This is a Ribera rosé with lots of character, from a classic winery that is steadily improving, or should we say: modernizing. This wine however has an inspiration from the rosés from earlier times. This can also be seen in the name and the label, porrón being the traditional drinking vessel.
It’s made from predominantly tempranillo (a small part is a historic field-blend). The grapes grow in east-facing plots at an altitude of 800-900 metres. The climate is continental with mediterranean features.
The cultivation is organic with biodynamic methods (Demeter certified). The grapes for this wine are harvested twice, the first one for freshness and the second -also relatively early- for more body. The first harvest undergoes a pre-fermentation maceration for 5 days, the second for 8 days. After a separate malolactic fermentation, the two wines are blended in February and continue their journey together in old barrels and concrete vats where they rest for 11 months. The wine is bottled without filtering, clarification nor addition of sulphur.
El Porrón de Lara 2021(Peñalba López)
Garnet red. Fresh aroma, ripe red fruits (blueberry, cherry), flowers, earth, a balsamic note. Medium-bodied, juicy and savoury, silky tannins, red berries fruit, good concentration, mineral. Improves with air.
Carlos Sánchez has a background from Sierra de Gredos (4 Monos). But he had early on fallen in love with the Sonsierra area of Rioja. And here he is. Since 2019 he has used the facilities of the former cooperative in Labastida.
This is a wine from a single plot (0,3 ha.) in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, on 100% garnacha. It’s spontaneously fermented with a high percentage of whole bunches, and kept in large oak barrels. Not clarified nor filtered. A modest production of 1.700 bottles.
Buradón Las Plegarias 2020(Carlos Sánchez)
Cherry red. Good ripe fruit, red plums, cherry, some strawberry, and a layer of dried herbs and lavender. Good volume, soft and fleshy, fine tannins, integrated acidity. It’s rooted in its landscape, yet has a noble air to it. Really good.
Last evening in Madrid: I haven’t been to the Asturianos restaurant since many years, when I had a tasting of Gredos wines with Belarmino Fernández. Belarmino’s family runs this restaurant in the Chamberí neighbourhood, and he is also in charge of Bodegas Canopy in Méntrida (Toledo province, at the foot of the Gredos mountains) together with his friend Alfonso Chacón.
I had celebrated and good wines like Esporão Reserva Branco 2021 (Alentejo) and Predicador 2020 (B. Romeo, Rioja), of which the restaurant is a distributor, and also Canopy’s varietal syrah Malpaso 2021. Still, when sommelier José Antonio offered me a tasting of their garnachas, this was unquestionably the highlight of the evening.
Belarfonso is put together from the names of the two owners of the bodega. The wine’s origin is in El Real de San Vicente where old garnacha grows in granite soil. It underwent a pre-fermentative cold fermentation, before a malalactic in oak, and spent a short time in French barrels of 500 and 700 liters.
Castillo de Belarfonso 2019(Bodegas Canopy)
Garnet red. Cherry, herbs, scrubland and a typical ethereal note. Fresh in the mouth, well-integrated tannins, some earth and a hint of coffee and black pepper.
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.
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.
Gota is a relatively new wine bar in Madrid, in the Chueca district. It’s quite hidden, with no signposts. You simply have to know where it is and look for the doorbell, that is the only place you can find the name. I popped in a couple of hours ago. I have booked my first visit to Les Mouvais Garçons, a few blocks away, tonight. But the talk of the town said that I should pay Gota a visit, so there was no time left, as I leave tomorrow.
Manager is Fede Graciano from Argentina. He opened Acid Café near Atocha some years ago, which is recommended for coffee freaks, and Acid Bakehouse (I think it was later). Nahuel is his sommelier, when he’s not making his own natural wine in El Tiemblo, Gredos.
At Gota they specialize in natural wines and homemade kombuchas. They offer a sharing menu that works well with their wine list. They specialize in music of various types, that can be as “acid” as the wines and reflecting the name of the original bar. But don’t think of it as a noisy place, it’s a haven, relaxed and perfect for wine lovers who want to disconnect after a hard day at work.
I had two wines at this first try.
Verbena 2022(Uva de Vida), a pét nat from Santa Olalla in the Toledo province, based on graciano and tempranillo made with direct press, malolactic, three months on lees and no additions.
Ruby red, with bubbles. Smells of cherries and flowers. Rounded in the mouth, no sharp acidity, but still fresh and saline. The wine is simple, but Herbie Hancock’s music is complex, says Nahuel, referring to what plays in the background.
1301 2021(Samuel Párraga), an orange wine vijiriega from the Málaga province partly made under flor.
Amber colour. On the nose, oxidized notes, like almonds and nuts, and flowers. Full and savoury, with a salty finish.
The pét nat went with an oyster, and the orange wine with rugbrød (I recognized the Norwegian/Danish spelling there), sourdough bread with butter and anchovies.
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.
Raw Wine is ever expanding and has finally come to Scandinavia. Last Sunday some 180 artisans from all over the world was gathered in the conference center The Plant in Amager Øst, Copenhagen. There were three seminars, of which I participated in one (about wines from Castilla y León, read a note here). In the days leading up to the festival there were also tastings and other events collected under #rawwineweek, of which I also participated in the biggest of the additional tastings (see a report from Café Josephine here).
With 180 producers it’s obvious that I couldn’t taste everything. This time I rambled around with no special plan, except I wanted to talk to some that I didn’t know before, some that I knew a little, and of course say hello to some good friends.
My readers might not know that I have a history in Peru. But I have, and my daughter is half Peruvian. Some years ago I visited the region of Ica. It was exciting to know that there is now a natural wine producer right in the desert. The people of Peru knows that it’s their country, not neighbouring Chile, that is the cradle of pisco. The old harbour of Pisco is located right there, only 75 kilometers from Ica, and both are located south of Lima.
Pepe Moquillaza is also a pisco maker and has done a great job recuperating quebranta grapes for pisco production. Now he is rescuing Peruvian clay vessels (also called piscos, or botijas) for natural wine making. In Copenhagen I tasted two of his maritime desert wines. The first one was Mimo Italia Quebranta 2020 (italia, local name for moscatel de alejandría, and quebranta in equal proportions), organically and biodynamically farmed, with two years of skin-contact, not sulphured, aged in old oak, unfined and unfiltered. It’s a light amber coloured wine with good volume, a grapey character and also good acidity. Albita de Ihuanco 2019 is a blend of albilla (local name for palomino) and italia. It combines the minerality of albilla with the flowery scent of moscatel. It’s yellow in colour, and has good volume in the mouth, with some tannin and a lot of fruit. Like the previous wine it has almost zero sugar and a moderate 12% alcohol. The length of the skin-contact is here two months.
Lanfranco Fossà was there on behalf of Davide Spillare, who lends his name to the labels. I met them both when I visited the important village of Gambellara in Veneto five years ago, and it was nice to catch up. (Here you can read about that visit, with more background.) The wines are fresh and lively, and quite light in body. As if some extra freshness is needed, the L1 Frizzante 2021 sparkler has a small percentage of durella to give an extra boost. Bianco Rugoli 2016 comes from an 85 year old vineyard with volcanic soil, with bushes trained in pergola. The nose is complex with mature apples, wax and aromatic herbs, good acidity and a salty mineral finish.
Bianka Schmitt and her VooDoo Doll
A relatively new discovery is Bianka und Daniel Schmitt of Rheinhessen. During the last couple of years I have tasted several impressive wines, from the entry-level 1 litre bottles of Frei. Körper. Kultur. and upwards. It was then lovely to be able to meet Bianka in Copenhagen. These wines are fresh, tasty and truly inspiring. Here we tasted rieslings, like the flowery, red appley, quince and honey scented Riesling M 2018 and the flor-aged Voodoo Doll 2020. There’s no evil behind the appropriate black label; it is floral on the nose, with almonds, herbs and a touch of tropical fruit. Of the reds I will mention two; first the elegant Spätburgunder2018, with its generous raspberry, complemented with flowers, green peppers and an interesting hint of coffee. Kékfrankos is the Hungarian name for blaufränkisch, that the Schmitt family brought over from there. Now in its 2021 vintage it’s medium-bodied and in a way light, but it’s also wonderfully complex, smells of blueberry, morello, herbs and a touch of coffee, it’s luscious in the mouth with soft tannins, an agreeable acidity and a pleasant bitterness in the finish.
Philippe Lancelot is a natural wine classic within Champagne. The estate was created by his parents who both inherited some vineyards, then bought new ones together. Philippe had introduced biodynamic practise for all vineyards by 2012. He wants to express the individuality of each cru and village, almost always completely dry and in most cases without any added sulphur. He showed five magnificent wines, among them Le Fond du Bâteau 2018, from the lieu-dit (named vineyard) of the same name in the surroundings of Choully, a grand cru village in Côte des Blancs. 100% chardonnay, no dosageand zero added sulphites. Light golden, aroma of green apples, citrus, chalk and brioche, concentrated, mineral, long, pure. The oldest wine he presented was Les Bas des Saran 2014, also pure chardonnay, with no additions. This one comes from four lieux-dits in the grand cru villages, among them Cramant (his home village). It’s vinified in oak barrels and vats, and spent 5 years in the cellars before launch. It has a discreet floral nose, more expressive citrus, brioche, in the mouth it has a dry and tense attack but develops both creamy and fruity.
Château Meylet is another natural wine venture from a classic place. They are also biodynamic since 1987. David Favard runs the family estate, that due to its location in St. Emilion has a high percentage of merlot plants, but also cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and petit verdot. Cuvée Baiser d’Ange 2021 is an interesting orange wine from semillon, made with 15 days skin-contact in amphora. Yellow colour, rich with a sweetish sensation. Château Meylet 2019 showed that the reds have some oakiness at an early stage. Luckily there are aged wines then. The 2003, made by David’s father, has stood the test of time. Red with brick rim; red and dark fruits, some tobacco and spice; fine tannins and well-balanced, a raisiny touch also.
Mas de la Lune is located in the Agly valley, Côtes du Roussillon. In schist and granite soils grow varieties also known from the Spanish side, all of them 70-90 years old. Vanessa Courtay showed me a handful of wines in several colours. I am not sure which vintage I tasted of Le Second Souffle; I think it might be 2022, although it then would barely have the time to stay the 9 months with skin-contact that Vanessa told me it had. Anyway it had also little colour for that amount of time. It’s made of macabeu and tastes of wax, flowers and yellow apples, with a structure that more than the colour tells about the prolonged time on skins.
I will soon go on a trip to Bobal country in mid-south-east Spain. A perfect introduction was then to visit the table of Altolandon, from the Cuenca part of DO Manchuela. The property lies up to 1.100 meters, that makes a slow maturation and a fresh acidity possible. Carmen Sebastián and winemaker Rosalía Molina showed me several wines as proof of this. Milhistorias Bobal 2020 has a bright red-blueish colour; red and black fruits on the nose with flowers and herbs; it’s fresh and fruity, very much alive and with a super acidity.
When I was about to call it a day and leave I stumbled upon Nacho León of Demencia Wine. He is located in Villafranca del Bierzo, and the name points to mencía, the most important grape in the area. The wines come in an expressive style, with good fruit and firm tannins. Fuente de San Lázaro 2019 comes from 115 year old vines in a variety of soils and is made in old wood. It shows red and black fruits, herbs and am earthy touch; in the mouth it has the firm tannins, and also a lot of freshness. Villegas 2019 comes from sandy and clayey soils and is also made in old wood. Ripe red and black fruits, herbs, a toasted note; the tannins are firm and there is some coffee and a touch bitterness in the end.
A highlight was indeed the veggie pita served by Jakobsen’s Pita. Not least because I met Ismael Gozalo, that gave me a sip of his magnificent Frágil 2021, a glass-raised verdejo, just in time to enjoy it with the pita. And of course, interviewing Isabelle Légeron MW for Vinforum magazine, in a story about the Raw Fair itself. When it’s published I may port a short version of it here.
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.
The local heroes this time are six winemakers from Castilla y León who all participated with their stand at the Raw Wine Fair in Copenhagen. They were Elisa de Frutos (Vinos Malaparte), Ismael Gozalo (Microbio), Jorge Vega (Puerta del Viento), Ricardo López (Vinos al Margen), Alfredo Maestro and Kiko Calvo (Bodegas Bigardo).
As seen from my chair, from left: Elisa, Ricardo, Alfredo, Isabelle, Jorge, Ismael and Kiko
Together with Raw Wine’s founder Isabelle Legeron, they talked loosely around today’s theme, based around the six wines offered by the producers. The focus was on local grape varieties. Why do they matter? What happen to the grape varieties when the climate changes? Should we climb higher, pick earlier, or do we need to replace the variety with another?
We got to taste Jorge Vega’s Extinto made by the nearly extinct panycarne variety. We experienced verdejos in a white version made from centennial vineyards by Ismael Gozalo – and as a skin-contact orange wine from Malaparte. There was a delicate light-extraction rufete from Vinos al Margen and a fresh, fruity tinta de toro from Bodegas Bigastro, obviously a Toro wine, but not as much marked by its 16° alcohol as one could expect. Alfredo Maestro brought a wonderful tempranillo-based blend; one part tempranillo and the rest a veritable “de toda la vida” blend. [These wine descriptions will be updated.]
Castilla y León is a huge region with all the wine styles that one can imagine. I never get tired of it, and there is always something new to discover.
