To anyone who has ever thought of Rosé as unserious, a challenge awaits you at Tira Nanza. Forgoing the popular option of Monterey County’s ubiquitous Pinot Noir, cofounder and winemaker Greg Hill has decided to blend half Carmel Valley estate-grown Malbec with half Anderson Valley-grown fruit from Mendocino for their 2024 Rosé. The result is a cool, summery wine bursting with flavor with the structure of a deeper red wine.
Hill employs an Old World style for finishing this Rosé. Because of Malbec’s structure, he aims for slightly higher acidity and medium levels of alcohol. This means a bottle like this is good for not just sunny beach days, but excellent for pairing with a wide range of food from salted fish to al pastor tacos.
Sydney Hill, cofounder and wife of Greg, explains that the lightest setting must be used on the press when this wine is made. “It just wants to give you color,” adds tasting room manager Ari Jimenez about the Malbec varietal. And it does – the appearance is pink moving towards a pale copper.
Malbec, being thicker in skin, lends a suggestion of tannin while maintaining a cool and refreshing sorbet note. But instead of melting away, the silky finish dryly coats the palate, reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. It’s that dryness that makes this wine approachable even for the steadfast Cabernet Sauvignon drinker. Subtle notes of strawberry are on the nose, along with very light mint.
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