🇪🇸 Barcolobo Lacrimae Rerum Rosé 2022 (VT Castilla y León)

This is rosé with a plot twist: Tempranillo, bled off the red must, then sent straight into French oak like it owns the place. From a winery inside a protected Duero river nature reserve, because apparently drama is part of the terroir.

Wine Description

Lacrimae Rerum Rosé 2022 is Bodegas Barcolobo’s barrel-made rosé from Castronuño, in VT Castilla y León, sitting inside the Reserva Natural Riberas de Castronuño-Vega del Duero. It’s 100% Tempranillo, made by “sangrado” (saignée), which is the fancy way of saying the winery steals the first, prettiest juice from the red must and turns it into something dangerously drinkable. 

The winemaking is the flex. That saignée juice ferments in French oak barrels at low temperature with indigenous yeasts, and then it stays in French oak for extra polish. If you usually think rosé is all pool floats and zero depth, this bottle is here to correct you, gently, and then a little smugly. 

Vine-to-Table: Meet the Winemaker

Ramiro Carbajo is the winemaker linked to Barcolobo, and he’s been credited with shaping the house style at a winery built in the middle of a protected Duero landscape. The interesting detail is the context: this is not a “tasting-room brand,” it’s a serious finca project (founded in 2001) that chose a nature reserve as its home address, which tells you exactly how committed they are to doing things their way. 

The Vibe 

A rosé that shows up overdressed and somehow pulls it off. It’s Spain, it’s Tempranillo, it’s oak, and it’s giving “I can do brunch, but I can also do candles and a real conversation.”

What it tastes like 

Ripe strawberry and raspberry energy with a subtle spice note (clove shows up in producer notes), then a rounder, silkier finish than you’d expect from a pink wine. The oak is not here to shout “vanilla,” it’s here to smooth edges and add texture. 

Pairing + When to drink it

This is for nights when you want rosé but you also want substance. Think grilled salmon, roast chicken, or anything with smoky paprika or a little char, because the wine’s texture can handle more than salads and vibes. Also, if you’re doing tapas with jamón and something warm off the plancha, you just found your “one bottle for the table.” 

Quick Specs 

• Producer: Bodegas Barcolobo

• Winemaker: Ramiro Carbajo

• Region/Appellation: Castronuño, VT Castilla y León (Spain)

• Grapes: Tempranillo (100%) 

• Vintage: 2022

• Winemaking/Aging: Saignée (“sangrado”) juice fermented in French oak barrels at low temperature with indigenous yeasts; aged in French oak (producer notes: 3 months) 

• ABV: 12.5% 

FAQs 

Q: Why is Barcolobo’s Lacrimae Rerum made by “sangrado” (saignée), and what does that change?
A: Barcolobo makes it from the “first bleeding” of Tempranillo must, which concentrates the remaining red wine and gives the rosé a naturally intense, characterful base. It’s not a flavored-water rosé, it starts life as serious red-wine raw material. 

Q: What’s unusual about the location of Bodegas Barcolobo in Castronuño?
A: The winery sits inside the Reserva Natural Riberas de Castronuño-Vega del Duero, a protected area tied to the Duero river ecosystem. That setting is part of the identity of the finca, not just a pretty marketing line. 

Q: What does “Lacrimae Rerum” actually mean, and why is that name so extra?
A: “Lacrimae rerum” is a famous Virgil line from the Aeneid (Book 1, line 462), often translated as “the tears of things,” capturing the idea that suffering is baked into human experience. Naming a rosé that is barrel-fermented and unusually serious after a Latin gut-punch is, honestly, on brand. 

Q: How does Barcolobo ferment this rosé, and why does that matter in the glass?
A: The 2022 ferments in French oak barrels at low temperature using indigenous yeasts, which is a very deliberate choice for texture and aromatic nuance. It’s one reason the wine reads more “silky and layered” than typical straight-to-steel rosado.

Q: What’s the altitude and soil context for the Lacrimae Rerum vineyard?
A: The vineyard is reported at about 705 meters elevation, with sandy-loam soils and quartz pebbles, which helps explain the balance between ripeness and freshness in this warm-zone part of inland Spain. It’s also from older vines (noted as 35+ years in one retail technical description).