O Rosal (O ro-SALL) is a subzone of the Rías Baixas wine appellation located on the border with Portugal in the extreme southwest of Rías Baixas. It’s the DO’s third founding subzone, and also comes in third place in number of wineries and volume of production, with 540 hectares of vines.
A Rosal by Any Other Name...
If you speak Spanish, you might be asking yourself if there are a lot of roses here. That’s because rosal means “rosebush” in Spanish. But as it turns out, O Rosal has nothing to do with flowers. There are a handful of different local theories about the origin of the name. One of them comes from the custom of planting roses at the end of a row of vines to detect diseases, and another is that the valley was once home to beautiful rosebushes.
In fact there’s only one right answer. “Rosal” comes from a word derived from the Latin ruptiare or “to break,” in the sense of adjusting a land for cultivation. Anyone who visits the valley of O Rosal will see the sheer number of plants there (including roses), so it makes sense that the place was named for the action of clearing the land.
A Little Geography
O Rosal is located at the southwestern tip of Galicia, where the Miño river completes its long journey and empties into the sea.
From atop the hill overlooking the village of A Guarda, the ancient settlement of Santa Trega has a commanding view of the river’s mouth, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the village of Caminha in Portugal to the south.
Rosal’s vines are planted on gentle inclines near the right bank of the Miño river, and the river plays an important role in soil composition and climate. Rosal has its own microclimate formed by the double influence of the Miño and the Atlantic Ocean. Generally, vines are planted with a southern orientation which allows for plenty of sun in summer, and makes for earlier maturation than other subzones of the Rías Baixas.
O Rosal's Soils
O Rosal’s bedrock is similar to the rest of Rías Baixas, made of decomposed granite to the northeast and northwest of the subzone. There are alluvial soils on the banks of the Miño river, and in the central area the subzone is bisected by the Malpica-Tui band, a stripe running north to south made of rocks like gneisses or schists that geologists believe to be fragments of oceanic crust.
Rosal Stats
O Rosal is third in Albariño grape production with 8% of the total for Rías Baixas. This subzone also produces good amounts of other grapes, with over half of Rías Baixas’ Godello, nearly three quarters of its Loureira and almost all its Caíño Branco. Sensitive varieties like Loureira develop especially well in Rosal’s more moderate microclimate.
Wine labeled as Rías Baixas Rosal is a multi-varietal wine made from a minimum of 70% Albariño and Loureira, with each winery free to choose the proportions of these two. The other 30% must be made up of other white grapes allowed within Rías Baixas.
Wines from O Rosal
Wineries in O Rosal make both red and white wines, but the subzone is famous for its white wines, usually made from a blend of Albariño and Loureiro.
White wines from Rosal are Atlantic in character like their counterparts in the Val do Salnés. The addition of Loureira to the mix adds a fruity touch to the wines, and cuts the acidity of albariño. Rosal’s wines tend to be very aromatic and floral, with citrus aromas of grapefruit, lemon peel, and lime as well as some vegetal notes like grass and bell pepper.
Want to know more? Dive deeper into Rías Baixas’ subzones.
Next: Soutomaior