Textura Wines is a relatively new star from the Dão region of Portugal. At the Simplesmente Vinho fair this year I tasted their whole range. Recently Marcelo Araújo visited my region in Norway, and I got a welcome update. Marcelo came to Norvald together with Alexander Sandli from his importer Belmonte Beverage Group.
Marcelo Araújo, Textura
Partners in Textura are Marcelo, and his wife. It was started in 2018 on the slopes of Serra da Estrela. They work 28 ha of organic certified vineyards in Vila Nova de Tazem and Penalva do Castelo. And appropriate for a winery named Textura, in 2020 they acquired an old textile factory in São Paio, in the outskirts of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park, that is now renovated and incorporated into the winery. (Read a bit more here.)
At Norvald I tasted three wines. Pura Branco 2022 was produced from old vineyards, and the grape juice fermented in barrels and foudre without temperature control.
Light yellow with green hints. Aroma of yellow fruits, flowers and herbs. Good concentration, quite rich, still with a crisp acidity, with a long and salty aftertaste. A super wine, still in its youth.
Textura da Estrela Jaen 2020 comes from a single vineyard in Vila Nova de Tazem with 28 years old vines in granitic soils. It’s fermented with indigenous yeasts in cement vats, with 35% whole bunches. After the first winter in cement it spent 6 months in a French oak vats.
Ruby red. Aroma of red and dark fruits (cherry, blackberry), white pepper, and a hint of earth. Young tannins, fresh, nicely integrated acidity.
Pura Tinto 2020 is a single vineyard wine from a parcel at 600 meters altitude, with 55 years old vines planted in granite soils. It’s a field blend, the most important varieties being jaen, baga, alfrocheiro, tinto cão and tinta pinheira. The grapes were fermented in a used French oak vat with 40% whole bunches, only with indigenous yeasts. Then followed a post-fermentative maceration for 30 days. It aged for 16 months in a used French oak of various sizes.
Cherry red. Aromas of fresh red red and black fruits (cherry, blackcurrant), herbs and underwood. Full in the mouth, intense with fine tannins, a stimulating acidity and a pronounced mineral, earthy finish. A great wine with many years ahead.
I have participated in a tasting with some of Vinmonopolet’s suppliers, organized by the Norwegian state monopoly. The relatively new importer Swirl has a portfolio that focuses on Portugal. Øystein Solvang presented a veritable wave of individual vignerons from various corners of the country, all of whom demonstrated high quality and a large degree of sustainable production. Here I can only name a few. Among those I already have a close relationship with, and which you can read more about on the blog, were Aphros (Minho), Espera and Marinho (both Lisboa), Vitor Claro (Lisboa and Alentejo), Cebolal (Setúbal/Alentejo) and Muxagat (Douro).
Øystein Solvang, Swirl Wines
Among those who were new to me are Tabodella and Hugo Pinheiro, both from Penalva do Castelo in Dão, who represented two different approaches. Where Tabodella had a more classic cut, Pinheiro offered a distinctly fruit-driven, unfiltered style.
A strong impression was made by tasting wines from João Tavares de Pina, also from Penalva in Dão, with the following background. Tavares recently lost his house and 85% of his vineyards in the fire that has ravaged the interior of Portugal. He is a sociable and generous guy with many friends, and there is currently a large-scale campaign underway in Portugal and partly abroad for him to be able to replant the vineyards. João says that the best you and I can do to help is to buy his wines. I have myself bought a couple of cases recently.
Here I tasted a wonderfully developed wine, Terras de Tavares 2002, with a brick-red color, aromas of dried fruit, well-hung meat, prunes and a hint of smoke. This evoked memories of an evening at the home of João and his wife Luisa, with a fire on the fireplace in the cold winter, when we ate delicious food prepared by João himself and also had a similar wine (Terras de Tavares 1997, read about it here).
I said hello to 2 x Ole Martin. It was the first time I had met Ole Martin Alfsen, who is known in several disciplines of gastronomy and wine. -Now it’s mostly wine, he says. He has developed his own portfolio of wine made in collaboration with producers in several countries, often abbreviated to his initials OMA. He always hits the mark with quality at reasonable prices. The wine name XinOma probably says it all; it is made by him on the grape xinomavro. Ole Martin also tells how he works in collaboration with producer Oenops. This grape often produces light coloured wines. The wine is light, but also has a nice concentration, with good primary fruit and an aroma of flowers and herbs.
Ole Martin Alfsen
We also tasted a rosé version of the same wine, a pét-nat and a blaufränkisch made in collaboration with Heinrich in Gols, Austria. Ole Martin also talked about his collaboration with Loimer in Austria, Quintas de Melgaço in Portugal, Giovanni Rosso in Italy and Au Bon Climat in the USA. Finally, we tasted a pinot noir, in which Ole Martin had collaborated with Broc Cellars in Santa Bárbara, California. It’s a fruity, mellow wine. It has a touch of oak, but Ole Martin Alfsen knows better than anyone that such wines also have a place on the table.
Ole Martin Brodvall, Vinarius
At importer Vinarius, Ole Martin Brodvall served wines from the prominent Fitapreta, where António Maçanita is the winemaker. First we tasted a phenomenal white wine from typical Alentejo and Portuguese grapes, mostly arinto. Palpite 2022 had a clean and beautiful fruit with hints of apricot and orange peel and good body, together with a significant acidity. Fitapreta Tinto 2022 was a relatively light and luscious wine with aromas of red berries with balsamic hints, from a typical Alentejo blend. Tinta Carvalha 2022 was also light in colour. Red berries, cherries and a hint of anise and other spices, good length. A good ambassador for the region..
I also met Henriette Batt, who has worked for importer Engelstad for many years. One of the producers she presented was Herdade do Rocim, which is known as one of the leading producers of vinho de talha, clay-aged wine, in Alentejo, Portugal. They also host a festival for clay-based wines. Fresh from Amphora 2023, which came in a 1L bottle, was a textured white. Discreet aroma, but with a mineral and spicy character, with a great and fruity middle part and a salty finish. The red in the 22 vintage has 40% moreto and has a fine touch of cherry and stone fruit, clean and lovely.
Henriette Batt, Engelstad
I was running out of time, so I indulged myself with just a few highlights from several importers. John Sonnichsen (VinJohn) served wine from his colleague Autentico. I tried MA Doña Blanca 2022 from producer Mufatto, who is Argentinian but operates in Bierzo, Spain. There doña blanca finds itself in the shadow of godello. But it stands out: Light in colour, rich with almonds, a bit of spice, good lees character, well-integrated barrel. A great wine, good for medium-term storage.
John Sonnichsen
It is always a pleasure to try wines from the Spanish producer Envínate. Ove Kvalheim at Unico had brought the white Benje 2023 from Tenerife, that is made of palomino fino and has been under a thin layer of flor, but without skin contact: Light in colour, rich, ripe citrus, nuts, fine texture. Superb. Lousas Viñas de Aldea 2022: Bright red, great berry fruit, with some pepper, a cool touch, nice concentration. I also tasted António Madeira‘s red Vinhas Velhas 2021, an elegant wine from a relatively cool vintage and two wines from Areanna Occhipinti. The normal SP68 in the 23 vintage lived up to the usual standard. Siccagno Nero d’Avola 2021 had a wonderful fruit, with flowers and discreet spice, young tannin, great acidity, juicy and concentrated at the same time and good length.
Bravo is located in the increasingly popular eastern district of Stavanger. We have visited a couple of times in the past. Bravo can be characterized as a wine bar, or informal restaurant, with small but elaborate plates at very affordable prices. They offer around 15 wines by the glass, all good and inspiring, as well as a full list of wines by the bottle. The profile is natural, sustainably produced wines with a terroir character.
From the small dishes and snacks menu, this time we chose (European) hake, yellow beetroot, pork rillettes and braised sirloin, and also a bowl of green olives.
The first wine was a sort of entry-level wine from Alberto Nanclares and Silvia Prieto, one of the leading producers in Galicia’s Rías Baixas. I didn’t take many notes, so the following is mostly based on memory. Dandelión 2022, a varietal albariño, appeared as grape-fresh as usual. Light golden in colour, aroma of yellow apple, lime and stone minerals. It has the typical glyceric full-bodied albariño character, good fruit in the mouth, great acidity and finishes dry.
Hake with sea buckthorn, quinoa, cucumber and spring onion – accompanied by the albariño
We had a superb German wine, Karl May’s Osthofen Pinot Noir 2020, with yellow beetroot and even the pork rillettes. The winery has been in the family since 1815. Today it’s Peter and Fritz from the 7th generation who manage the family winery in Rheinhessen. Ruby red, and what a lovely red fruits nose, dominated by raspberry. Just behind there is cherry and a slightly earthy note. Juicy in the mouth with delicate tannin and an inspiring acidity.
Frances Grimalt of 4 Kilos is one of the leading wine personalities on Mallorca, and a torchbearer for the revolution of the variety callet, maybe the most emblematic grape on the island. Here it’s the mantonegro (also spelled manto negro), that’s playing the key role, with a small percentage syrah. Mantonegro typically gives a light colour and high alcohol to a blend. Gallinas y Focas, here in the 2019 vintage is made in collaboration with an organisation for mentally handicapped. It’s a wine with some volume and enough power to go with the braised meat. Cherry red, warm and developed aroma of red and dark fruits, with some spice.
Braised sirloin with Gallinas y Focas
To round off we had two wines, the Stolpman Vineyards‘ white Uni and Schödl‘s skin contact wine called Bloody Muscat.
Stolpman is found in Ballard Canyon, California. The wine Uni 2021 is made from roussanne 70%, and chardonnay 30%. It’s light yellow with green hints, smells of ripe pear, citrus and white flowers. It’s a wine with good volume and adequate acidity.
Schödl is located in Loidesthal, Weinviertel, just norti of Wien. Their Bloody Muscat 2023 wonderfully rounded off our meal. It’s a wine from roter muskateller grapes, that gives it a.special colour to the wine. The grapes macerated about two weeks on the skins. After fermentation the wine went into big oak casks. Bottled without filtration and fining. Deep golden with a reddish hint, slightly turbid. Aroma of orange peel, white flowers, herbs and ethereal oils. Smooth tannins and good acidity, rounded. It’s in a way serious, but it’s also fresh and fun.
Pergola is an Italian-inspired wine bar near the center of Bergen, established in 2010 by Bjørn Johnsson. They boast a selection of almost 500 different wines to choose from. You can enjoy a glass with a pizza, with your desired topping, or a plate of antipasti. Among the wines, there is a selection of wines that they import themselves.
I was there with some other musicians after playing at one of the city’s jazz clubs. We had two of their own wines, from Toscana and Piemonte respectively, along with a white prosciutto pizza and charcuterie.
Vallone di Cecione is a small family run organic farm outside Panzano in Chianti. They are proud to offer the canaiolo as a varietal wine. The canaiolo grape is otherwise known for giving a mellow, soft character to a blend, such as the classic Chianti wines. Vallone di Cecione let it ferment in cement to keep the primary fruit characteristics intact.
Canaiolo 2017(Vallone di Cecione)
Light cherry red. Elegant aroma showing some evolution, with a touch of dried fruits, but also with cherry and herbs. Soft and round, medium acidity, but also some freshness, thanks to a slight touch of CO2. Decent length.
Cascina Ballarin is located in La Morra in the Barolo area. It was run by brothers Giorgio and Giovanni Viberti until 2022, and is now actually called Alberto Ballarin, after Giorgio’s son. They are practicing biodynamics and make the usual selection of wines from the region. This is their varietal dolcetto, based on 15-25 year old vines with an eastern orientation at 230 meters height. The wine is raised in stainless steel. No oak.
Dolcetto d`Alba 2021(Cascina Ballarin/ Alberto Ballarin)
Ruby red. On the fruity side, with a ripe scent of raspberry, a touch of blackberry and white pepper. Soft and juicy with elegant tannins and a nice acidity.
A Portuguese island white was my first wine at yesterday’s tasting at Vinmonopolet, the Norwegian state monopoly. And what a start to the day! Producer Fitapreta is based in Alentejo, but winemaker António Maçanita is very active on the islands. Here is a wine made from palomino grapes grown in Porto Santo, brought to Madeira and finished there. Made with 30% whole bunches, 40 days of maceration, 8 months in used French barrels.
As the company explains on their website: On the island of Madeira, people from Porto Santo are called profetas (prophets), as a response to villões (villains), which the people of Porto Santo call Madeirans. The last nickname comes from vila (city), which thus takes on a double connotation. The wines of Profetas e Villões therefore reflect this duality.
Listrão dos Profetas 2021(Profetas e Villões/ Fitapreta): Pale yellow color with some green. Intense nose with lemon peel, iodine and a flinty minerality. Rich and textured in the mouth, full of flavors with super acidity and a salty finish. Very persistent. This is Portuguese island white taken to a new level.
I have known António and Sara of Casa de Mouraz for many years now. Here I got the chance to re-taste two of their magnificent Dão wines. The Encruzado 2022 is one of the best examples of that variety that I know of. It’s fresh with notes of citrus, flowers and minerals, grapey in the mouth and full of flavours. Unfiltered, it comes really close to nature and the true quality of the grape. Casa de Mouraz Dão 2021 is a cherry red wine that smells like home at their estate, pine forest, red fruits and herbs. In the mouth it’s juicy with some spice.
Importer Non Dos also offered three magnificent sparklers. Two of them were from British producer Oxney, from East Sussex. Oxney 2019 is a complex wine with apples, peach, flowers, nuts and some brioche. Non vintage Oxney Rosé, with 25% seyval blanc, shows red berry fruit, apples and kind, with good concentration of flavours. They also represent Champagne house Fleury, here their Blanc de Noirs non vintage, that came with mature apples, dried fruits and biscuits, along with citrus and a stony minerality. Creamy in the mouth with good concentration.
Guro also poured many good wines that came with unbeatable prices. Various colours of Meinklang was among them. Their Rosa pouch (1,5 liters) in 2023 version was fabulous, with a clear-cut fruit of red berries and herbs, and with a distinct acidity leading to a delicately bitter finish. In spite of its everyday lightweight image it has a decent concentration.
The Wine Merchant is a subsidiary of Non Dos. Pierre here offered champagnes from Colin, that stands for an elegant, less autolysis-marked style. Their Parallèle is a long time favourite, clean, apple and citrus-driven with a layer of anise and herbs.
Liquid is the one importer that is supplying the largest number of Georgian wines to the Norwegian market, here represented by Lasha, himself Georgian. New in their portfolio is Dakishvili. Giorgi and Temuri Dakishvili, father and son, make wines from the family vineyards in Kakheti using the traditional qvevri method. They don’t hesitate to blend in international varieties with the local either. The Family Selection Cuvée 2021 is a beautiful blend of saperavi with cabernet sauvignon, an exciting very dark, sturdy wine that showcases a typical cabernet pepper quality.
Selected Wine Partners presented a bunch of wines from Koncho, also of Kakheti, Georgia. Orange 2021 from rkatsiteli and kisi was light amber in colour, with evident skin-contact on the nose, with notes of orange peel and apricot, along with a full mouth-feel and a distinct acidity.
Magna Vides is located in La Aguilera, Ribera del Duero. Pablo Arranz and Andrea Sanz there offer a Ribera with a difference, in a region full of oaky wines with mature fruit. Their winery lies amidst organic vineyards, and brings out fresh and terroir-driven wines.
Vera Vides 2020(Magna Vides)
Made with grapes from vines that are more than 50 years old. 75% tinta del país (tempranillo), with garnacha, bobal, monastrell and the white albillo major. Careful maceration, grapes treated separately before blending and 10 months ageing in used French barrels. Filtered gently before bottling.
Deep red. Dark fruits (morello, blackberry), red fruits (raspberry), herbs. Good volume, fine tannins, a cool acidity. Fresh and balanced.
Magna Vides 2018(Magna Vides)
Made with tinta del país and a part of albillo mayor. Unique century-old vineyards located at three different sites in La Aguilera. The wine matures for about 14 months mainly in used barrels. It is filtered very gently.
Deep red with blue hint. Fresh aroma of dark fruits (blackberry, blackcurrant), red fruits, herbs, coffee. Good volume and concentration, firm tannins, good acidity, long aftertaste. It’s in a way powerful, but very balanced. Can age, but is surprisingly accessible.
I am back from another rewarding visit to Simplesmente Vinho in Porto. They call themselves an off-salon, an alternative event. But the fair has long since become important in itself. And needless to say, it’s always worth a visit. Simplesmente Vinho showcases smaller family businesses, and it’s a perfect opportunity to keep up with the wine trade of the country. Music and arts is a part of it. Every year they invite artisans from one specific wine producing country. This year Georgia was honoured with a whole day with an impressive program. This was the 12th edition of the fair, now held in the historic toll building Alfândega do Porto. Nowadays this is a convention center down by the Douro river, a comfortable and spacious site perfect for the event. Thanks to primus motor João Roseira and his staff, several of whom happen to be among his own family!
The twelfth edition presented 112 vignerons from Portugal and Spain, and a further 11 from Georgia. It started one day earlier, with a special program: a conference, the film “Our Blood is Wine” by Jeremy Quinn, and a tasting of wines from the Georgian guests to the fair. Attention was also drawn to the Portuguese talha wines, today kept alive in Alentejo. Choir singing is another cultural feature that Georgia shares with Alentejo, and the Georgian ensemble Shvidkatsa appeared during the charity art auction held during that day’s official dinner.
Here are just a few of the many wonderful Georgian wines from that first night.
Tamar and Zurab of Iberieli
Zurab Topuridze of winery Iberieli was one of the speakers. At the fair he presented several elegant wines. Among them was Saperavi 2022, in a light style not so often seen. The grapes were de-stemmed, and there was a careful ten days maceration. This resulted in a ruby red, raspberry fruity, fresh and appealing wine.
Iberieli operates both in Guria region of Western Georgia, where they manage 2 hectars of young vineyards, and in Kakheti in the east, where they have 5 ha of mixed ages. The name Iberieli refers to the ancient people in Caucasus, ancestors of Georgians, who are believed to be the first winemakers.
Archil and Patricia of Meskhishvili
Cousins Ilia and Archil represent the fourth generation of wine producers at Meskhishvili. In spite of this they started only in 2018 to produce wine commercially, with the construction of a small winery near Lake Lisi, in the outskirts of Tbilisi. They work vineyards with a minimum of 40 years in Kakheti, naturally with minimal intervention. The vinification process takes place in qvevri. While Ilia lives back home in Georgia, Archil didn’t have to travel far, as he now is running his own restaurant in Caldas da Rainha, on the Portuguese coast. Their Venero Rosé 2022 from saperavi was a real charmer; light ruby, with red fruits, completed with grape seed, and very fresh fruits in the mouth. Lisi Wine 2021 from the khikhvi grape was light amber in colour, rich, somewhat honeyed with apricot, careful tannins. It tended towards bitterness in the end, strengthening its gastronomic potential.
Ramaz Nikoladze
Ramaz Nikoladze is a pioneer of West-Georgian qvevri wines, and president of the Georgian slow food movement. The winery is built on the site of his great grandfather’s vineyard, in the village of Nakhshirgele, in Imereti. He manages 1.5 ha of vineyards of organically grown tsitska and tsolikouri grapes, ranging from four to 100 years old. Fermentation and aging is carried out naturally in qvevri, without skins for tsitska grapes, and with skins for tsolikouri grapes. His Tsitska 2022 was a superb light yellow coloured wine, with both flowery and mineral aromas, and with a fresh acidity to match. A bit more textured, and peach-scented, was Tsoulikouri 2022, a fabulous wine that carried with it a sense of Georgian history and tradition.
The tram in Ribeira, between the Alfândega and my hotel
Back in Murcia for Christmas celebrations, I never miss an opportunity to visit La Gracia natural wine bar near the cathedral (and the bull ring). Sommelier Esperanza tells that they will organize a natural wine fair on the 21st of January, called #vinosinresaca (that means wine without hangover), where some 25 of the most prestigious microbodegas from all over the country will participate. I really appreciate and support the initiative, though I can’t participate this first time. You should if you are near.
This evening I chose a plain Italian focaccia to go with all three wines, that were excellent. I opened with an aperitif, the sparkler Malaherba 2019 from Finca Parera, Penedès. It’s a rich and tasty wine with lots of body based on the xarel.lo vermell (red) grape, with yellow fruits aroma with wax and iodine.
The invitation to the upcoming fair and the Duarte bobal
Next was Duarte2022, a young bobal-tempranillo with fresh and dark berries and herbs, quite simple, but tasty. Good fruit throughout, and the tannins were quite firm and seemed young. Its maker Verónica Romero from Utiel-Requena, València is a comet in today’s natural wine sky. The wine is made with whole bunches in a variant of the carbonic maceration.
One of the more established natural wine producers in the Gredos mountains is Cható Gañán, where Kike Prados holds the reins. Navaciegos is a quite complex garnacha wine, purple coloured, aromas of red and dark fruits, also some dried herbs, and a layer of coffee. In the mouth it is full, quite dense and concentrated, with rounded tannins and good fruit. It’s made in Navahondilla, in a 0.35 hectares vineyard of 60 year old vines, at about 785 meters of altitude, with very degraded granite soil. A small part of the grapes are foottrodden and vatted with stems. The rest is destemmed. It was aged in French barrels of 500 liters at various ages.
Looking forward to spend the new year weekend in Mallorca I have begun to count down with a few wines.
Ca’n Verdura is located in Binissalem, the most historic wine town in modern times, giving name to that DO in 1991. They grow mainly native varieties such as mantonegro, callet and moll.
Supernova 2022(Ca’n Verdura)
This wine is made from the moll variety, from a vineyard planted in 1958 on clay, limestone and gravel. The farming is organic (though not certified), and it was fermented with ingenious yeasts in stainless steel and barrel.
Light yellow with a green hint. Yellow apples, melon, white flowers and a stony minerality. Medium full, lightly creamy lees character, adequate acidity, salty, and a green touch in the finish.
Negre 2021(Ca’n Verdura)
This is some kind of entry-level, unpretentious red, made primarily from mantonegro (60%), complemented with merlot, cabernet sauvignon, monastrell and the local callet. The mantonegro is old-vine and the rest is from different vineyards of variable age and a diversity of soils (red clay, gravel, white clay).
Dark cherry. Red fruits (cherry), ink, herbs. Medium-bodied, fruity all the way, a touch menthol and coffee. Energetic and appealing.
Francesc Grimalt is a leading figure in the restoration of the callet grape variety. In 2006 he teamed up with musician Sergi Caballero and founded the 4 Kilos winery, based in Felanitx, not far from the city of Manacor. The name is an expression for 4 million pesetas, which was their initial investment to launch the company. They practice an environmentally-friendly agriculture with minimal intervention.
Motor Callet 2021
One of the wines tried was Motor Callet. The vintage was the same as in a previous post. I include it in the picture, and you can read more of the company and the wine here.
The Island Syndicate 2019
While the MC is dominated by red fruits, this one is darker, in colour and fruit quality, a mix between dark and red fruits. It’s a callet 60%, and also mantonegro 30% and fogoneu 10%. With this, Francesc Grimalt wanted to make a wine that smelt “like his childhood”. The wine is made with natural yeasts he found from the now-defunct co-operative winery in Felanitx ‘Es Sindicat’.
Dark cherry colour. Aroma of dark and red fruits (blackberry, cranberry, redcurrant), Mediterranean herbs, plums. Medium-bodied, a good acidity, traces of almond, some coffee. The overall feeling is though the one of a light and appealing wine.
An armada of Spanish producers visited Stavanger, Norway this last Tuesday with their importer Moestue Grape Selections. I participated at the following dinner at Matbaren Renaa.
Visiting from Spain were Telmo Rodríguez, Fernando García (Comando G) and Carlos “Curro” Bareño (Fedellos and Vinícola Mentridiana). Pedro Parra from Itata, Chile should have been there, but was left somewhere in Europe with covid.
Paired with the restaurant’s lobster, lamb and quail dishes were seven wines. The fino Caberrubia Saca VI from Luís Pérez was a welcome drink, a natural sherry from pago Balbaína outside Jerez. It’s a grapey, salty and fresh sherry with no added alcohol.
Telmo Rodríguez introduced his white Branco de Santa Cruz 2020 from Valdeorras. He tells that this is one of the places he spends most time nowadays. It’s made from that premium northern grape godello, with some treixadura, doña blanca and palomino, all found in a mixed vineyard together with red varieties, and matured in used oak vats. It’s a super elegant wine with good volume, textured, and a complex aroma of citrus, herbs, a touch of menthol and a stony minerality.
Fedellos started as Fedellos do Couto because they were based in that village. Now they have moved. They make wines from the Bibei valley. Peixeda Estrada2019 is a village wine from Viana do Bolo outside both Valdeorras and Ribeira Sacra designated areas, a field blend of 60-80 year old vines with predominantly mencía made with whole bunches in partially used barrels, steel, concrete and/or fiberglass tanks. Long maceration time and light extractions. It’s a fresh, delicate wine with aromas of red and dark fruits along with herbs and some balsamic.
Pedro Parra couldn’t attend as he was sick with covid and stuck somewhere in Europe. But his wines made it to Norway. Pedro is a leading figure in the new terroir-focused Chilean wave, concentrating on cinsault on granite soils. He tries to make his wines in a reductive way, at present with 20 days skin-contact.
Trane was obviously (?) dedicated to John Coltrane, an innovator and creative jazz musician. It’s a single-vineyard cinsault from a plot of highly decomposed granite soils. It fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts and some 30% full clusters and matured in big oak vats for 11 months. It’s a light wine, but also structured. The fruit is both dark and red, with hints of flowers, anise and smoke.
Fernando García represented Comando G, that has contributed to putting the Gredos mountains on the wine map. They were also on this trip promoting the book Calicata, about the wine region. The English edition was released a few months ago, and Moestue sells it on the Norwegian market. In fact I was visiting Fernando at his table when another wine was passed around. I didn’t realize this in time, but my fiancée gave me a few drops to taste. It had a strong signature of a Gredos garnacha, ruby red, ethereal, with red fruits (raspberry), flowers and smoke – in a way light, but intensely full of flavours. It turned out to be Las Iruelas 2019, a parcel wine from El Tiemblo in the Ávila province. It was earlier made by the Jiménez-Landi family winery, but is now labelled Comando G.
The last wine was a lovely rioja from the new wave, that I advocate, Telmo’s Tabuérniga 2019. It comes from a cool vineyard in the village of Labastida, planted with old tempranillo vines, some graciano, mazuelo, garnacha and garnacha blanca. The soil is shallow and calcareous. It’s a serious wine; somewhat austere and maybe a little closed, but underneath are red and wild berries waiting to burst; it’s full of fruit and the tannins are elegant. It’s a wine that invites you to meet again, so let’s remember it and follow. A wonderful evidence that a wine does not need to be oaky to be complex nor ageworthy.
