Category: Wine of the Week

Ponce by Ponce

Published 7. July 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Just back from Bobal country I look back on the best wines during the week. In Manchuela I was welcomed by Juan Antonio Ponce in Villanueva de la Jara (province of Cuenca) a real master of the art.

Bodegas Ponce makes super-elegant and drinkable wines with a very light extraction. Juan Antonio uses only big old wooden containers, whole cluster, and the presence of oak in the wines is zero. He also has a good hand with other varieties such as monastrell that he also makes in a surprisingly elegant style.

The self-titled wine is one of the latest additions to the portfolio of the house, first made as a tribute to the first 15 years of Ponce’s project. It has in short time become something of a prestige wine, and as such maybe surprisingly only 85% bobal, while the rest is moravia agria.

The two varieties ferment separately with native yeasts in wooden vats and with a short maceration. The wine ages for 17 months in large in 600-litre French oak barrels. It’s bottled without filtering or clarifying.

Ponce 2020 (Bodegas Ponce)

Cherry red. Red and black fruits, herbs, a touch of smoke. Medium-bodied, concentrated flavours, mineral and long. Elegant.

Price: Medium/high

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Wine of the Week

When in Arribes

Published 30. June 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I am in Fermoselle, a lovely village in Zamora province, Castilla y León. This is the heartland of Arribes del Duero, an exciting wine district bordering Portugal. One of the leading small, terroir-focused wineries is El Hato y el Garabato, José Manuel Beneitez López and his wife Liliana Fernández Pérez. The restaurant of my hotel, Posada Doña Urraca, has plenty of good local wines, and my choice is their Sin Blanca.

José and Liliana work with very old vineyards, between 80 and 120 years old, planted in bush style. These are all managed organically, out of conviction and because the structure of the vines, their age and the weather will protect them. In total they work 8 hectares divided into more than 20 plots.

Arribes is a small territory with only 272 hectares. Still the soils are diverse. El Hato y el Garabato take advantage of this as they have vineyards in clayey soils near the river, granite on the plains and schist and slate in the canyon – with altitudes ranging from 300 to almost 800 meters.

Sin Blanca (meaning: broke) is made from the oldest vines in which all the varieties in the vineyard are included. Juan garcía usually counts for 80% accompanied by bruñal (alfrocheiro in Portuguese), bastardillo (also known as bastardo, merenzao and trousseau) and rufete. It spent 9 months in French oak. Like all their wines it’s not filtered nor clarified, and the sulfuring is very low.

Sin Blanca 2017 (El Hato y el Garabato)

Dark cherry red. Red and dark fruits (cherry, blackberry), plum, herbs, stony minerals. Good volume, with an earthy touch and fruit all the way.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Generous Godello

Published 23. June 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

What started in the old synagogue of Ponferrada in the 1940’s is now carried on by 3rd generation. Manuel Benito Otero runs the family business with his wife Merche and their daughters Encina and Marina, whose initial syllables gave the winery its name. It was in 2013 that the need to have production facilities near the vineyards made them move to the beautiful village of Molinaseca outside Ponferrada.

The Otero family’s vines are planted between an altitude of 600 and 650 m in soils with a mix of slate and clay. The 10 hectares of vineyards, with up to 120 years old vines, are all worked completely organic.

Un Botón is a village wine in the Bierzo classification hierarchy, from Ponferrada. It’s made from 100% godello, dry-farmed in aluvial soils. The grapes are destemmed and cold-macerated cold for a few hours (by dry ice). Then goes into a pneumatic press. Once the fermentation with yeasts has started, the must is racked into oak barrels and foudres and a small stainless steel tank where it ferments at controlled temperatures. The wine remains in contact with its lees, with batônnage, for a minimum of 6 months.

Para Muestra Un Botón Godello 2019 (Encima Wines)

Yellow colour. Aroma of yellow tomatoes, hints of lemon, stony minerality. Full in the mouth, glyceric, creamy, with integrated acidity. It’s not oaky; the wood in a way enhances the fruitiness.

Price: Medium

Food: Light meat, cheese, rice dishes, fish and shellfish. Best served at room temperature.

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Wine of the Week

Charming Ribera

Published 16. June 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

El Holgazán is a charming wine from the highlands of Ribera del Duero. With 7 months of oak it would have qualified for the “roble” category. But traditional oakiness is not Marta Castrillo and Cesar Maté’s objective, and the oak is used for a controlled microoxidation, thus adding complexity to the finished wine.

The wine originates from a vineyard in Tubilla del Lago (Burgos province) at 920. It’s a varietal tnto fino (tempranillo), hand-harvested from a special plot of 25 year old vines called “El Holgazán” (the lazybones), that sits on clay/limestone soils.

The grapes are carefully selected by hand before the pumping process. The best quality grapes are crushed naturally by gravity and fermented in conical tanks to concentrate the natural flavours. The malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels of various ages and sizes. The juice is kept on the skins for about 8 days, then after fermentation is complete the wine is aged in oak and concrete.

El Holgazán 2019 (Bod. Marta Maté)

Deep cherry with purple tinges. Intense aromas and flavours of dark and red fruits (blackberry, cherry, raspberry), with licorice and a mineral touch. Medium-bodied, with velvety tannins, a nicely fresh yet integrated acidity and a quite long fruity finish. Nothing in excess, everything in harmony.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Guillot’s natural Mâconnais

Published 9. June 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Clos des Vignes du Mayne in the Mâconnais (southern Bourgogne) has been owned by the Guillot family since 1952. The land has been used for farming for more thousand years, and no chemical products have ever been used. Now Julien Guillot makes the wines in the most natural way possible, and according to a biodynamic philosophy.

The Bourgogne Rouge Les Crays comes from a small plot of vines aged around 40 years old in calcareous soil. Certified by Demeter, Guillot uses natural treatments and preparations. The harvest is manual and the grapes are selected in the vineyard itself.

The pinot noir grapes are macerated in whole bunches for about 8 days. Following spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, the wine ages in wooden barrels for 12 months. It is finally bottled without being filtered, clarified or any sulphur added.

Bourgogne Rouge Les Crays 2020 (Julien Guillot/ Clos des Vignes du Maynes)

Cherry red. Dark and red fruits (dark cherry, raspberry), tart plum and tea against a mineral background, and a hint of acetone. Good volume, meaty, lovely texture and good length.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Águila of La Aguilera

Published 2. June 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Dominio del Águila, in the village La Aguilera, was founded in 2010 by Jorge Monzón and Isabel Rodero. Here, in the Burgos part of Ribera del Duero, they cultivate 30 hectares of vineyards, all organically.

Pícaro del Águila is made with vines between 35-60 years old, on sandy-clay soil, 900 metres above sea level in a north-facing vineyard. The main variety here is tempranillo with some albillo, bobal and garnacha. These varieties are co-fermented whole bunches in concrete lagares and aged in French oak. This is a nod to the past; a wine made with a blend, with a good balance between the fruit and wood and a vibrant acidity.

Pícaro del Águila 2020 (Dominio del Águila)

Ruby red. Expressive aroma of dark and red berries (blackberry, cherry), autumn leaves and spices. It’s in a way powerful, but the tannins are soft and rounded,, there are ripe fruits, and a fresh lingering acidity.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Palmirinha’s Azal

Published 26. May 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Here is a rarity, an azal monovarietal. Fernando Paiva runs his Quinta da Palmirinha in Amarante, Vinho Verde. He is a pioneer of biodynamic farming in Portugal and also of using chestnut flowers in the fermentation so as to avoid addition of sulphur. (Fernando has many times been featured in this blog, such as here.)

The soil consists of clay, shale and silt. The age of the vines are approximately 30 years. The pressing was carried out with whole clusters for 2.5 hours. Fermentation spontaneously with bâtonage, and with chestnut flowers without the temperature exceeding 18 degrees. The ageing was in stainless steel, in contact with lees. Unfiltered.

Note that it’s not labeled as a Vinho Verde. The DOC’s in Portugal tend to be conservative (of what, you might ask) So this is a “Product of Portugal”.

Azal 2021 (Quinta da Palmirinha)

Light yellow. It’s fresh and aromatic, with white flowers, apple and lemon. It has a vibrant acidity, but abundant supple fruit wrapped around it, good concentration, long.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Croatian fascination

Published 19. May 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

As it draws closer to summer I have tested some rosés. Here is one with a strong personality, and indeed a gastronomic wine that’s not restricted to be enjoyed on beaches and balconies.

The Roxanich winery has been a favourite after several fairs for natural wine, most recently at London’s Rawfair, where I took this picture of Mladen Rožanić.

It was created as a hommage to the Adriatic resort of Portorose, to smell like the freshly cut roses in its chic gardens. Now it has, in the words of the producer, “matured into a wine that can be enjoyed year-round for a refreshing reminder of summer”.

It’s made from the indigenous grape varieties borgonja istriana and teran in western Istria. The vineyard has an elevation of 167-188 m and the facing is more or less south. The must was macerated with only 1-2 hours of skin contact. The malolactic fermentation was completed; and the wine was bottled without filtration.

Portorose 2021 (Roxanich)

Dark rosé with a peach coloured tone. Aroma of sweet fruits (melon, ripe raspberry), roses, herbs, onions, earth. Vivid, tasty, with a light tannic grip, slightly sweet nuances and a fresh acidity to balance.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Caparsa’s Chianti Classico

Published 12. May 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Caparsa is run by Paolo Cianferoni and his family since 1982. Paolo started in 1999 a renovation process. The estate now covers 11 hectares of vineyards in Radda in Chianti, all certified organic and worked biodynamically.

Paolo believes in acidity as a key factor for quality and the wine’s ability to age. In his interpretation of tradition, wine is complementary to food. To achieve the best balance he is a strong believer of cement vats, to avoid oakiness in the wine.

According to Paolo’s philosophy, healthiness means quality. “It’s the territory that gives originality to all [our] products”, he says, “flora, fauna, insects, fungal, microorganisms, soils, weather conditions, fields exposure, together with the workers and [ourselves]’, all of this make the wine unique”.

Chianti Classico was first bottled in the 2016 vintage. It is made from 100% sangiovese of 60 year old vines. The grapes are spontaneously fermented. The wine spent two years in cement and has been just lightly filtered.

Chianti Classico 2019 (Caparsa)

Ruby red. Red fruits (cherry), wild berries, autumn leaves and earth. Bold and textured (a slight dryness from the clay), medium-bodied, layered, good acidity, quite long.

Price: Medium

Best cellared a few years or paired with roasts and other tasty meat (and rich sauces)

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Wine of the Week

Muller-Koeberle at Vinmonopolet’s tasting

Published 5. May 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Muller-Koeberle of Alsace was one of the big revelations at Vinmonopolet’s tasting of new listings and vintages last week. Martin Paulsen of importer Autentico Wines presented two wines from this producer. Here we chose the Symbiose as the Wine of the Week, but the other, Schlossreben, a blend of six grapes, was equally good.

David and Marianne Koeberle took over the family’s 27 hectares of vineyards in the village of Saint Hippolyte in 2005. They converted early on to organic and biodynamic practises. The latest years they have taken further measures too meet the strict demands of the Vin Méthode Nature (see article about certification of natural wines here).

Symbiose comes from a single vineyard co-planted on granite soil, surrounded by trees and forests and vegetation. Saint-Hippolyte is located at the foot of Haut Koenigsbourg and is a typical wine-producing village, particularly famous for Rouge de Saint Hippolyte (pinot noir) with its own appellation. The best vineyards are located at 250-400m above sea level on the slopes towards the Vosges in the west.

Here one hectare of the various grapes is co-planted. The grapes were hand-harvested and co-fermented with 6 days of skin-contact before pressing, matured for 6 months on lees before bottling without filtration.

The grape varieties are pinot gris 20%, riesling 20%, pinot blanc 15%, auxerrois 15%, muscat frontignan 15%, gewürztraminer 15%.

Symbiose 2021 (Muller-Koeberle)

Light amber with a red hue, somewhat cloudy. Aroma of reaches, flowers, citrus and aromatic herbs. Good volume and concentration, long.

Price: Medium

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