Terroir

The “other terroir”: the magic of the cellarmen

~ sharquillo ~ 4 Comments

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I write a lot about terroir and vintages, to the point where it may come across that they are all that matter. That certainly is not the case. On the contrary, although it sounds an obvious point, it is a fact that the winemaking processes and, in particular, the ageing processes are absolutely central to making the wines of Jerez and Sanlucar what they are, to the point that they are ofen defined and categorized by the processes used rather than their characteristics as finished wines. I sometimes rebel at this – I occasionally feel that the process centered assumptions (like “the older the better”) get in the way of making the best wines possible, but it is undeniably one of the great strengths of the industry, because while the raw material will determine the possibilities of a wine in general, the processes and techniques that can be brought to bear in the cellar can contribute to creating wines with a staggering range of characteristics, from the utterly ethereal to the bogglingly concentrated and fierce.

At this Friday afternoon’s sherry palooza in Lavinia there was a great opportunity to try the wines of three bodegas that may not be making terroir specific or vintage wines but are making wines of considerable distinction and in that respect were maybe unfairly overlooked in the great EPS article Resurrection of the Wine last weekend: Emilio Hidalgo, Fernando de Castilla, and Bodegas Tradicion.

Emilio Hidalgo is family owned since its foundation in 1860 and is probably the bodega with the highest quality overall range of wines around: La Panesa, El Tresillo, El Tresillo 1874, Gobernador, Villapanes, Privilegio and Santa Ana (preblog but one I am going to have to have again). It is also a perfect example of a bodega focussed on the “other terroir”, where the specific characteristics of the bodega have a key influence on the wines that are produced. The supreme case is La Panesa,  a fino that spends a staggering 15 years, on average, under flor, and is still recognizably a fino. What is really interesting is that the solera with the oldest finos is located in one specific room of the bodega; no other room allows a yeast population to survive on such old wines. That incredible age must also be a tribute to the cellar management and wine making skills of the bodega, since this must surely be the limit of what is technically possible in biological ageing. More generally, it is striking how clear an identity all the wines have – not just la Panesa but also the others have a really rich, savoury quality and density of flavour. Oldest of the old school – no dated sacas etc – but a very modern approach to just making the best wine they can.

Bodegas Tradicion, while a new winery in its current form, also has a historic connection with the wines of Jerez (the Rivero family previously owned “CZ”, one of the most historic brands) and have done as much as anyone to maintain that history alive with a great archive and exhibition. They are a bodega with a clear focus on solera ageing of the highest quality, albeit with one eye on the modern audience: all the wines indicate the date and size of saca, and even the number of the bottle. More importantly the wines, most of which would be classified as VOS (20 years old or more) or even VORS (30 years or more) have a recognizeable style. For me the star of the show is the VORS Amontillado (which I am shocked to learn has not been reviewed on this blog) but the Palo Cortado and Oloroso are not far behind and all the wines have a nice touch of citrus and an excellent structure (even the Pedro Ximenez and Cream, which I have only tried fleetingly, seem to have a more structured shape than you might expect). They have also been capable of producing finos with a long time under flor (an average of 12 years and for my money the successive sacas seem to get better). All this can only be a result of careful selection of mostos and cellaring perfection.

Last but not least, Fernando de Castilla is another relatively new winery in its current form but one that makes very matchable, high quality wines in the old school and, although the soleras may have been acquired from different sources, there is a recognisable identity and quality across the range of wines. Here my favourites would be the Antique Palo Cortado and Oloroso,  but I find that all the wines have a nice acetaldehide profile and balance that makes them very easy to drink and pair with food. They are an interesting contrast to Tradicion because their wines don’t carry the VOS or VORS labels (indeed neither do the Emilio Hidalgo wines) and indeed probably don’t have the years required, but for me they are spot on age-wise: enough age to give them bite and character but young enough to be fresh and not astringent. Fernando de Castilla date the sacas of their Fino en Rama but not, as far as I am aware, the other bottlings.

Three great bodegas old and new that demonstrate just what can be achieved in the cellar. I can feel a glass or two coming on …

 

 

 

Fino Inocente 

~ sharquillo ~ 2 Comments

Macharnudo power in Surtopia today. I have had this many times in the past (here is one) but I really look at this in a different way after my day on the pagos. Not looking for acetaldehide here – the haybales don’t come out even when the glass is empty – but rather the muscle of the albariza and the sapidity and those two qualities are certainly there. It is incredibly compact and austere, elegant/horizontal in profile and leaves a mouthwatering tingle that lasts and lasts (I am reliably informed that this is the effect of the caliza), giving it an incredibly fresh and refreshing finish.

I see that back in the day I was ahead of my time and compared this one with the Bota de Fino 54 “Macharnudo Alto” (which does after all come from the same neighbourhood). Reassuring to see that those notes and those of the day before correspond roughly to my thoughts now, so I am not imagining these qualities. More interestingly, a clear demonstration of the different profiles of fino that can be produced from the same grape and on the same pago (and by the same chap now I think about it) using different techniques in the solera: this stark, compact, sapid style or the big, expansive, almost fruity 54.

Delicious, classic, and illuminating. I have since been told by none other than Alvaro Giron that this (and other macharnudos) is a prime candidate for cellar ageing – “at least” five years. See you in 2021 for that one!

 

Oloroso La Barajuela 2013

~ sharquillo ~ 5 Comments

  
An oloroso you would not pick out of a lineup. Look at that beautiful gold colour. This is the twin of the Fino la Barajuela 2013 but these are the even heavier grapes, harvested later and creating what must have been an almighty mosto. 

No flor here, and if two years is young for a fino it is remarkably young for an oloroso. Maybe as a result it isn’t very aromatic and certainly not very caramelized – but intriguingly I thought it had a suggestion of the burnt edge of an oloroso. Almonds and slightly jammy fruit on the nose. Then on the palate extremely meaty and more almonds and jam. Then the burnt edge at the end. Or am I imagining it? I would really like to taste this one blind one of these days.

 In any event, another wine with personality and a pretty nice one too. 

Fino la Barajuela 2013

~ sharquillo ~ 6 Comments

I have been after this wine by Bodegas Luis Perez for a good long while and am glad to say it was worth the wait.

It is a wine from some of the most famous real estate in the area: Pago Corregidor in Carrascal – the Northernmost and furthest inland of the great pagos of Jerez (dead North of Jerez on this map). The vines are on Albariza “Barajuela”, which is characterized by visible sedimentary layers, like a deck or “baraja” of cards and for producing fruit capable of wine with a muscular, horizontal quality. It has been statically aged and is still a baby compared to many finos around at only two years under flor, but there is no doubting its force of personality.

As you can see, it is a crystal clear, slightly golden colour and this might sound odd but I would describe the nose as “compact” – not a yeasty/acetaldehide nose but punchy almonds, melon, herbs and maybe just a bit of salinity. On the palate it is indeed big and muscular – with a punchy yeastiness, maybe some very mellow fruit like melon or pear, almonds, and some sapid zing. It is an intense experience, with a lot of body (still a high glycerin content you would say), structure and flavours but also a long, pleasant, fresh finish.

“Old school” stuff: it is said that back in the days when the wines of Jerez ruled the earth they were wines such as this -big, solid, wines quite distinct from today’s lighter styles. Drinking this you can absolutely believe it. Magnificent.

 

Pagos, albarizas, palomino, and the wines they can produce

~ sharquillo ~ 10 Comments

Am trying to put my thoughts into some kind of logical order after my visit to Jerez and Sanlucar with Ramiro Ibañez of Cota 45 and Federico Ferrer of Cuatrogatos Wine Club.

As I mentioned yesterday our trip through the pagos had taken us on a zig zag route from one extreme to another, from el Corregidor in the Jerez pago of Carrascal to Los Cuadrados in Balbaina, then from Martin Miguel to Miraflores and the Atlantic influence of Sanlucar. In the process we had stood on, driven past, sniffed, and attempted to crumble in our fingers all of the major soil types – and in particular the three major types of albariza: barajuela (layered, like a deck or “baraja” of cards), antehojuela (slightly crumbly, some wormholes and other signs of life), and tosca cerrada (solid, cement like). (Pictured here in the albariza cabinet at Ramiro’s albarizatorio – antehojuela at the top, barajuela in the middle and tosca cerrada on the third shelf.)

 

It was fascinating to see the vineyards and examine samples of albariza, but the only way to really make any sense of it was to taste the wines themselves. Indeed, it became obvious that from the surface it is very hard to make any sense at all of the vineyards, since the all important albariza is under the ground. So we were incredibly fortunate in being able to taste some palomino from each of these three types of albariza. It has been pointed out to me that at this stage I became deadly serious and frankly, I was.

The wines were raw and unfinished but even taking that into account (or maybe as a result) the differences in personality were extremely vivid: Ramiro pointed out the structure and “verticality” of the antehojuela  wine and there was no denying it – particularly in comparison to the barajuela – which had “horizontal muscle” in his phrase – but even compared to the tosca cerrada (not that the Tosca was short of muscle). By contrast the antehojuela wine had a sharper entry and the barajuela a longer finish, and the tosca cerrada was definitely more rounded than both. This was one of the most rewarding tasting experiences I can remember in fact – the life and power in the wines made the differences vivid and the differences were very revealing.

 

There followed a fascinating debate about how these elemental qualities of the wine, impressed on them by the fruit, and in turn a product of the terroir, can affect the decision of when to harvest (and the different traditions of Jerez and Sanlucar), the destination of the wines, the crianza process, the strains of flor that will form, the techniques that can be used and the effects that can be achieved (there was a brilliant discussion of solera processes, especially a dual speed process, and its effect for the development of acetaldehides). We also got into the discussion of mouth geometry and tactile sensations of the wine, although I have to admit I am at the beginning of the curve there.

Even better than that, in the course of the afternoon and evening we were able to taste some fully finished, and absolutely first class, wines from the pagos we had visited like the Pitijopos (Volume I – a great opportunity to go back to those (again they had been open a few days) and the palominos from Macharnudo, Añina, Miraflores and others), Las 30 del Cuadrado (from El Cuadrado), La Charanga by Alba (from Pago Mahina, at the muscular, river influenced end of Sanlucar), the latest Viña Matalian (we hadn’t made it all the way down there but good to taste the innox vs the bota fermented Pitijopo 6 and a new oak aged wine from the same pago) and the Manzanilla de Añada (from El Hornillo, which we hadn’t visited, but was just as good as I remembered). In every case it felt like tasting them with both eyes open – looking for effects and characteristics that before I had taken as read, which really added to the experience.

The stars of the show for me were two wines we had (amongst others, it must be said) with lunch: the Barajuelo fino and oloroso from el Corregidor (Bodegas Luis Perez). Maybe it is because I have been waiting so long to try them, maybe it was just the narrative of the day, but I was impressed by the structure, muscle and intensity on display. It gives you a sense of tremendous potential: a massive wine that could be sculpted into something really special. The fino was maybe the easiest of the two to appreciate, slightly smoother on the edges, but it was intense and potent and full of character and it was also fascinating to taste it next to its three year old oloroso twin. As one of the guys pointed out, there are white burgs with more obvious oxidation, but the different effects of the oxygen or flor on the wines was incredibly distinctive (and attractive).

Almost too many sensations, and too much information, to take in all the detail, but the overall impressions were so vivid – and so solid – that it felt like my views on terroir were converted from faith based on theory (and the Pitijopos) to a conviction based on fact.

There is no way I will ever be able to adequately repay Ramiro and Federico for the insights gained (or the friends from Madrid and Brussels that came along and with their questions and laughter helped make the day so enjoyable) so I did the only thing I could think of and bought lunch.  Hopefully the first of many – I certainly don’t mind paying if it is.

 

The pagos of Jerez and Sanlucar

~ sharquillo ~ 3 Comments


The picture above was taken from Miraflores looking towards the Atlantic. You can see Miraflores Alto in the foreground, then Miraflores Bajo and then Carrascal (de Sanlucar).

I took this photo yesterday during an unforgettable visit to the pagos with a group of great friends, lead by Ramiro Ibañez of Cota 45 and Federico Ferrer, the genial figure behind the Cuatro Gatos Wine Club. We started in Corregidor in Carrascal (Jerez) and made our way across the Jerez pagos – Carrascal, Macharnudo, Tizón, Añina and Balbaina – then on to the pagos in Sanlucar – the much missed Martin Miguel, Mahina,  Miraflores and Carrascal.

We visited some celebrated vineyards along the way and were able to see the lie of the land, and feel the differences in conditions. Although it was a beautiful sunny day, there were noticeable differences in breeze, temperature and humidity, and even more so in terrain – colour, shape, slope, orientation – these are a series of small vallies with different characters.

Then the day got even better as we visited Cota 45- the albariza laboratory or “albarizatorio” and had a close look at samples of the different types of albariza and, more importantly, tasted the wines from each different soil type.

It was a really great day and I will need a little time to write this up properly. In the meantime, I just wanted to take a moment to thank Ramiro and Federico for a really wonderful, inspiring experience.

Las añadas en el Marco de Jerez

~ sharquillo ~ 8 Comments
Los Sobrinos
Required reading (in Spanish) from Ramiro Ibañez and Luis “Willy” Perez via the following link – lossobrinosdehaurie.com
These two guys need no introduction – they are two of the most exciting wine makers working in the region (or anywhere) today – and this is the first section of a work they have been preparing for some time .
The title, literally “Vintages in the Jerez area”,  is intriguing and suggestive of where I think the region needs to go (witness my cabinet reshuffle and views on vintage chic) and early on you get a flavour that the authors (both of them involved in making vintage wines as we speak) are of a mind when they remind us that “the last two centuries in which the dynamic [solera] system has predominated over the static, represent only 7% of the 3000 years of viticulture in the province of Cadiz”.
This first section certainly lays down a solid base. 52 pages of cracking documents, photos (including the above shot) and explanations setting out the early history of the area from the point of view of the winemaking and the wines:
  • The first chapter describes the wines and winemaking in the area “before the generalized storing of wine” (i.e., before it became customary to age the wines in origin, at the end of the 18th Century) including the introduction of biological ageing in Sanlucar, probably during the 18th Century;
  • The second chapter then covers the period 1788-1830/40, which it terms the “centralization of Jerez”, covering issues such as the increased use of palomino fino; and
  • The third chapter covers the period 1840-1870 (the “refinement of Jerez before the precipice”), including the birth of the classifications and symbols and the refinement of the solera process.
It is fascinating stuff that repays study.

Minerality, history, terroir, and winemaking: Angulo, Giron, Perez and Ibañez

~ sharquillo ~ 3 Comments

I included a link to this exchange a couple of weeks ago as part of a general post on writings about Terroir and the wines of Jerez and Sanlucar but having had time to read it in full I really think it deserves a post to itself. (In fact it deserves to be widely read in full, but all I can do is encourage etc.).

The original post sets out a conversation reflecting on the probable causes of the minerality that many perceive in manzanillas between Fernando Angulo (of Champagne Sherry and Alba Viticultores) and Alvaro Giron Sierra (well known to readers of this blog and the source for the link).

The conversation was from 2010 but was posted in December 2013. In it, Fernando Angulo sets the ball rolling attributing the minerality of the manzanillas to the observable characteristics of the terroir (in both senses – land and bodega), the sea air and mineral soils, themselves the relic of the jurassic past, and their impact on the vine, the fruit and, even more importantly, the flor. In response, Alvaro Giron points out the lack of scientific evidence and the conventional theory that the perception of salinity is a result of the flor having consumed the glycerine from the wine, leaving the mineral element “naked” to the tastebuds, and warns against the difficulty of comparing given the use of palominos from jerez in the production of manzanilla.

What follows, however, is an absolutely enthralling below the line debate between the two authors, Willy Perez and Ramiro Ibañez which ranges far wider than the title suggests. The debate takes place over 5 days and 23 hours, and the exchanges are of a very high quality indeed – well reasoned and dense with facts and technical detail – and when you look at the times of the posts, you can see that the guys were consumed by it for a few days there (some of the posts are comfortably past midnight). There are 43 comments in total over 30+ pages and even if you look just at the more substantive entries there are no fewer than 21 – four by Fernando Angulo, eight by Alvaro Giron, five by Willy Perez and four by Ramiro Ibañez.

You quite literally get everything you could ask for, including (from memory and not necesarrily in order):

  • Descriptions of the chemistry and its effects on perceptions of flavour
  • Changes in the structure of the industry in Sanlucar through history
  • The former use of blends of fruit grown on albariza and clay (clay and sandy clay)
  • The tactile sensations produced by the wines
  • The topography and geology of the region, characteristics of different pagos, relevance of altitude
  • Impact of the disappearance of the “navazos”(the coastal gardens and meadows, not the winemakers who have taken that name)
  • Strains of palomino
  • The average ages of the vines
  • Fermentation in bota vs inox
  • Fermentation in lagares vs bodegas
  • Relevance of foliage and pruning
  • The historic relevance of and views regarding fortification
  • Willy Perez’s 16.3º mosto and unfortified fino
  • Relevance of the “aserpio”
  • The relative merits of terroir, fruit, solera and maker
  • Strains of flor and their effects on biological ageing
  • The impact of the acetaldehides for the flavour and aroma profiles of the wines
  • Comparisons with burgundy and other regions, particularly the great manzanillas of the 50s
  • Biodynamics
  • The harikiri of the progressive loss of genetic stock
  • The experience of the champagne region
  • The wisdom of el Bolli, el “Seneca de la viña”

It makes for a fascinating and entertaining read, largely due to the different perspective that each of the authors brings: Alvaro Giron’s knowledge of the region’s history and his inquisitive, scientific approach; Fernando Angulo’s interest in comparison with wines from regions worldwide; and Willy Perez and Ramiro Ibañez from the point of view of winemakers with a common enthusiasm but some intriguingly different perspectives.

For this reader, the absolute highlights are the posts by the winemakers: the technical knowledge and passion that shines in those posts is brilliant, and in their interventions you can see some of the thinking behind some of the most exciting projects going on in Jerez and Sanlucar today. (It is also frankly encouraging to see how much thought is involved.)

Really one of the best collections of thoughts I have read to date and one I can see myself re-reading many times.

Jerez and terroir by Jefford and others

~ sharquillo ~ 7 Comments

Plano parcelario

A really nice piece by Andrew Jefford on the Decanter site in relation to this subject which is so very close to my heart, and especially, the “region’s youngsters” (including you know who, but also the guys at Alba).

In fact I thought this would be a good moment to compile some of the recent writings I have seen on this topic (by no means comprehensive I am sure, but if you want comprehensive this is not the blog for you).

In the meantime, two of the “region’s youngsters” have themselves started to write down the history of not just the terroir but also the vintages. Part I of their book (in Spanish) is required reading.

But the interest in this subject is not at all recent and within minutes of posting the above list I have been given the following reading assignments (thanks again Alvaro):

  • ¿Terruño en Jerez?  by Alvaro Giron Sierra in Elmundovino in February 2009 and the ensuing debate
  • Terruño Jerezano, Testaruda Realidad by Jesus Barquin, again in Elmundovino (and apparently just one of many contributions through the years on said essential website), in August 2009
  • Terroir in two senses and none by Jesus Barquin (although the article doesn’t seem to be available – if anyone does have a lead on it let me know)
  • This piece The notion of Terroir and noble wines on the Jerez-Xeres-Sherry blog summarizes and translates the contribution of Victor de la Serna in a symposium before the AIV in June 2012
  • Brooklynwineguy made a nice post about a dinner organized by the great Peter Liem back in July 2012
  • And a cracking post and ensuing debate in 2013 Salinidad en las Manzanillas by Giron, Angulo and Perez – will report back next week when I have finished reading it!

Most importantly though, this message is clearly getting across – anecdotally one of the Sherry Women was telling me about a fantastic tasting of sherries lead by Juanjo Asencho focussing on terroirs late last year – and let us hope that the trend continues.

La Bota de Fino 54, “Macharnudo Alto”

~ sharquillo ~ 3 Comments

Getting around to writing up the second great wine from my trip to Asturianos on Friday and it is another excellent wine by Equipo Navazos.

Fans of terroir in Jerez will note that the name refers to one of the great pagos of Jerez (there are four major pagos, Balbaina, Macharnudo, of which this would the “Alto” part, Añina and Carrascal) – you can see the pagos of Jerez marked on this cracking map that a friend emailed me last week (doesn’t reach into Sanlucar unfortunately).  Historically Macharnudo Alto has always been very highly considered – maybe the most famous single vineyard fino, Inocente, is from up there – I even recall someone (maybe Luis G?) referring to it once as the “DRC” of Jerez (which seems a bit of a stretch, but I think I see where he is going).

Since the ficha is again only available in Spanish a little background. This is a new saca (in June 2014) from the solera from which “La Bota” Numbers 2, 7, 15, 18, 27 and 35 came, and was solected from both the solera and the (somewhat younger wine in the) second criadera with an average underflor of about 10 years.

And it is a joy of a wine. I had it with a “revuelto de gambas, algas, y erizos” (scrambled eggs with prawns, seaweed and sea urchin) but it is so meaty it overpowered the eggs and might have been better with something meatier.

Has a very evolved, dark colour, and on the nost there is dark, . earthy straw or undergrowth with maybe just a hint of something sweet. Big and creamy in texture, nice integrated salinity giving a buzz on the tongue and more yeasty, vegetable flavours on the palate. Again slight hints of sweetness or fruit and a juicy, yeasty, fine finish.

Excellent stuff yet again.