Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Finca Collado, the expression of terroir
By March of this year, after I taste a great white wine of 2010, I had want to visit the bodega Finca Collado, a small bodega of inside of Alicante (Spain), who I had heard press very well of his wines and people of theese, in special of my friend Riki Wigley.
María del Carmen, the commercial soul of the bodega, I had known and the young enologist of it, Joan, that makes a magistral wines, and today I had known Guillermo, people that work the soil, specialy it because theese are very good for vine farming. The bodegas has situated near from Salinas, an ancient lake of salt desiccate, this soil is specialy sandy and alkaline and difficult for the farming another plants
This morning, invited by Maria del Carmen, my friend Riki, my family and me take the road for going for know the bodega, terroir and people that works in this project. Yes, we have found the site when the vine farming is ideal, very much sunny in summer, differences in temperature from day to night, different soils in the same terroir and a wind pass permanently that do that the vine not need a treatment spececific, only the sulfur for preventing diseases.
When we had arrived, Joan was cooking a rice with sea fruits, and Guillermo and Maria del Carmen offers us an appetizer with the wine white that elaborate in the bodega. At the lunch time, we tasted all the wines of the bodega, white, rosé, and red young and aged in oak barrels.
In reference to wines, I remember the sensations that these resulted in the last spring, today I have tasted again, and some of these have winners an important awards in the last concurses of wines in Spain. (II Premio dels Bodeguers 2011 and Baco de Bronce 2011 ).
I refer to Finca Collado Blanco 2010, a coupage 50% of Chardonnay and 50% of Muscat aged in french oak barrels to 6 month, the wine look a golden yellow and brilliant, at nose has fruits simmilar to apricot and has a mature grape, when wine pass by mouth is very fresh and fruitly, and in the last taste the muscat grape and the vanilla does a perfectly for appetizers and to eat fish soft sauced and poultry, too for sharing with the best company.
The rosé and red wines, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, are very round and smell are very fruit, in the mouth are very soft, including the wines that are passing 12 month barrels french and american oak. The mature cherry, strawberry, a coffe taste in the last and the wines are remembering the marmalade of red fruits.
In a glass all the wines are clean and brilliant, with long legs, very intense nose and soft in mouth. The conclusion is that all the wines come from a ideal climate and an unique soil for farming. Also I can say that the winemaker and the farmer had made a good work making a spectacular wines.
I think that the Finca Collado wines are the must represent the best of Alicante, thanks to the climate, soil and people that do these, I hope that the future the wines will be more spectaculars and recovering the oldest tradition of Alicante wines.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Señorio de Monterruíz video
This is a great experiencie with nature and the rural world. Good meals, fantastic wines and friendly people.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Bodegas Cueva, a commitment to the natural
Sometimes you do not know that close to home is a treasure, and I speak not of precious metal, but jewelry natural landscapes filled with nature, vineyards, villages and farms, and above all phenomenal people and their projects to recover the natural environment and above all enjoy it, getting this off for wine and other spirits with soul and friendly environment.
Had long wanted to find one aura of happiness and positive thoughts and interestingly I found yesterday at a meeting of friends, some old known and others who knew first physically.
Was nearly lunchtime to arrive at the village, so he arranged for it in La Sarten, a chic little restaurant located in the Calle Mayor of La Portera, where we taste some typical dishes of the area as ajoarriero, gazpacho in the area (similar to Manchego) and other foods that helped us to face the afternoon we were coming.
Crossing the street we find the wooden door, which flanked on its left side by an imposing tree, giving rise to the entrance to the patio of Bodegas CUEVA. There was Adela who welcomed us great and something told me that the evening would be very intense and interesting. While waiting for Mariano, winemaker, and some people, Adela made us a coffee and we nuts on a table beneath a young fig tree, where he began to forge a friendly gathering beautiful and full of interest for attendees.
As Mariano arrived, we continued the veiled and after a while we started to talk relaxed natural tasting wines that the winery produces. The CUEVA project holds about being respectful to our environment by choosing grapes to produce wines of the most natural way possible, letting the logic organic cycles of each process follow proper compliance without using chemicals or additives to achieve a wine by itself be able to say where it came from.
The winery produces two red wines we tasted commercial vintage in 2006 and 2007. The first red wine is not passing through oak, of the Tempranillo, Bobal and Grenache, vinified separately and then form the 'coupage' final. This wine is very much alive and well evolved aromas of red fruits and black, the more mature wine from 2006 and 2007, more fresh and youthful, spicy aromas of menthol, dairy, yeast and rounded tannins and refined after his rest in the bottle.
The 2006 and 2007 matured in oak barrels, oak from different places, with a smooth and fine-grain toast, they steer the wine with the same coupage, to toast aromas and flavors, with other spices such as vanilla, coffee, cocoa, ... but in the cup evolve to become more integrated with those sweets and fruit compotes touch.
As an example a white wine from Macabeo, having some yeast to continue fermenting in the bottle and has a point petillant without becoming a sparkling and not clarified nor stable, with what appears to turbidity, but the palate is different. A cava (we are in Requena) Macabeo and Chardonnay, made by the traditional method, without the use of fining or addition of sugar, and yeast must simply resting in these presses and we have taken remembering tastes and aromas that today are difficult to find in the working business.
We also found a Bobal wine, made with reduction techniques, harvesting overripe and desire for experiment and know that could happen to undertake such a venture. I can tell you is the closest thing to ragweed taking the Olympian gods and then also tasted ginger marc found even more surprises we had, but it was a little late and decided to leave so nice meeting you and hope to repeat tell us more about this spectacular project.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Return to Manchuela
Organize a trip to the 'Señorío de Monterruíz' this weekend, a place where, surrounded by vine and grain fields, we have the opportunity to experience the peace and quiet, very rare in the urban environment.
Eleven people we met there to spend the day with the owners of this rural resort and winery, where we visited all the facilities thereof. The animal poultry with pen, the small garden where vegetables and fruits provide that after the food is tasted, always in season, the house which has two rooms to enjoy a fewdays of tranquility and rural life and the cellar, where wines rest in clay pots and bottles that already contain part of the harvest.
Your stay here provides moments of relaxation, friendly conversation and when it comes to food, wine uncorking are going we will enjoy while serving tapas typical home Mancha (ratatouille, sausages killing, toasted bread, fried cheese, eggs in poultry ...), passes through the glasses of white Airen very little production, made entirely of clay pot, a fresh wine with marked acidity and green apple and tropical aromas that whet the appetite and the diner's mouth.
With advancing tasting and appetizers, are opening the first carbonic maceration wines of Bobal, also limited edition, and the sensory blast picks up the aromas of fresh red fruit, violets and menthol very soft. While the vine shoots are attaching themselves to grill lamb chops and smells of the fire along with the flavors of Bobal Joven Selection 2010, a greasy and structured wine, fruit of a selection ends up giving an intense juice but still very soft mouth, reminding the ripe black fruit and spices very minty, ideal for enjoying these grilled steaks of branches of the year, so fragrant and this came to be enjoying the food.
And in the dessert after the fruit and homemade egg custard in a double boiler, we turn to taste a chocolate-covered almonds made using traditional methods who paired with a sweet homemade bobal makes the taste buds , and full of tastes and flavors of the plains of La Mancha.
After coffee and conversation and as a sunset stroll through the terroir of the area, to lower food and learn about the vines and fields which supplies the cellar. In short another day to rest, relax, drink and eat great and in good company.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tenerife, island of wines
Surprisingly for me I have found that mini-continent in the Canary island of Tenerife lies a treasure trove wine, five different designations of origin (DO Tacoronte-Acentejo, DO Ycod-Daute-Isora, DO Valle de Güimar, DO Abona, DO Valle de la Orotava) make this land of wine, with different climates and terroirs, white and red varieties, most of them native to produce excellent wines and have been fortunate to taste, many of the wineries I've visited.
The islands group is located in the Atlantic northwest coast of Africa, are volcanic islands, the climate is subtropical, but varies locally depending on altitude and slope north and south. This variability leads to biological diversity, along with the rich landscape and geology make finding different terroirs and adaptability of the vines and produce different wines in each area.
Tenerife is the largest island and relief, known as the island of 'eternal spring' has different types of soils and climates, Spain's highest peak is Mount Teide, 3,718 meters above sea level, a large emerging volcano in the center of the island and the formation of this natural area so special.
The cultivation of vines in the archipelago, especially in Tenerife was founded after the conquest, when settlers brought vine varieties and prove the nobility acquired Canarian wines. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the wine reaches a large weight in the economy of Tenerife for many families who were engaged in cultivation and subsequent business. Deserves special mention Canary Malvasía, which came to be considered the best wine in the world and was coveted by European courts and the largest wineries in Europe and America. The island currently has five denominations of origin: Abona, Valle de Guimar, Valle de LaOrotava, Tacoronte-Acentejo and Ycod-Daute-Isora.
The different denominations of origin are distributed in the north of the island as Valle de La Orotava, Tacoronte-Acentejo and Ycod-Daute-Isora, more fertile areas with richer soils and more humid weather due to moisture Northwest winds laden with moisture, called trade winds, which at different heights of the island, make the cultivation of the vine as possible and get good yields, but with a rather long cycle crops. DO Valle de Güimar is located in the east of the island, with a drier climate and terroir called 'jable', a sandstone from volcanic ash rather poor but suitable for cultivation of certain varieties, in areas near to the coast, all white, and also influenced by the trade winds in high soil is clay loam and plantations can be found up to 1,500 meters. The area south of the island, belonging to the DO Abona, with a climate similar to Mediterranean floors 'jable' is also quite complicated for growing grapes, but as the altitude and the interior of the zone, soil become more clay and gives good yields and outstanding quality, even for altitudes above 1,000 meters.
Concerning grape varieties, there are over 20 varieties, registered and indigenous to the island such as Listán Blanco y Listán Negro, Malvasia, Gual, Marmajuelo, Vijariego, Baboso Negro, Negramoll, Muscat, Tintilla, Verdello .. . with differences depending on the area, mentioning that the traditional vine crops using a kind of twisted vines in traditional allowing the plant to grow in a 'parralito' and spreading the floor with a shaped beam hairpin, there are also glass and trellis plantings.
The wines are quite different from one area to the other, predominantly white semi-sweet, dry and natural sweet wines, especially white-headed duck, delicious, fruity, are also pink and red traditional Listán Negro, youth and fruity, carbonic maceration wines also is common to find some wineries. Rearing of wines are quite short (between 1 and 4 months) and give it to the wine a touch of wood, but without losing the fruit, for me the success of these fabulous wines.
Apart from the wineries that produce bottled wines, is also typical in the north of the island, many farmers prepare their wine for own consumption or to be enjoyed in the garages of the houses along typical Canarian food, it's called guachinche, and end the day with some tapas and a fourth home canary wine is quite picturesque and traditional.
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