Category: Wine of the Week

A cool reserva from Alentejo

Published 29. April 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Outeiros Altos is an interesting project outside Estremoz. The Alentejo region may normally evoke pictures of vast plains of cork oaks, warm sun and sharp shadows. But located near the Serra d’Ossa range in the north of the Borba sub-region Outeiros Altos finds itself in a cool microclimate that gives a freshness to all their wines.

Fernanda Rodrigues and Jorge Cardoso is convinced that the organic approach is right. I was there last week in search of the wines made in clay, which they also make. And walking through the vineyards with them showed clearly that there is a thought behind everything.

This reserva is made from trincadeira (70%), alfrocheiro (20%) and aragonêz (10%), grown in schistous soils, picked by hand, and aged for a year in very lightly toasted French oak barrels. The wines are already certified organic, but in the future they will be labelled vegetarian and vegan friendly too.

Jorge and Fernanda, with “the next generation”

The label is almost extending round the whole bottle

Reserva Biológico 2013 (Outeiros Altos)

Deep red. Aroma of red fruites, blackberry, spices and a balsamic note of eucalyptus. On the palate it’s quite full, with mature tannins, concentrated fruit, a nice coolness, and a slight touch of vanilla.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

And I’ll take the (Spanish) high road…

Published 22. April 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Camino Alto means high road (or street) in Spanish. On the Toledo part of the Meseta, the high plains of central Spain, we find a winery by that name, a winery that is dedicated to organic cultivation. Though I’ve been in touch with them for a while I have not visited them yet, and I have tasted only one wine. But that wine was so much to my liking that I decided to feature it as this week’s wine.

(Yes, it’s been a lot to do lately, so I must come back with a little more text here too.)

Camino Alto Tempranillo 2015 (Camino Alto)

Dark red with youngish blue hue. Aromas of violets, blueberries and … Quite concentrated, with a nice dryness from the young tannins, and an appropriate acidity.

Price: Low

Food: Goes well with Spanish tapas, from cured hams to cheeses and vegetables, anchovies and more

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Wine of the Week

From southern Alentejo

Published 16. April 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I’m on a mission. And I’m in Alentejo, the apparently flat and harsh (I didn’t say dull) Portuguese region that is the world’s biggest resource of cork oak. This is a modern red wine from the southern subregion of Vidigueira, maybe surprisingly a white stronghold in this area full of surprises.

Rocim 2012 (Herdade do Rocim)

Dark, deep red. Aroma of red fruits and deep forests, and a touch of eucalyptus, and with a sweet component too. Full on the palate, with young, round tannins and good length.

Price: Medium

Food: I had it with both roast mushrooms with garlic and olive oil and black pig with mashed apples. But any red meat or game would be near an ideal accompaniment

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Wine of the Week

A legendary cava

Published 8. April 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This is a xarel.lo based gran reserva from one of the three superior cava houses (in my opinion at least, and if you ask me I will reveal who the others are). Anyway, this is a classic, or a legend, one of several from Xavier Gramona and his team.

III Lustros 2006 (Gramona)

Concentrated aroma of bread, almonds, hazelnuts, and citrus (grapefruit and lime). Concentrated and fresh in the mouth, and not too much mousse. To sum up, to find a fresh cava with this age you should lift some stones…

Price: High

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Wine of the Week

Ulibarri txakolí

Published 1. April 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I tasted the Ulibarri again on a recent trip to Barcelona, in a Basque pintxo bar in the Gotic Quarter. The wine was a real revelation on a trip to the Basque country in January, when I actually visited Iker Ulibarri and brother Asier in their winery.

Iker Ulibarri wearing his typical ‘txapela’

The cellar is made of stone and is actually an extension of their home. In the backyard they have 2 hectares of hondarrabi zuri grapes. The soil contains clay, sand, slate and schist. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and aged on the lees with more than average of ‘batonnage’. It’s bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2 added, and it’s one of the few wines in this “difficult” coastal area that is both organically grown, and certified too.

Ulibarri Txakolí 2015 (Ulibarri Txakolina)

There is only a few bubbles here (as opposed to most txakolís, at least the traditional stereotype), but the typical acidity is indeed intact. It’s fresh and appealing, yet structured and persistent (and with age, more complex too), with notes of green apple, herbs.

Price: Medium

Food: Fish, shellfish, many type of cheeses…

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Wine of the Week

White from black earth

Published 25. March 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

With the designation Santo Spirito this wine must be said to be quite appropriate in the so-called Holy Week we are in. Now I don’t always see the importance of chosing themes and content according to the season (there is always a reason for chosing a specific wine anyway). So we hereby leave the religious aspect.

The 25-60 year old grapes are grown in volcanic soil in the eastern corner of Sicilia, north of Catania. They are mostly carricante (about 65%), but a “field blend” of several others like inzolia, catarratto and grecanico constitutes the rest. The wine is made quite naturally, with malolactic fermentation too, that contributes to its roundness.

Etna Bianco Santo Spirito 2014 (Tenuta delle Terre Nere)

Golden colour. The aroma is clearly tropical, with mango, apricot, cooked apple maybe, a bit lactic, and with a sensation of prolonged skin-contact. In the mouth it is unctuous, waxy, not very long and with moderate acidity. But nice drinking after all.

Price: Medium

Food: A full, round, and “tropical” wine, it was no big hit with yesterday’s varied cheese board. Next time I will try some Asian food, with some sweetness, maybe soy sauce. More safe suggestions would be fish and fowl, and why not a Sicilian style pasta dish with vegetables.

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Wine of the Week

Croatian fascination

Published 18. March 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

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Wine of the Week

Clos Espinous of Corbières

Published 11. March 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Rémi Jaillet, from a family of wine growers in Loire, is now one of the rising stars in Languedoc-Roussillon. The largest wine area here (almost half of the AOC production) is Corbières in the Aude département. Corbières is a varied area in terms of soil and climate, but it’s predominantly red wine land, and carignan is the most common grape variety.

Here Rémi has 7 hectars of vineyards that he tends organically. The Clos Espinous comes mostly from more than 80 year old carignan vines. This makes up for around 60% of the cuvée, while granache and syrah stand for the rest. The must underwent spontaneous fermentation, and the wine was matured for 9 months in used oak before release.

Clos Espinous 2014 (Rémi Jaillet)

Dark red with blueish hue. Quite concentrated, slightly earthy aroma with hints of mature dark berries (morellos, blackberry), and some spiciness. In the mouth it’s full, but refreshing too. Maybe a bit on the rustic side, and reductive at opening, so airing is recommended.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Bernabé’s Tragolargo

Published 4. March 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Rafa Bernabé makes highly original wines in the Alicante province of Spain, and -as I have showed in earlier posts such as this one– is a Spanish authority on the use of clay vessels in winemaking.

Made from the Mediterranean grape monastrell (mourvèdre). Spontaneous fermentation.

Tragolargo 2013 (Bernabé Navarro)

Dark, deep red. Dark fruits, blackcurrant, blackberry, garden flowers. Luscious, yeasty, fresh, nicely acid, and with a slightly “funky” natural wine aftertaste. The 14% of alcohol was barely noticed.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Poggio al Vento Riserva 2007

Published 26. February 2016 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

A recent tasting of Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino showed a great variety of styles, from the classic wines of Banfi, the structured Fonterenzas, the “wild” Il Paradiso di Manfredo, some top end, and some old…

This was one of the best, but definitely not the most expensive. Located by the Sant’Angelo hill in the extreme south of Montalcino, Col d’Orcia has delivered good value organic wines on the fruity side for many years now. This is a special reserve that originates in a special vineyard in a (as the name suggests) “windy ridge” overlooking the river Orcia.

Grapes from the different parts were kept separate, the alcoholic fermentation was carried out in stainless steel and the malolactic in concrete. Then followed four years in big oak barrels.

Poggio al Vento Riserva 2007 (Col d’Orcia)

Dark, deep colour with hints of development. Fruity, quite cool with cherries and morello, some spice and balsamic notes. Full, lots of soft tannins, a matching acidity, and a long and lightly spicy aftertaste. Delicious now and, for me, the next 5 years or so. Good airing recommended.

Price: High (not for a brunello riserva, but generally speaking)

Food: Wild boar and a lot more

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