Category: Articles

A day in central Rueda

Published 27. October 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

A few weeks ago I spent a day in central Rueda. It was in full harvest time, but I never saw a grape picker, nor a harvesting machine. Why? Rueda is white wine land, and it may be well known that the modern “revolution” started in the 1980’s, when modern technology was introduced, and grapes was picked at night before the heat of the day became too annoying for grapes and people.

I was in search for good organic verdejos with a sense of place. And there was a wide variety of producers, big ones and small ones, privately owned and cooperatives. I appreciate the cooler style of the higher vineyards in the northern part of Segovia (villages like Nieva and Santiuste). This time I concentrated on the province of Valladolid, where the majority of bodegas are concentrated in and around the villages of La Seca, and Rueda itself.

I started on the other side of the bigger town of Medina de Campo though, in Rubí de Bracamonte, that is situated a bit higher (some places above 800 meters) and has a climate somewhere between the Rueda and the Segovia part. Bodegas Verderrubí was a nice surprise. They dispose of 27 hectars verdejo (4 different clones), all of it run organically and will be certified from the 2015 vintage on. The ground here has sand and stones with some clay (here more grey coloured compared to the more orange in Rueda/La Seca), which together with the high location gives the wines a good acidity.

Emilio Pita Gil, winemaker and owner

Each tank contains wine from one parcel

Emilio makes three distinctly different whites. First we tasted The basic Dominio de Verderrubí 2014, made solely in stainless steel with 4 months on fine lees. Really fresh and aromatic, with hints of apple and gooseberry, and a nice and supple acidity. The Atipyque 2013 had fermented and stayed on the total lees in fudres of 5.000 liters. This was clearly darker, and had a more marked lees character, more fruity than flowery, but with some hints of camomile, and some anis that in a way resembles a moscatel. Lastly the Pita 2013 was still darker, aged in wood. Vanilla and butter, a bit raisiny maybe, but the acidity of the high altitude does it good.

2015-09-10 10.08.57

A glimpse of amphoras before we leave. Interesting…

On to La Seca, the municipality with the largest area under vine in the whole of Spain, so you understand this is wine country. Bodegas Menade claims to be the first one to be organic both in vineyards and winery. And it’s a prime example, very pedagogic, as they use blackboards and other means. Patricia tells me about how they create their ecosystem, a story that includes serum of milk to deal with oïdium, cinnamon extract to strengthen the roots, lady bugs to eat spider eggs, and vinegar and garlic to get the same ladybugs out of the vineyards once the job is done. Next time around we will also find beehives here.

2015-09-10 11.47.45

Menade has 180 hectars of vineyards, 50 of them around the winery, where they cultivate sauvignon in addition to verdejo. According to Patricia they appreciate freshness before (over-) maturity, so in a hot year like 2015 they picked everything before 3rd September.

They use dry ice in-stead of sulphur, and to filter they use paper of cellulosis (with different levels of filtering), and everything can be re-cycled.

After a nice salty-mineral sauvignon intro we tasted several verdejos. Their Menade 2014 was an exemplary, round wine with good acidity. The Nosso (meaning “our”, but also denotes “no sulphur”) is a white that has undergone malolactic fermentation. And as such it is rounder, quite full, and darker, with some honey, butter, nuts… The older people of the wine growers say that the smell of this one reminds them of the old days, when Rueda was famous for sherry style wines.

Then there is the V3 (verdejo viñas viejas) in 2012 vintage. This is a wine that is made from “pie franco”, ungrafted vines. Needless to say: Rich, extremely concentrated, and after a year in 20-30% new oak it shows notes of mature apple, nuts/almonds and some vanilla.

We also tasted their organic top-fermented beer from wheat and barley. I mentioned teaching… Menade also makes de-alcoholized must, for children and young people to learn to taste before they reach legal age.

Vidal Soblechero is located between 600-760 meters, also in the outskirts of La Seca. Alicia Vidal Soblechero and her family and other helpers determined from the first day to make not less than five verdejos from five plots, five distinctly different interpretations of the same grape. Three of them are treated with some kind of oak, which helps to accentuate the differences. So a visit here is strongly recommended to learn about the many possibilities.

Alicia Vidal Soblechero

They have also done a great job to make their own ecosystem. Interestingly a hawk is on top of that pyramid, at least in terms of meters over grass level. I had heard about the hawk, but I had not imagined that I would get the chance to see it. I not only saw it, I got the chance to hold a hawk for the first time in my life. Alicia’s brother Vidal Vidal Soblechero (no misspelling here) takes care of it.

Vidal and the hawk

I will not go into great detail here. In general the wines have a warmer and fuller style than those of Verderrubí. And they dispose of a variety of vineyards, some more than 100 years old. Alicia tells that the wine-making has always been organic here, never have they turned to what we tend to call “conventional”. So far no wine has been certified though, but she says she wants to do it, to give the customer some kind of warranty.

I like their basic, unoaked verdejo Viña El Clavidor (the one with 50% viura in it too, fairly much in the same style), that has no “inox-feeling” as can be found in strictly tank-made young whites (and that I imagine can happen due to some kind of reduction). This one hasn’t been fermented at those low temperatures either. Some of the finca wines come under the name Pagos de Villavendimia. Among these the Finca El Alto is, as the name suggests, the highest vineyard at 760 meters. There is limestone, and the pebbles retain energy from the sun, which is useful as there can be frost in august and september. The 2011 was concentrated and long due to a high level of acidity. Finca La Matea has 40 years old vines, and gives more mouthfeel, but the 2011 was rather oaky. Escribiente 2013, from arcilian soil, I really liked. This one has never seen oak, and is a concentrated, full, appley wine with some anis notes and integrated acidity. Nearby Finca Varastrojuelos is planted with viura. Only 700 bottles are made, the rest go into other wines, such as the verdejo-viura blend. They make red wines from tempranillo too. Of the more eccentric project is a verdejo eiswein that grows close to the bodega.

Finca El Alto

I also popped into the cooperative Agrícola Castellana (nowadays better known as Cuatro Rayas) just down the road. Everything was correct, the wines too, but not much more than correct: I would say simple and rather dull. Bodegas Antaño (nowadays better known as Mocén) is oppsosite: They have an interesting collection of old wine artefacts, long labyrinthic underground paths, and the bodega is quite untidy. But their basic organic verdejo was surprisingly good.

Leave a Comment

Articles and Wine bars and restaurants

Solo de Uva revisited

Published 8. October 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

No visit to Madrid without visiting Carlos and his friendly staff at Solo de Uva. This time I came with my friend, wine photographer Kjell Karlsson, after our mostly independent but parallel trips to León, Valladolid and Salamanca.

Another friend was there too, wine producer Fabio Bartolomei of Vinos Ambiz. This was in the middle of the vintage. Fabio had been harvesting two grape varieties in Gredos and Madrid, and we were happy that he took the time to see us. He had to leave “early” too, as he had to start the elaboration of the harvest at 6 in the morning. The wine is not completely natural, you see…

We started with a rosé from Murcia this time, Viña Enebro, a light violet coloured wine with all the flowers of the murcian plains in the glass. But the wine discussion of the night was centered around the next wine, Fabio’s own sauvignon blanc. I have got used to it, and I love the fruitiness and the fullness, and Fabio has made it, so he must stand up for it. But for Kjell it was quite challenging. I don’t say that he didn’t like it. The discussion was mainly about typicity. In my opinion a wine must first be true… Well, here we must demand that it’s made from natural yeasts, because from bought-in or “selected” yeasts we only get the cliché, not the real thing. And so many of the most famous Sancerre brands are already disqualified, many would say Riffault too (not very famous maybe, outside the natural wine world). And next, is sauvignon the Loire or the New Zealand version, or can it come from Spain? (Syrah came from Asia, remember…)

We tasted two red wines as well, «the wine from Mars», aka El Marciano, Alfredo Maestro’s lovely and fruity Gredos garnacha, and the Alpujarras 1368 from Barranco Oscuro from a vineyard of that height (1368 meters above sea level), a fruity and inspiring wine, a decent touch of oak, but with ageing potential.

Leave a Comment

Articles and Wine bars and restaurants

Tuna in to the Taberna de el Campero

Published 29. July 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Zahara de los Atunes is a tiny village on the southernmost stretch of the Costa de la Luz of the Cádiz province. If you can find it, then you will also find the most beautiful beaches you can imagine, bathed in the sun and cooled by the breeze. In the municipal center Barbate the most valuable fish in the world is still caught, a great deal of it will catch the next plane to gourmet sushi restaurants in Tokyo, but thanks to higher forces that some of it stays here and enriches the local bars and restaurants. If Hemingway were still alive he would probably have participated both in the catching and the eating.

2015-07-01 21.47.58

You get chopsticks if you like

La Taberna de el Campero is a branch of restaurant El Campero of Barbate and found right in the small center of Zahara del Atunes. Here chef Julio Vázquez lets the tuna fish, or Atún Rojo Salvaje de Almadraba (to call him by his full name) play the main role. The interior is in aquarium blue colours, table cloths have tuna motifs, and on the menu that’s written on the wall there are tuna dishes, traditional and original, such as Tartar de Atún Rojo (where they use the ‘cola blanca’, the lower part of the tail, in front of the fin), Surtido de Crudos de Atún Rojo (tuna sashimi, tartar and tataki), Lasaña Fría de Atún (cold tuna lasagne) and Albóndiga de Atún (Spanish meatball, made with tuna), just to name a few. Two people, two nights, we were able to see the tuna from many sides and taste types of tuna fish meat we didn’t know existed.

(Here is a clip from the facebook page where you can see their own sushi specialist Jun prepare an interpretation of a Japanese dish.)

Big surprise, they have a special focus on natural wines!, and that must be the main reason that we came back. The selection was not very big, only one page. But it was ecclectic, and the rest of the wine list wasn’t bad either. Among the whites were La Mar Salada, from Nieva in the Segovia part of Rueda, and almost local wines such as Lagar de Ambrosio from Olvera in the Cádiz mountains. I have written about Rafa Bernabé here in an earlier post. Here is a wine from one of his collegues from Alicante, Bodegas La Encina (from the village of the same name, bordering La Mancha). This is a fresh and delicious un-oaked white called El Juncar from varieties forcallat blanca, tortosina and macabeo and now in the 2014 vintage. This is a good, healthy and naturally made alternative to Castillo de San Diego and other VT Cádiz wines from the sherry houses more likely to be found here.

El Juncar, white natural wine

And among the reds were Casar de Valdaiga, oak-aged mencía from Bierzo, Duende, a syrah from Granada, Pésico, a wine from the unlikely area of Cangas de Narcea (Asturias), made from the still more unlikely grape varieties of albarín tinto, carrasquín, red verdejo (!) and mencía. All of these were only sold in whole bottles, so we had to be very selective (we can hope that people will find out that these wines are more than merely funny names from funny places, so that the restaurant can find it worthwhile to serve them by the glass next time). One of our whole bottle reds was Viña Almate (Alfredo Maestro), a tempranillo roble from the banks of the river Duratón that runs into the town of Peñafiel (in the heart of Ribera del Duero). I have been an admirer of this wine since I tasted it together with its maker a few months ago. It has a very direct, fruity, flowery and spicy character, and it’s mouthfilling and with a seductive acid freshness.

2015-07-01 20.56.12

Viña Almate, red natural wine

Zahara de los Atunes is a small oasis along the coast of the light. Yes, it’s small, but you have Tarifa and Morocco within reach, so is Cádiz, the sherry district and Sevilla. But you have also interesting historic places such as the Cabo de Trafalgar, the town of Medina Sidinia, reminiscants of the romans… Atlantis may have been here, certainly Tartessos. And apart from the obvious advantages of the beaches and the sunsets, places like the Taberna de el Campero make it even worth to stay in the village for a while.

Sunset in Zahara de los Atunes

Leave a Comment

Articles and Wine bars and restaurants

Unfortified wines in Sherry country

Published 13. July 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

While sherry sales have declined for years something new is emerging. From one of my numerous trips to the sherry district in the past I remember Bodegas Ferris showed me some plantings of the tintilla de rota grape. Now this grape plays a major part when un-fortified wines are gaining ground.

Last week I took a day trip from Zahara de los Atunes down the Costa de la Luz. I visited a few producers in the Cádiz province, and tasted wines from some more. In El Puerto de Santa María municipality, on the road between Jerez and Rota, the bodega of Forlong was hard to find, but with a little telephonic help I managed. Here Alejandro Narváez and Rocio Áspera are making wine from 3 hectars, only one in production though, but they also count on vineyards in Jerez and Trebujena. They neither buy nor sell grapes.

Alex in white albariza vineyard

For red wine tintilla de rota that is the star grape, with its nice acidity, its spiciness and its local pedigree. For the whites the first grape is sherry variety palomino fino, but its collegue pedro ximénez is also grown. The tintilla de rota is «technically a clone of graciano», explains Alejandro, or Alex, «but where graciano has four pips the tintilla has only one». They use spontaneous fermentation, and sulphur levels are quite low (typically 40-55 mg/L). It’s not that difficult to maintain an organic agriculture here, according to Alex. There was already a good eco-system, as it is near the Doñana ‘marisma’ (wetlands) and a natural lagoon, and the wind and the sun in the vineyards. The biggest threat is a frog that goes after the leaves.

The property was bought in 2007, and Alex and Rocio named it Forlong – after Forlon, the previous owner – but added a ‘g’, since the Spanish pronounce it like that anyway. The small bodega house is built with the estetics of a coastal sherry house, with beams under the roof, but without the openings, since they don’t wish to grow ‘flor’ (the yeast that is helped by the Atlantic breeze). The bodega has some big century old tinajas (clay jars), and some barrels. It’s somewhat provisional though, as a new storage room is now under construction.

We tasted their three wines, a white, a rosé and a red. The white, from 85% palomino and the rest px, was very expressive, with aromas of white flowers, lychee, yellow apple, with some mineral character from the albariza (the white calcareous soil that reflects the sunlight), and some saltiness in the aftertaste. In this area you often hear that palomino is a neutral grape with little acidity and character. Alex and Rocio want to change that idea, and this wine is a welcome contribution.

An interesting rosé from cabernet sauvignon had been fermenting for 15 days at low temperatures. It was light in colour, with smells of strawberries, red berries, and of underwood and mushroom too. Quite slender and with good acidity, and the slight CO2 content also contributed to its freshness and general appeal. The red wine – a syrah, merlot, tintilla blend) that had been in clay for 6 months and 3 more months in oak of varying ages and origins – was also interesting, round, and with a dense fruit, though it might be that with a lower alcohol degree than 15˚ it would have been even better.

After a couple of hours Miguel Gómez shows up. He is renting space at Forlong, where he makes his Mahara wine. He has two more projects, the Alba Viticultura in Sanlúcar and another in Ronda (Málaga). Here in the Cádiz province he has 5 hectars of vineyards, expanding a little each year, works by gravity, and the vineyards and wine are «never touch by a machine». About its «organicness», these vineyards are now in conversion, while in Ronda biodynamic technices are already employed.

Miguel takes a sample from a 12 year old Hungarian barrel

We tried two samples, one from a 12 year old Hungarian barrel, and one from an American one. All barrels are in fact used when bought. It’s interesting to see two samples that different when they come from one vineyard and are treated the same way. The one from the Hungarian barrel is more soft, rounded, and full, while the other is more spicy, salty and floral on the nose, and in the mouth it’s more aggressive, even more concentrated.

For the final wine all 14 barrels will be blended, «as they are after all from the same vineyard, and together they will express the characteristic of that vineyard». Until now there has not been added any SO2. Maybe he will add a tiny amount before bottling, maybe not. The wine clocks in at a mere 12˚ alcohol.

Miguel goes out for a while, and from the car he comes back with a plastic bag filled with ice and with two bottles. These are a white and a sparkling wine from his Sanlúcar project called Alba. We decide to go into the vineyard to taste them. The sparkling wine is light and appealing. The still version has been under flor for 8-9 months, a golden, tasty wine, salty as a manzanilla and bottled ‘en rama’, unfiltered.

The vineyard is not where they come from though, they grow in Miraflores and Maina near Sanlúcar, while we are now in the famous pago of Balbaina, the jerezano vineyard that is closest to the coast. But it’s scenic, and we can see one of the reasons that his red wine has such a low alcohol: The grape clusters block for the sun, so in the middle of the day the sunlight is mainly reflected from the albariza soil. The Poniente wind also contributes to a slower maturation.

Miguel rents this part of Balbaina. While we are out there sampling some delicious white and sparkling wine owner Martín comes to join the fun.

Before I went back to Zahara I visited Armando Guerra’s place in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the Taberna Der Guerrita. This is a wine bar, a small restaurant, a shop – a real oasis and nothing you would expect in the capital of Manzanilla, where people stare at you once you order a red wine in a bar, assuming you mean a «tinto de verano» (a low alcohol drink that is taking over for sangría). Armando used to sell his «own» table white wine and amontillado («own» because they were brands and made by R. Ibáñez and Delgado Zuleta, respectively). But he is running the taberna, he sells and serves the wines he likes himself – and he receives a lot of attention for his ambitious series of wine tastings involving many great producer and journalist names from Spain and abroad, and the proprietor too.

2015-06-30 16.12.21

Armando with a glass of «unfortified manzanilla» in front of his small wine bar

We tasted some wines and talked a little about the industry. It is well known that sherry is losing ground in many markets, so many producers, with Barbadillo as the most famous wine and the greatest commercial success, have started to produce unfortified wines from the area. Today the ones that put all their effort into these wines are the flagbearers for quality, such as Luís Pérez, Ramiro Ibáñez, Forlong, Mahara, Alba, Huerta de Albalá, and not least Equipo Navazos.

There is no D.O. for wines like this in the Cádiz province. Both Miguel Gómez and Armando Guerra says that this could be both positive and negative. In general it will help the big bodegas as these people will put a stronger quality focus on the vineyards, Armando suggests. Both admit that the wine doesn’t sell itself, but on the other hand there are no rules, and the new growers can contribute to define the «future». It would not surprise me (even with the mighty families of the Marco de Jerez around) that a new regulation would be built upon the red grape tintillo de rota and the white palomino fino, but with possibilities for several «caprichos» too.

3 Comments

Articles

Verdejo in the wind

Published 11. June 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I was invited to speak about the wines of Rueda in a wine club on the windy Norwegian southwestern coast. Jæren Wine Club is one of the most active and ambitious ones in the area. They have monthly tastings with invited speakers, and they also arrange an interesting annual wine and food fair. The tastings are held in an extraordinary cultural project, Hå gamle prestegård (Old Vicarage), home to events like concerts and exhibitions.

Although the grape variety verdejo has existed in northern Castilla since the 11th century it rose to prominence from the 1970’s on. Today it’s almost a synonym of DO Rueda. So popular has it become that it’s maybe the white wine you are most likely to be served almost anywhere in Spain. The influx of external actors on the scene is enormous (though only a few have established their own bodega), and there are many commercial brands hiding almost identical steel tank wines these days. Still many producers fight to keep the quality up, there is interesting work being done.

Here I have picked four wines from the tasting. All these were made from organically managed vineyards and fermented with natural yeast. The first one is splendid value for money, the three others (at least in theory) contenders to the Spanish white wine throne.

A typical dish to go with these wines is ‘cochinillo’, the suckling pig so popular and delicious in the provice capitals of Castilla y León.

Menade 2013 (Bodegas Menade)
Light yellow. Fresh, green, with a touch of citrus and nettle. Quite full on the palate, with a lightly citric taste, and good length

Price: Low

El Transístor 2012 (Telmo Rodríguez)
Telmo Rodríguez, originally from Rioja, is famous for restoring of old vineyards in partnership with vintners in many Spanish regions. The name of this wine is inspired by the a special form of biodiversity: a radio blasting in the vineyard to keep the wild boars away.

The wine has a light straw colour. Mature apple and white fruits on the nose, some citric tones. Round, tasty and concentrated, some acidity and a lightly green finish. Just lovely. Fermented in oak, cement and steel, that only adds to the complexity.
I would say near its peak, but will keep.

Price: Medium

2015-06-10 20.48.23

Barco del Corneta 2012 (Beatriz Herranz Sanz)
Today Beatriz has two projects, she’s doing verdejo in Rueda (or rather: Castilla y León, as the wine has the designation ‘vino de tierra’), and another interesting grape variety named juan garcía in Arribes. Formerly she was also working with garnacha in the Gredos area.

This verdejo has a light straw colour. Citric aroma with hints of herbs, minerals, it has a yeasty ‘sobre lías’ (on lees) character, but very, very clean. It has some more Though a bit more ‘lees’ than the previous wine it’s also very elegant, and I would say a bit tough more acidity. Fermented in barrels, but it’s by no means oaky.
Excellent drinking now, but will keep.

Price: Medium

Ossian 2012 (Ossian Vides y Vinos)

This wine is from the most southeastern corner of Rueda, and higher than the others (almost 1.000 meters as opposed to around 700). The tiny village of Nieva has only three wineries, all of them owners of old ungrafted verdejo grapes. This one has spent 9 months in new and used oak.

Pale and clear. Vanilla on the aroma, some apple, apricot, and a touch of honey. It’s full on the palate, nuances of citrus, and at this stage, quite oaky.
It clearly needs to mature, but will it ever come around? Maybe, maybe not. And though from the coolest part of Rueda, another question is if it has the acidity to accompany it along the way. One has to buy some bottles to find out.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment

Articles

Master tinajero in Albacete

Published 3. June 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I took a day off and left Madrid for a trip through Quijote’s manchego land, passed the beautiful windmills in Mota del Cuervo. And soon I found Juan Padilla’s place. Not where the map showed me, but some people at a nearby restaurant knew the way. I had no appointment, and I was prepared only to talk to somebody in the reception, and take a walk around and take some pictures. I knew it was right when I came to this closed door.

20150508_151945

So I phoned the number, and who else came and let me in but the master himself. He showed me around, and explained the various stages. Very rarely I have had so few questions to ask, I must admit.

During the last few years I have been aware that containers made of clay can provide a serious alternative, as it lets the wine breathe in a way that stainless steel cannot, without affecting the taste of the wine in the same way that oak barrels do. But I am only beginning to see behind the initial fascination and to understand a little bit. I knew there were many old ones around. I also know that there is an 8.000 year old unbroken line in Georgia, and some very good producers. And the number of wines made in these vessels, big Georgian kvevri or smaller amphorae (in Roman times made for transport), seems to be increasing every day. When I attended a kvevri seminar at the RAW fair in London 2013 Emilio Foradori presented a fabulous wine, for me best-in-show (see here), and I was amazed when he told that this was the only one not made in Western Georgia, but in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. In Spain they call them tinajas, (the big ones tinajones) or simply barros (barro meaning clay), and the makers are tinajeros.

I contacted Emilio when I planning to write this article, and he tells that for him «Padilla is the last real wine-clay artisan, the quality of his clay is outstanding and above all others I have tasted (lowest percentage of metals)». I also contacted COS, who inform that when they started to use amphoras in 2000 they had also tried jars from Tunisia as well as from their native Sicilia, but they preferred Padilla’s tinajas.

So here I am, walking around Padilla’s pottery in the outskirts of Villarobledo, Albacete. He talks about the process, and shows me his workshop, where he has started on many new tinajas.

2015-05-08 15.31.17 New tinajas

In short, the clay is grinded, then it’s mixed with water and kneaded. It’s widened, then left to rest overnight, and it’s kneaded again the day after. He forms the jars with two metal blades, before it’s scratched so as to avoid marks between the numerous overlapping rolls of clay used.

… formed by two blades

Once completed, it is dried slowly, in various periods like autumn and early spring. In May the jars get in the wood oven and once baked, they are finally ready and can be shipped, to Italian producers like Foradori and COS, or some Spanish wine producer (or gardener) will eventually come and pick them up. So you see, it’s not much rush about this.

Another small building where he keeps the oven

La Mancha is the historically the big center of the jar industry in Spain. You can read about it in Cervantes novel, and nearby El Toboso, where Quijote’s virgin lived (according to himself), was one of the most important villages. In more recent times, between 1915 and 1930, Villarrobledo had 72 active producers.

2015-05-08 15.34.51 Holes for the fire

At the natural wine fair in Madrid I tasted some really delicious wines from the interior of Galicia, the red ones from mainly garnacha tintorera being raised in tinajas. Nacho González tells that his wines called La Perdida are made in clay a little more porous than the ones from Padilla, but they share some of the natural characteristics. Some clay containers are covered inside with epoxy, beeswax or other elements. «For me this is like losing some of the essence of the clay», says Nacho. «I am looking for a natural element for the wine to ferment in.»

Several winemakers, like Nacho González, refers to Rafa Bernabé for his long experience with the use of clay. He is located in the village of Bigastro on the Costa Blanca tourist and international holiday home strip. Rafa informs that all his tinajas has been new and aquired from Padilla. He has now more than 100 tinajas with a capacity between 200 and 400 liters. He works with Padilla «for many reasons», he says, «but mainly because of his artesan character, having learned the skills from his grand-father, for the rigorous selection of the clays, and for the way he dries and blends them». The way he heats it up, in his wood oven (horno de leña, in Spanish), is maybe the most important single factor, according to Rafa. He says he likes the finish and roughness, probably the only jars of the world that do not require to be lined inside with epoxy or other materials. Still, having said this, Rafa Bernabé stresses that he is not looking for anything in particular when it comes to making wine in jars, because «after all the most important is the vineyard and the grape, that must be shown respect and given freedom. I think we should intervene as little as possible so that these wines can be the very expression of the landscape, territory, its vineyards and its people.»

And here we are back where we started, the most important is the potential of the grape, and the land where it’s grown. And it’s here that clay offers an interesting alternative to both steel and wood.

4 Comments

Articles

Natural wine fair in Madrid

Published 20. May 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Madrid was the place to be for natural wine enthusiasts last Sunday, as the Salón de Vinos Naturales was arranged after an initiative from the Productores de Vinos Naturales. Among the exhibitors were some of their own members, like Barranco Oscuro, and Marenas, whose proprietor José Miguel Márquez is the actual leader of the organization. There were other Spanish producers too, and a few from abroad. The wines were all made by small, artesan producers, almost without exception with natural yeasts, without sulphur added, without much else added either, all in all with minimal intervention.

I tasted something like three fourths of the wines, spoke to most of the producers, and I also met some visitors whom I knew or had met before. For me this is a real fun fair, as you meet a lot of nice people, and everyone is open-minded and willing to share opinions without having to defend anything, and there are no points given. There are just so many delicious tastes, healthy products, and conversations about how all this came about.

I warmed up with some white wines at the stand of Fabio Bartolomei and his Ambiz wines. First a couple of airéns, where the 2012 strangely was lighter than the 2014. But this is the way it is, as Fabio said, these wines chose their own path. I also tasted his Doré 2014, an expressive wine from the grape of the same name, and the Sauvignon 2013, nothing like the commercial Sancerres. It’s aromatic though, with some flowers, yellow apple and a tropical hint. The Albillo 2014 is also full of character, quite rich, with some tannin, and with the balsamic note of the variety.

Fabio Bartolomei, Vinos Ambiz (right)

Samuel Cano was there with most of his portfolio of Patio wines aged beneath the old-fashioned windmills in Mota del Cuervo (Cuenca). Between Aire en el Patio 2014 (literally Air in the Patio, the never-disappointing airén wine) and Al Sol del Patio 2013 (To the Sun of the Patio), there was a wine from syrah grapes harvested as late as end of December in 5 degrees below zero. He had brought his airén-petit verdot Rosé too, and some delicious reds. If I should pick one it could be the Kabronic this time, a 50/50 syrah/graciano, where the latter has been subject to carbonic maceration, showing very fruity, red berries, some balsamic notes, a touch of CO2, and fruit all the way.

2015-05-10 11.55.19

Samuel Cano

From the area not far from Madrid came also Julián Ruíz Villanueva of Escencia Rural. I know he has several good things, in different styles. This time I only tasted the red De Sol a Sol, a dark wine from the variety velasco, quite special, rich, with notes of coffee, aromatic herbs, and a touch of raisins and plums.

Lorenzo Valenzuela served many of his Barranco Oscuro wines, from the highest vineyards in Europe, more specifically Cádiar in las Alpujarras (Granada). I visited some 3-4 years ago, and I have tasted these wines several times since, but I never miss an opportunity. Among all the excellent wines I will this time mention the ultra-fresh and typical Sauvignon (a completely different interpretation than Fabio’s), and the wonderful Garnata, a very fruity, herb-scented and personal garnacha. Fellow Andalusians, Cauzón and Marenas had several interesting wines, like Mazuelo 2014 from the former, and Vides Bravas 2006 from the latter. Being located in Montilla, Marenas has also wines aged under flor, like the one with the descriptive name Bajo Velo PX (that I didn’t taste here).

2015-05-10 13.56.34

Lorenzo Valenzuela, Barranco Oscuro

Viña Enebro of Bullas had a varied table. A white wine from black grapes, adecuately named Uva Negra Vino Blanco, a fresh, floral, clean wine, the Rosado de Aguja from monastrell, a fruity wine, a little bubbly of course, but quite structured too. Then there were also the Viña Enebro, the one with the pink label, a 100% monastrell, quite light for the variety, some plums and red berries, a lousicious character, but with a nice tannic grip as well. The Quercus came in both 2010 and ’11. See the post about wine bar Solo de Uva for more.

2015-05-10 11.05.40

Juan Pascual López, Viña Enebro

A nice surprise came from Galicia. La Perdida of Larouco in the Valdeorras area served a doña blanca and a godello, but the reds based on garnacha tintorera, one with mencía, were among the highlights for me. Maybe most interesting of all from this producer, also with the name La Perdida 2014, a garnacha tintorera (70%) and sumoll (30%) aged in tinaja (amphora), on granite soil, with splendid clean fruit and a solid tannic grip.

Nacho González, La Perdida (right)

From Catalunya I tasted some nice wines from Can Torres, Empordà, a vinous garnacha blanca from sandy soil over granite ground, and among the reds the interesting Idó 2013, a garnacha from quite old vines on alternating slate and granite, aged in used barrels, a relatively light-coloured wine with aromas of red berries, plums, a rich wine with an appealing texture. The Ambre was one of the specialities of the day, from garnachas gris and tinta, aged in some kind of solera system. The colour was the same as its name suggests, aromas of figs, nuts, a slight touch of raisin, and the alcohol level was very nicely balanced.

2015-05-10 13.59.31

Bárbara Magugliani, Can Torres (left)

Among the «foreigners» I didn’t taste the wines of Frank Cornelissen this time, as I know them quite well, and the Spanish were my main focus this time. But I visited the table of Château Lamery of the village St. Pierre d’Auirillac, by the Garonne river. Here Jacques Broustet makes wines that are clearly at home in this locale, but distinctly different from what we think of as Bordeaux. His only red wine Autrement 2011 was luscious and juicy, with a slight tannin, and a lovely fruit all the way.

2015-05-10 12.15.06

Jacques Broustet, Ch. Lamery

Domaine Thuronis near Carcassonne in Languedoc had some interesting stuff too. The Esprit Vendangeur 2013 is a sauvignon blanc made naturally, and came with super fruit, yellow apple, melon and some peach, and a trace of CO2 (and the 2012 was in the same line, but a little more developed). There was also a sauvignon made in steel and also a time on the lees of chardonnay in barrel. This was a bit darker, yellow with a brownish tinge, some CO2 again, a creamy texture and a very nice acidity.

There was more than this, and the aforementioned wine bar Solo de Uva was serving home-made bread, tasty tapas, and proprietor Carlos Campillo was filling the room with good vibes. He also hosted a dinner in his restaurant that same evening. I was not there, but it couldn’t be bad.

2015-05-10 14.02.09

3 Comments

Articles

Portuguese discoveries

Published 29. April 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I was invited by winemaker Pedro Marques to taste his wines, and also some from his friend António Marques da Cruz, at restaurant Areeiro 3 in Lisboa. OK, this was a while ago, but this blog is new, and I want to include some events from the last months of 2014. Areeiro 3 is managed by Pedro’s brother and takes its name from the street adress, and you see it once coming up from the underground of metro station Areeiro. Both wineries, Vale da Capucha and Quinta da Serradinha respectively, is located in the north of the Lisboa region, in Carvalhal (Torres Vedras) and in the Leiria area. We tasted some really nice wines from Portuguese white grapes like arinto, alvarinho, antão vaz, fernão pires (and some French too, like viognier) and red touriga nacional, aragonês, castelão, and not to forget baga. Among the wines you should try once in Portugal are the white Capucha 2011 from alvarinho on limestone ground, a salty, mineral wine, still somewhat young and closed, and Serradinha Rosé 2013, red-orange coloured wine raised in 800 liter amphoras, with peach, rhubarb, strawberry, and some milky notes from malolactic fermentation. Another interesting wine was his red Quinta da Serradinha 1999, based on baga, and still full of life.

I was also invited to the Vinho ao Vivo, a terroir focused fair showing predominantly organic wines. I didn’t know about it then, but it proved to be a really charming event to visit again. It’s organized by wine bar and restaurant Os Goliardos down by the Tejo river next to the Discovery monument near Belém, and it includes local artisan food and live jazz. Who could ask for more, really? There we met several old friends, all with new wines to discover, and some other nice people. André Gomes Pereira who runs Quinta do Montalto, in Ourém, was there with his well-made wines. I knew his reds and rosés, but this time he also brought a white wine from fernão pires, a really interesting golden/orange coloured sparkling wine from 2005, that had spent 8 years on lees, and a “medieval” mix of red and white wine. Vasco Croft of Aphros Wines was there with his marvellous red and white “green wines”. His Aphros Loureiro 2013 is a different interpretation of the grape of that name, with a deep aroma, still with a steely acidity, but wrapped in a full, fruity taste. And who says a vinho verde can’t age? Well, the Aphros Vinhão 2009 isn’t that old, but many would not believe that a five year old wine from that region should be so full of energy as this one.

2014-07-11 23.20.48

And who else was there, if not the one and only Mário Sérgio Alves Nuno of Quinta das Bágeiras! This time equipped with his new Pai Abel entry level wine, together with the delicious reservas and garrafeiras, premium examples of the traditional style baga from outside Sangalhos, Bairrada. The oldest one this time was a Garrafeira 1990, a sublime pure baga wine, with red fruit aromas, the usual peppery notes, hints of smoke and a bit of raisin. He also brought an outstanding white Garrafeira 2012. These are all wines made in the deepest respect and understanding for their tradition. One can hardly claim they are modern, but they surely are complete.

Hey: Mário Sérgio is here!

But he was not the only one from Bairrada. Campolargo was there, I have heard, though I didn’t see him (so little time…). Up and coming organic producer Vadio I saw. They brought some really nice wines, also based on the baga grape, but with a bit more modern touch. They use “wild” yeasts to start the fermentation, but some cultivated yeasts later in the process, some French oak (never exaggerated), resulting in robust, but not aggressive, wines. The Grande Vadio 2011 was a wine for long ageing, a lot of tannins and super acidity, and a very supple fruit to go with it. They also brought superb citric, flowery whites from old vine cerceal, along with arinto (and also a bical version). Ataíde Semedo, known for Quinta da Dôna, was there. He had now brought a pure baga, and a 50/50 baga/touriga. Tired of oak, he sold all his barrels some years ago, so these wines are very pure, some maybe a tough too much “worked”. I particularly liked his Colheita 2013, a fine baga on the light and elegant side.

Quinta da Pellada of Dão was represented, so was Infantado (Douro), a couple of producers from Colares and many more. I tasted some wonderful whites from Muxagat (Douro), such as a 90% rabigato, and a barrel-fermented 100% rabigato called Os Xistos Altos 2011. I never made it to the fortified wines like Barbeito of Madeira (sorry, Ricardo, next time!).

There were also visits from abroad. Juan González of As Furnias had travelled over the border from Rías Baixas’ subzone Condado do Tea with his interesting low-sulphured, low-barriqued natural wines from several local grapes.

Prominent guests from Italy, such as piemontese Luca Roagna and Giuseppe Rinaldi, were also there. I didn’t see them, but their wines surely were present. So were the wines from French domaines Gonon (Rhône) and Maréchal (Burgundy).

Tune in next Friday, when our Wine of the Week will be one that we tasted during this fair.

The sun was down, the moon was up, the discoveries lay behind us, time to find a hotel bed… And the band played on!

Leave a Comment

Articles

A Portuguese palette

Published 16. April 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Yesterday I was invited to talk about Portuguese wines in Trondheim’s biggest wine club. Ganymedes is the name, referring to the mythologic figure that was carried by an eagle sent by Zeus to be cupbearer for the ancient gods. I was honored to be invited, and a little surprised, I must admit, that close to a hundred people came to listen to a speech about the wines of the longer than wide Iberian country.

They allowed me to put together a full palette of Portuguese colours. The selection of the country’s wines can’t be said to be very good in Norway these days, so the task could be said to be an exercise in compromise. Given the circumstances I am quite happy about the program.

Quinta do Perdigão Rosé 2014 is made according to biodynamic principles in Silgueiros, central Dão. It’s a typical blend with evident touriga nacional, and is a very fruity and full-bodied rosé with some tannin, and with aromas dominated by raspberry. Quinta do Ameal Loureiro 2013 represented the country’s largest wine region Vinho Verde, a nice wine with flowery aromas with citric nuances, and a slight carbonic palate. It’s not the only organic wine from this wet and somehow difficult northern landscape, but it’s one of the best of its kind. This lighter end of the scale was completed with Nossa Calcário 2013, a bical 100% made by Filipa Pato near the Beiras coast, Bairrada, to be precise. The bical is a versatile grape that, when in good hands, can turn to a delicious, mineral wine like this one. Quite aromatic, a little buttery, but it’s also a little closed, and will benefit from 2 or 3 years further ageing.

The first red wine was what has become known as Portugal’s first natural wine, family Roboredo Madeira’s CARM SO2 free 2010 red. Yes, I admit, my import company brought this one to the country, but it’s included here to contribute to a greater variation. Also from touriga, it has a touch of carbonic mouthfeel, dark berry flavour, and slightly sweet nuances from the oak treatment that half of the wine has been subject to. One of the most widely known wines from this 6-pack must be Esporão Reserva 2012, a wine from the vast Alentejo area, otherwise known for cork oaks, Alentejana cattle a.o. This one is from the Reguengos area towards the big lake in the south, and it has a full, fleshy flavour, but also a good acidity to keep it in balance. The grape composition can vary with the years. This one has alicante bouschet, a traditional grape in the area, together with the usual suspects trincadeira and aragonês, and a little cabernet too. The first red wine ought to be decanted because of some sediments, and both will benefit from some airing. To round it all off we tasted one of one the country’s specialities, a moscatel from the peninsula of Setúbal, just to the south of Lisboa. This one is a fortified wine from the collection of Jose María da Fonseca’s oenologist, and it bears his name. Domingos Soares Franco Colecçâo Privada Moscatel de Setúbal 1999, nothing less. It’s clearly in the moscatel family. Nice and grapey, flowery in the aroma, and with an apricot sweetness. For further ageing it could have needed some more acidity. But so what, according to Sr. Domingos himself, it’s not meant to be stored. And it’s delicious now.

2015-04-15 21.13.23 Lars and Geir Egil, key people in Ganymedes, with chef Geir

Geir Barstad at the Britannia Hotel had created a delicous two-course menu based on turbot and local veal that allowed the party to taste a variety of the wines with food after the wine tasting.

Leave a Comment

Articles

Three true wines from Savennièrs

Published 1. April 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

What could be more appropriate than to start this blog with the man behind the slogan in our header? First a very brief introduction to a man that shouldn’t need any introduction, and to one of the world’s great vineyards.

Nicolas Joly has for several decades been a leading personality in biodynamic wine, and as such a guiding star with bunches of followers, including the Return to Terroir group. Destined to be a banker, he went on to take over his family estate Château de la Roche aux Moines in Savennières by the Loire river. He was sceptical about the effects on modern agriculture on nature. Once he started to experiment with biodynamic farming there was no way back, and all his lectures, his books, all growers who followed where he led, all this has eventually gained him more than a glimpse of glory.

To say that his wines have been subject to controversy would be an understatement. While some praises the complexity, the concentration – and perhaps the legend – some say that the wines are heavy and oxidized, and the vineyard’s potential is far from fulfilled. Myself, I have tasted a few of the older vintages from the 90’s and early 2000’s, but I am far from an insider. But the wines are surely fascinating, and the owner’s perspective is indeed a very interesting one.

Recently we tasted the current wines. They were undoubtedly of the same family, with a golden to amber colour, smell of apricots, orange peel, nuts, oxidized tones and an alcoholic richness as common features. (Mr. Joly would have replaced the expression oxidized with ripe, but I don’t mean this in a negative way.) And the star amongst them was clearly the one that you might have expected.

Les Vieux Clos 2011 (formerly called Becherelle) of the appellation Savennières, from grounds are primarily schist but also some quartz. The wine has a bright golden to orange colour, notes of yellow apple, herbs and sherry flor, and some oak. It has a spicy, nutty and mineral flavour.

The Clos de la Bergerie 2010 is of another appellation, Savennières Roche aux Moines. This one is from vines around 25 years, also with schist and east facing. It has a slightly darker amber hue, a slightly oxidative smell, hints of mature apple, apricot, quite oaky. Here is some bitterness, honey and hints of caramel.

And finally the Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 2011: The first vineyard was planted here by Cistercian monks around 1130, and the Coulée has been under vine ever since. Today this is an AOC of its own, and Joly owns all of its 7 hectares of steep slate hillsides. The vines used today are between 35 and 80+ years old, and to renew them cuttings from the oldest plantings are used to maintain their Chenins. They are cultivated with horse and hand, and the average yield is 20-25 hectolitres per hectare. The ground is on a red schist bottom with good drainage. It’s a bit of an amphitheater with southern, or southern east orientation, and the grapes are harvested five times during a period of almost a month, to obtain maximum maturity and botrytis. The barrels used to raise all three wines are never more than 5% new.

It has a deep golden with an orange hue, with rich, ripe, complex aromas of apricot, nuts, orange peel, spice, saline, and honey. There is a flinty minerality, and one could maybe say, a slight touch of a young palo cortado sherry. It’s fresh in the attack, has a stony texture, very concentrated and tasty today, and with great lenght. Joly good! Still there is clearly more to come during the next five to ten years.

Leave a Comment