Domaine le roc des anges, roussillon
Download 6.21 Mb. Pdf ko'rish
|
- Bu sahifa navigatsiya:
- VINA ILUSION, MARTIN ALONSO GLORIA PLAZA, Rioja Baja – Organic
- SPAIN
|
SPAIN Continued…
Just ripe: a cherry morning soft rasp, brambly bite and blackbird, as dark smokes away; so sun blooms along the edge of ample palettes. Damsons beam over mouth- buds, beyond the fruit into wit. I sip bark and velvet.
Rioja – Helen Kidd BODEGAS BENITO URBINA, RIOJA ALTA, Rioja A family-run estate that practises organic methods. The bodega is situated in Cuzcurrita de Río Tirón, on the north- western edge of Rioja. It is an area that produces wines with a great capacity for ageing, and is therefore excellent for the production of great wines – Reservas and Gran Reservas. Bdgs Benito Urbina, a family-owned, single estate winery, has 75 hectares of vineyards, 65 of Tempranillo, and 10 of Graziano, Mazuelo and Viura. Total production is about 460,000 kilos. Four generations of the family have dedicated themselves to the cultivation of their vineyards and the production of wine. In 1975 the bodega began to age and bottle their own wine in order to retain the special characteristics of a small single estate. Their sole objective, the production of quality wines, has been achieved as the result of careful viticulture using traditional techniques, harvesting by hand and avoiding the use of weed killers and pesticides. There has been a large investment in modern installations, de-stalking machinery, stainless steel fermentation tanks and bottling machinery. The Urbina crianza (12 months in American oak, 6 months in bottle) is a blend of Tempranillo with a little Graziano and is deliciously smooth with ripe damson fruit and a touch of mint from the oak. The Reserva contains Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graziano and has more complex, caramelised aromas. The Gran Reservas are as polished as beeswaxed pieces of mahogany furniture in a stately home and age disgracefully well. All the wines are unfiltered. 2008
URBINA CRIANZA R
1999 URBINA “SELECCION” R
URBINA RESERVA ESPECIAL R
1996 URBINA GRAN RESERVA R
URBINA GRAN RESERVA ESPECIAL R
VINA ALBERGADA, Rioja Alavesa Bursting with sweet damson and soft plum fruit this young vines Tempranillo is deliciously easy-drinking and can happily be drunk chilled. Opaque purple-coloured, with layers of fruit the Rioja has an incredibly sweet mid-palate of black fruits intermixed with subtle spice, concentrated yet incredibly soft and elegant on the finish.
2015 VINA ALBIZU TEMPRANILLO R
2015 VINA ALBIZU TEMPRANILLO – 10 litre BIB R
RIOJA TINTO JOVEN R
2015 VINA MUES R
VINA ILUSION, MARTIN ALONSO & GLORIA PLAZA, Rioja Baja – Organic Viña Ilusion is a project brought to life by Martín Alonso and Gloria Plaza in the Rioja Baja sub-zone of the region. Here, in their chalky, iron laced clay soils at around 700m of altitude, the two organically farm their 5 hectares with the utmost care according to the Fukuoka (author of “One Straw Revolution”) method. While it has been called “do nothing farming” for the lack of additions (neither chemical nor organic fertilizer) and general outlook that healthy cultivation is more about long-term planning and careful observation than it is about attempting to micromanage and control agriculture, Fukuoka farming has become trendy with some very respectable vignerons. Way before this came to pass, and before current luminaries such as Michael Pollan name checked him, Alonso travelled to Japan nearly 30 years ago to learn from Fukuoka himself. Farming ideology aside, we should mention that this wine is a delicious, gulpable expression of Rioja: full of mixed berries and red fruits, juicy, delightful to drink.
2015 ILUSION RIOJA TINTO JOVEN R
- 193 -
2016 TREMENDUS RIOJA BLANCO W
2014 VIURA MACERADO EDICION LIMITADA W
VIURA ANADAS EDICION LIMITADA W
2012 SOBRE EDICION LIMITADA VIURA LIAS CRIANZA W
TREMENDUS RIOJA CLARETE Ro
- 194 -
Continued…
On a road in Alavesa, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of Rioja, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light My thirst grew strong, I stopped on a whim Had to refuel for the night. There she stood in the doorway; I heard the dinner bell And I was thinking to myself, ‘this could be Kevin or this could be Mel’. Prices were a scandal, I turned ash grey There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say… Welcome to the Hotel Viura, leaves you poorer Makes you a basket case I still got a parking space Plenty of room at the Hotel Viura, mein fuhrer Any time of year It’s extremely dear You can only afford a beer… So I called to the sommelier, ‘please bring me my wine’ He said, ’we haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine’ And still those vintages are mouldering away, Hidden in a cellar just out of sight… Never ever to taste Cabernet Welcome to the Hotel Viura, Albrecht Durer Such an exclusive place You’ll leave the rat race Shoulda called it Hotel Macabeu, oh hey ho What a nice surprise, maybe they could advertise… (With apologies to The Eagles)
- 195 - SPAIN Continued… GRAN CERDO, GONZALO GONZALO GRIJALBA, Rioja – Organic Gonzalo Gonzalo was born in Logroño, Spain and grew up among the vineyards that his parents cultivated in Fuenmayor. After studying biology in León and oenology in the university of Rioja, he dedicated himself to travelling through France and Italy where he met small vine-growers and winemakers and discovered new varieties of grape and technologies After completing his oenologist training in an industrial winery, in 2003 he abandoned everything to give birth to Orgullo, his personal oenology project. Fiercely protective of the terroir of his family vineyards Gonzalo rejects market driven fashions, formulae, chemical treatments and conformism. Instead he has sought out his own methods with respect for the land, his vineyards, and the traditions of his forefathers. He balances this respect with formal training in the latest enological techniques and methods. Gonzalo was profoundly influenced in his choice of viticultural methods by the fact that his father became seriously ill from years of daily exposure to high-spec chemical fertilizers and herbicides while tending their vineyards in the 1970s, when they were regarded as the panacea for all vineyard problems. It was not clear at the time that chemicals that were perfectly safe in small doses had significant harmful effects from cumulative, long term exposure. The soil itself suffered as well, losing its vitality as witnessed in the deadening of the biodiversity in the vineyard. Wild flowers, insects, earth worms, snails and the various organisms of the vineyard ecosystem were no longer present as they were even two generations ago. The ladybug on the label of Orgullo is a symbol of the renewed vitality of the vineyards which Gonzalo has worked long and hard to revive. The ladybug is one of the “good” insects that prey on aphids, mites and other “bad” insects. The chemical treatments of the recent past minimized both the “good” and the “bad” and in the process the vitality of the vineyards. However, this restored vigour requires plenty of vigilance and creative solutions to combat the various hazards that can befall vineyards, such as mildew, mould and other pests. For this Gonzalo keeps a close watch and has revived natural treatments and biodynamic practices used in the past to maintain healthy vineyards. The 100% Tempranillo vineyards themselves were planted 35 years ago in the town of Fuenmayor in the La Tejera sub- region, which is an area between groves of trees along the Ebro River and Mount San Llorente in the heart of the Rioja Alta sub-zone. The soil is calcareous clay and the vineyards are 4.5 hectares in size. Gonzalo and his helpers Teresa and Fernando tend the vines methodically, and with perfection in mind, year round and work only with the best grapes they can coax from the land for Orgullo. . They also follow the lunar cycle in vineyard and the winery. In the end ,Gran Cerdo is all about the purest expression of fruit with whole bunch fermentation, no filtration, no stabilization and minimal sulphur. The wine has real character, all the juicy elements of Tempranillo, with no dirty oak to mask its charm. It has a natural way about it but with no funkiness. With its cherry-red, purplish, brilliant colour Gran Cerdo reveals primary notes of fresh fruit, strawberries, raspberries, cherries and violets with clean mineral tones from the granite. This little natural wine is phenomenal value.
2016 GRAN CERDO BLANCO W
2016 GRAN CERDO TINTO R
- 196 -
SPAIN Continued… ;
2016 RIOJA BLANCO “PHAROS” W
2013 RIOJA MONTESC R
HACIENDA GRIMON, Rioja – Organic Hacienda Grimón is run by the Oliváns, a family with a long winemaking tradition in Rioja. Grimón was established by Paco Grimón who runs the bodega and his brother Eliseo who takes care of the viticulture. Their 25 hectares of vineyards are based in the Valle de Jubera, a secluded and little known corner of Rioja Alta with a great viticultural history. Viticulture is organic – “always has been here, why do I need certification..?” – with no use of herbicides and pesticides, sheep manure is used as fertilizer. Hand harvesting is employed for all their vineyards. Great care is taken to provide the healthiest grapes of the highest quality, as nearly all the wines will experience extended ageing. 75% of the vineyards are planted to Tempranillo, 15% to Garnacha and 10% to Graciano. Plots range from 10 to 45-years- old. The straight Rioja Tempranillo is fermented and aged in stainless steel, with no carbonic maceration which is the usual method used for Rioja jovens. The wine is made from exactly the same fruit that goes into the Crianza (see below). Paco was reluctant to make this wine as he only wants to make oak aged wines but we asked very him nicely! We wanted to show Tempranillo without any oak influence in all its juicy glory. This is as serious as 196rborio Rioja gets, quite full bodied, nice tannic bite but juicy nonetheless. The Crianza is a rigorous selection of grapes from three different vineyard parcels. The wine is aged for 16 months in French and American oak. Aromas of black fruits with black pepper and sweet spices. The palate is quite full bodied for a Crianza due to the quality of fruit used and longer than average ageing in oak. The ripe tannins and fresh acidity balance the richness of the fruit which results in an elegant and classy Rioja, a serious Crianza and cut above most others you will try. The Reserva is more structured with more prominent oak flavours. Dense plummy fruit and a good tannic structure. These wines are not oak wollipops.
2016 RIOJA TEMPRANILLO R
2014 RIOJA CRIANZA R
2012 RIOJA RESERVA R
- 197 - The sense of taste is cultivated, much like our ear for jazz: free of prejudices, with a spirit of curiosity, and not taking anything too seriously… every neophyte was handed a large rosy grape by the master, with the instruction to eat it in no fewer than twenty minutes… During those interminable twenty minutes, I touched, looked at, smelled, turned over in my mouth with excruciating slowness, and finally, sweating, swallowed the famous grape. Ten years later, I can describe its shape, its texture, its temperature, its taste and smell.
MAETIERRA DOMINUM, Rioja – Organic In addition to following organic viticulture practices, the vineyards of Maetierra Dominum have in common the age and quality of its vines. The differences between the vineyards, despite their geographical proximity, reside in the soils, altitude and orientation, which provide the grapes from each one of the “197lumie pagos” with particular characteristics. Old vineyards located in four different sub-areas of ‘Rioja’ for their particular microclimates and soils. All four vineyards are gobelet-trained, which is a tradition in Riojan viticulture and a more natural system that favours photosynthesis and requires a manual harvest, that is, the grapes are picked manually without the use of any machinery. The four estates, the four vineyards property of Maetierra Dominum, are located at a few kilometres from each other. However, their soils, altitude, climate and orientation differentiate them. If these four vineyards have something in common, it is the quality of the grapes they produce and their age, as they are all over 100 years old. The four estates are small and they mostly grow the Tempranillo variety, although there are also a few scattered Garnacha vines, which provide fruity nuances, and Graciano vines, which add colour and body to the wine. Both varieties are used in the final coupage of Maetierra Dominum wines together with the Tempranillo variety. As well as the varieties, the altitude, orientation and soils in the four estates provide the wine with different qualities. Three of the estates have limestone-clay soils and one has a ferrous-clay soil. Old vines (some up to 100 years old) with low yields, goblet-trained, selected, after years of research from vineyards located in four different districts, chosen for their particular soils and mesoclimates, which constitute the “197lumie pagos” – or “four estates” – whose grapes go to produce the wines. Harvesting is carried out by hand throughout the month of October cluster by cluster. The grapes are placed in 15 kg boxes and undergo a selection process at the winery. The grapes are sorted and gravity fed and then fermented in 500 litre open-topped barrels before being aged for more than 14 months in new, French oak casks made by different cooperages and with oak from forests of different origins. Each year, in accordance with the special characteristics of each harvest, the wine remains in the barrel for the optimum period of time needed in order to obtain a perfect balance between the fruit and the fine nuances of the casks. The wine’s evolution is completed with a prolonged period of ageing in the bottle.
2010
GAVANZA RIOJA RESERVA R
2010 GAVANZA RIOJA RESERVA - magnum R
Download 6.21 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
|