SAUSKA | Rosé | Villány | 2021
blaufränkisch | syrah | merlot

We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.

Today we are going to review a genuine rosé wine from one of our favourite wine growing areas – the famous Villány region in the south of Hungary – Rosé Villányi 2021 by Sauska. This wine is a blend of three red grape varieties blaufränkisch (known as kékfrankos in Hungary), syrah and merlot, sourced from the young plantations of the Siklós vineyard. Rosé itself is a bizarre wine category, as it isn’t exactly a red wine nor is it a white wine – it is something in between. The secret to the pinkish hue of the rosé wine is found in the skins of the grapes and more exactly in the anthocyanin pigments. When making a red wine, the skins spend the entire fermentation touching the juice, for rosé however the process is shortened, for example pinot noir usually spends around 4 to 6 hours on the skins to produce its trademark pale salmon hue, while cabernet sauvignon needs only a few minutes to make that rich, deep-pink color. This rosé wine has been vinified in a protective style, with cold-pressing of the berries and fermented in stainless steel tanks at low temperatures, with cold-resistant yeasts. In order to preserve the varietal characteristics of the grapes and to maximize the vibrancy of the fruit, the wine has been aged for 3 months only in stainless steel tanks. That said, without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
_________________________________________________________________________
Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: pale peach color
clarity: clear salmon hues

//Olfactory
intensity: pronounced & earthy
fruit profile: red fruits
__red fruits: cranberry | redcurrant | pink grapefruit | sicilia orange
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | earth
__floral: hints of cherry blossom
__earth: clay | loam | dust | marl | pumpkin | rhubarb | sweet potato
primary layer: fruity-earthy

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: medium+
alcohol: medium
tannin: low
__grip: soft
balance: good
__dominant: none
body: supple | medium

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits & citrus
fruit character: ripe & underripe
non fruit: earth
finish: medium+
aftertaste: appealingly-crisp

//Scoring
SAUSKA | Rosé | Villány | 2021
variety: blaufränkisch | syrah | merlot
country: Hungary
region: Villány
rating: 93.0

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | drink now
verdict: great | a must try wine
_________________________________________________________________________
This is definitely a great wine of Hungary and, with a total of 93.0 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a quite crisp, delicate and very appealing rosé wine, with a refreshing and round palate and a fruity-earthy nose. The wine is right there, at the peak of its form, as it is not designed for long term ageing, therefore we would suggest to drink it today rather than tomorrow, preferably within a year. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of ripe red fruits, citrus and some nuanced earthy notes in the foreground, supported by subtle floral hints in the background. On the palate the wine delivers crisp acidity and a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves into an appealingly-crisp aftertaste. All in all, this is an ample, supple and lean rosé wine, with some hints of elegance – this is not your regular, fruity-explosive rosé, as this wine is vinified in a more rustic and delicate style. Judging by the wine’s structure and its flavour profile, we believe it will pair nicely with seafood dishes, like for example an oven baked salmon or a seared Ahi Tuna steak. Cheers!

_________________________________________________________________________
© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.