Tag: Spain

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.

Guadalest

In the cold and dark of January a post from warmer and sunnier days in August 2017.

It may be only 25Km from the beaches and bars of Benidorm but the hill village of Guadalest is a jewel that many visitors to the Costa Blanca may well miss.

Surrounded by mountains it has been a military stronghold for over a thousand years although you are now only likely to see the daily invasion of tourists.

The drive from the Mediterranean coast may only be short but it is largely uphill and is itself a treat so is not to be rushed. Travelling from Javea we left the motorway (Autopisa) to join the CV755 which took us first to the town of Callosa d’en Sarria. Much of the agriculture here is given to the production of loquats (I’d never heard of them either – apparently like a mix of peach, citrus and mango) and large areas of the countryside can be seen covered to protect the trees, which do not bear fruit until the spring. At Callosa there is the choice to turn to the Algar waterfalls or continue on to Guadalest. The road from here is wild, rugged and beautiful. There is a curt reminder of just how wild when the road crosses an area of a recent forest fire which has left several hectares blackened.

Despite the bus loads of visitors the village doesn’t feel crowded and parking was reasonably straightforward even arriving late morning. Shops are very touristy as you can imagine but there is an interesting range of museums for such a small village. These include a microgigantic and minature museums where magnifying glasses can be used to see a flea on a bicycle and the Statue of Liberty in the eye of a needle. Of particular interest was the ethnological museum which uses a series of dioramas to tell the story of life in the village in time gone by. Entry was free and although small the museum gave a very good picture of what life was like.
Orduna house is well worth a visit and the entry charge is very reasonable. While the house is very interesting it is the views afforded from the higher parts of the castle that are the real bonus

Looking east from the village you can see the reservoir formed by the damming of the river Guadalest.

 

Guadalest is well worth visit. So close to the hustle and bustle of the beaches yet so far away.