Cuatro Pasos Rosé, Martín Códax 2025 75cl

Cuatro Pasos is Martín Códax's project in Bierzo, well east of their Galician heartland, and this rosado is built entirely from Mencía — the local red grape that gives the wine its distinctive floral, faintly spicy character. Not your standard pale Provence lookalike.

Bierzo sits in the hills of Castilla y León, and the fruit for this comes from the valley's freshest vineyards on clay and mineral soils around Otero and Villadecanes. The grapes get a short skin contact — around 18 hours — before being pressed and fermented cool in stainless steel, which locks in Mencía's aromatics and keeps the wine bright.

In the glass it is a pretty, pale salmon. The nose has real intensity for the price — floral and fruity, with a note of exotic fruit and a mineral edge. The palate follows through: fruit-forward and expressive, well balanced, with a gentle spiced lift on a surprisingly long finish. There is a little more personality here than most rosés at this level, which is what happens when you use an interesting grape instead of a workhorse.

This is easy summer drinking — the picnic bottle, the first-glass-in-the-garden bottle. At under £13 it is honest, cheerful value, and the sort of thing worth buying by the case when the weather turns.

How to Serve

Serve well chilled, 7–10°C, in a white-wine glass. Drink it young and fresh — this is not a wine to keep.

Where to Drink It

The Wolseley for an aperitif. Dandy on Maltby Street for a sunny afternoon glass. Planque in Haggerston for something low-key and good.

Food Pairings

Grilled prawns or a plate of charcuterie both work a treat. It is also a friendly match for lighter tapas — patatas bravas, tortilla, a bowl of olives.