suckling

“Pale rose-gold color with aromas of apples, peaches, grapefruit rind, seashells, and rose water. Medium-bodied with bright acidity and a sleek texture. Very fresh and refined. Drink now.”