Natural Wine | Postcards From Here and There

Otros Vinos Tasting

Otros Vinos means “other wines” in Spanish and it perfectly summarises what this small wine importer is all about. You are not going to find wines that are produced in large volumes or are on supermarket shelves. Otros Vinos imports natural wines from Spain. They champion small producers who work either organically or biodynamically, prefer minimum intervention in the winery and produce wines which have a real sense of place. They have been lovingly nurtured and are wines that have a story to tell. Bunch Natural Wine Bar in Liverpool hosted a tasting of a selection of wines from the Otros Vinos portfolio. It was a relaxed and enjoyable evening and what follows are my notes on some of the wines on show.

Blanco de Negra. Viña Enebro. 2017. From a 7 hectare estate in Murcia and made from Focallat. As the name suggests this is white wine made from red grapes. Production by whole bunch pressing, no skin contact, followed by fermentation in stainless steel. Fresh, clean and dry with stone fruits and a nutty almond character.

Mistras. Albarino. La Bodega de Constantina Sotelo. Rias Baixas. 2017. thirty year old vines from the Salnes Valley. Fermented in stainless steel and zero added sulphur. Clean, crisp, medium bodied with lovely saline minerality.

Bye Bye Garnacha. Vinya Ferrer. 2017. Seven day carbonic maceration in stainless steel. Zero sulphur. Production is tiny at only 800 bottles. Cherry and raspberry with earthy spices and a long finish. As it opens it there are dried fruits and an almost tawny port like character. At 15.2% alcohol one wonders if its not a touch too high?

Two wines from Marenas which farm six hectares of vines around Montilla in Cordoba. Cerro Encinas 2017. 100% Monastrell from a vineyard planted in 1998. A little closed on the nose but the palate shows some nice red fruits and spice. La Vélo 2017 is made from 100% Tempranillo from a high altitude vineyard of 3000 vines. Dark and brooding with some very pleasant black fruits and savoury spice, there are some tannins here but overall very nice.

Costador Terroirs produce wine close to the city of Tarragona in north eastern Spain. La Fassina. Trepat. 2017. 100 year old Trepat vines grown at an altitude of 800m. Fermnted in amphora and then aged in a mix of old French oak barrels and amphora. This was probably my favourite wine on show. Well structured with spicey, peppery red berry fruits. Excellent. Metamorphika is from 50 year old bush vines grown at 500m above sea level. Fermented and aged in amphora. Nice red berry fruit with a touch of savoury spice. tannins are a little grippy but very nice.

Bodega Cauzon. Mozuelo. Made by Ramon Saavedra, a former chef, in Andalucia from Garnacha vines planted in 1999. Following a short period of maceration grapes are pressed and vinified naturally in stainless steel. The wines is unfiltered and unfined. Red fruits, spice and a touch of dried herbs make this a very easy drinking wine.

Diego Losada is the driving force behind Bodega La Senda, located in Bierzo in Castilla y Leon in the north west of Spain. El Aqueronte 2017 is made from 100% Mencia from a single vineyard of 60-90 year old vines at 555m elevation. Production is small at around 700 bottles. Fermentation is with wild yeasts and ageing is in chestnut barrels. The wine has lovely cherry fruit with a savoury, smokey backbone. Vindemiatrix 2017 is 80% Mencia, 10% Palomino and 10% Dona Blanca from seven different parcels of vines. A charming and very drinkable wine, juicy red fruit with a touch of spice.

5 Alternative Reasons to Visit Liverpool

In an earlier post I looked at the 5 Reasons to Visit Liverpool . These were the the things that should be done on a first time trip to the city. If you have more time available you may want to dig a little deeper into the city and explore some of the other reasons that make Liverpool such an excellent destination for a weekend or short break.

Bold Street. Bold Street has had something of a resurgence in recent years and has become a hub for independent retailers, restaurants and cafés. It runs from Hanover Street in the city to join Renshaw Street opposite Liverpool’s Bombed Out Church. At the city end is The Lyceum.

Built in 1802 it has been through a number of incarnations including a gentleman club, a library, a cafe and a post office. It was saved from demolition in the early 1970s but sadly the building is currently vacant.

Heading up from The Lyceum the lower part of the street is a fairly traditional shopping street but one past the junction with Concert Street it reveals its independent heart. Some retailers have been on the street for years, both Mattas and News From Nowhere are Bold Street institutions.

They have been joined by a host of others. Leaf is perfect for tea and the Artisane bakery across the street has lovely coffee, bread and patisserie. If you fancy something a little more substantial then Mowgli and Maray are good options but there are plenty of others.

The Baltic Triangle. An up and coming area just outside the city centre. Home to tech start ups, cafés, restaurants and bars it is very much a happening area. The area is also well known as a centre of street art and I have covered this in a previous post (here) .

For coffee try The Baltic Bakehouse, which also has some amazing sourdough bread, on Bridgewater Street or Baltic Creative on Jamaica Street. If you have an hour or so to spare try a game of Ghetto Golf. Grab a drink at the Baltic Social or Gibberish Tap Room (do check opening times as it does seem to change). If you are there at the weekend try the Baltic Market in the old Cain’s Brewery for some excellent street food.

Street Art. If a visit to the Baltic Triangle has whet your appetite there is plenty more to see and the beauty is it is always changing. There are a lot of pieces in Oldham Place and you can even take a graffiti class at Zap Graffiti on Saturday afternoons.

Church of St Luke. The Bombed Out Church

Located close to the Bombed Out Church on Leece Street why not combine the two combine the two. Entry to the gardens around the church is free. For the more adventurous there is more art to be seen in the streets around London Road .

Craft Beer. The rise in the popularity of craft beer has been as big as that for artisan gin. As a result there are some good options in the city. The Dead Crafty Beer Company on Dale Street has 19 taps which change frequently and they hold regular tap takeovers. Across the road is a beer drinking institution, The Ship and Mitre. A pub for real ale aficionados but also with good selection of craft beers. Heading out of town towards the Baltic Triangle is The Baltic Fleet. In the Triangle itself there is The Baltic Social and Gibberish Taproom.

Natural Wine. Paralleling the growth of the craft beer and gin markets has been the interest in natural/biodynamically produced wines. R & H Fine Wines is a wine merchant hidden away on Queen Street, a small alley off Castle street, close to the Town Hall. They have a great selection of interesting wines from around the world and is well worth searching out. Bunch Wine Bar on Berry Street has an ever changing selection of wines available by the glass or bottle. Hidden away in a small courtyard off Hardman Street is the Buyers Club. There is something for everyone here, eight craft beer taps, natural wines, cocktails and food. Its a relaxing chilled out place to spend an hour or two, especially early evening.

October Tasting at Bunch

The October tasting at Bunch, the natural wine bar on Berry Street in Liverpool, provided the opportunity to taste six wines chosen by host Bobby in honour of his birthday.

Muller Thurgau. Pet Nat. Minimus. Oregon. USA. Slightly off dry with a lovely gentle mousse. There are pears, touch of honey and some bready yeast from the lees which gives the wine a nice texture. There is a slightly floral edge to the finish.

El Bandito Cortez. Testalonga. 2017. Swartland. South Africa. 100% Chenin Blanc from vineyards planted in 1972. Hand harvested, whole bunch pressed. Half fermented in stainless steel and half in large, old barrels then blended together. Nose is very understated with some apple, pear and stone fruit character. The palate is dry with a good rounded texture with stone fruit, almond and a slight touch of honey. Shows lovely balance with a hint of white pepper on the finish. Very nice indeed.

Cutis Deviner. Sobodne. 2015. Slovakia. Deviner is a cross between the rare Slovakian Devin and Traminer. Skin contact for 5 weeks. Ambient temperature ferment outside in open vats. The wine is then aged in old barrels for two years. The palate has lovely balance with orange, apricots and a floral touch giving a nice texture. An orange wine for those that don’t like orange wines! Very enjoyable.

Pomagrana. Lectores Vini. 2017. Catalonia. Spain. Very light in appearance. The nose is expressive red fruits, strawberry, cranberry. The plate is light and juicy, herby and slightly savoury with a hint of pepper on the back palate. A red wine that can be chilled down. Very enjoyable and good value.

Suspended Animation Syrah. 2017. Skinny Legs. Swartland. South Africa. Good depth of colour, nose is dark fruits and touch of farmyardy Brett. Palate is dry with dark berry fruits, it is savoury and smokey. tannins are dry. Needs to open out a little to show its best.

La Milla. Borgata. Piemonte. Italy. Dolcetto from 60 year old vines. Intense, inky colour. The nose is not very expressive with some black fruits and a hint of mint. The palate has earthy black fruits, a little spice and dry tannins. A wine for food.