Vintage

Fino la Barajuela 2014

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I was dining at Lakasa last Friday night (and it was absolutely heaving – great to see) with a group of friends from outside my wine nerd bubble but nevertheless was allowed to choose the wine, and even (somewhat controversially) given free reign. I picked two wines that to me seemed blindingly obvious – the Cuvee Saint Anne by the brilliant Alexandre Chartogne and the Fino la Barajuela.

What I didn’t know was that they had run out of the 2013 and had just received the 2014 (in fact I didn’t know the 2014 had even been released) and suddenly a wine I had been waiting for for 18 months (give or take half a glass in a tasting with the man) was on the table in front of me.

This is the second vintage of Willy Perez’s outrageously good fino, and although the 2013 will always have a special place in my heart you have to say that this is even better. It has the same nose or honey-suckle to honey with golden yellow apple underneath, the same bite and palate of fruit but even more mineral sapidity and throat filling savoury flavours. It is frankly epic and totally delicious.

And as always happens with these Barajuela wines, my friends from outside the sherry bubble loved it. It is a tremendous source of frustration to me that when I read the views about this wine from sherry experts and tastings there are grumblings about whether it is really a “fino” yadda yadda yadda. Surely what is important is that it is an outstanding white wine, and one that paired with almost everything we proceeded to eat.

Now begins a heartbreaking period in which I am allowed to purchase a shockingly small allocation of bottles and then feel obliged to hold back when I see it in stores so that a wider public can try these wines. Please, don’t let my sacrifice be for nothing.

Las Viñas de Callejuela – the 2014 editions

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The genial Blanco brothers from Callejuela were in Madrid for a few days just when I was away in the countryside, but despite missing each other in the capital they were kind enough to leave me a little present at my preferred fuelling post of the time Territorio Era.

You may have read about the vineyard specific wines that these guys first released. Those were the 2015 and were terrific enough, but these little fellas are the 2014s and have even more personality.  Once again, there are three wines from three vineyards/pagos (two of which you can locate on this cracking gigapan posted by Paco Zuleta):

  • Hacienda de Doña Francisca, a vineyard at an altitude of 62m on pago Callejuela (Sanlucar) (which must be one of the higher altitude Sanlucar vineyards);
  • Las Mercedes, a vineyard at 83m on Pago Añina (Jerez), one of the more Atlantic-influenced Jerez pagos;  and
  • La Choza, a vineyard at 74m on the famous inland pago Macharnudo (Jerez).

One of the noticeable things about the 2015 wines was their exuberance – tasting the macharnudo wine against other unfortified wines from the same pago recently it was noticeable how much power the La Choza had – and these wines, having been longer in the bota, seemed to have even more punch.

As a rule I would usually taste them in that same order – from sea to inland, low to high altitude, but in this 2014 edition the Añina is visibly more evolved so instead I go Callejuela, Macharnudo and then Añina, and it is quite a trip. The Callejuela has a nose that is all stables, mulchy, musty hay, a dark color and then is really potent, intense and buzzy. The Macharnudo – probably just about my favourite of the 2015s – is absolute class, with a typically aromatic nose with suggestions of sweetness and juice and then an elegant, compact solidity on the palate. Then the Añina does indeed have a more evolved, oxidated nose and colour. On the palate it is maybe just a notch less punchy than the two others, is smoother, softer (I actually have the word “fluffy” written in my notebook) and very likeable indeed.

These will be released soon and they will be worth not just seeking out but fighting over if necessary. Top bombing fellas and thanks for leaving them for me to try!

Fino Williams Coleccion Añadas 2009, Febrero 2017

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A bit of a backlog forming here for the editorial team at undertheflor.com – this was the second wine of an absolutely cracking lunch at Alabaster ten days ago, and there have been several lunches since.

Luckily this one is an easy write up – this wine is class. It is part of the Williams Coleccion Añadas, a single vintage, statically aged fino from añina and carrascal, and one of the most distinctive finos around. It has an evolved, dark straw colour and a pronounced hazelnut aroma and juiciness and that make it very approachable indeed.

I have been exceptionally lucky and have been able to try three sacas, from February 2016, February 2017 and April 2017, and the evolution of the three, from fino to arguably a fino amontillado, was fascinating. (Indeed, I gather the 2009 fino is no more – future sacas will be of a 2009 amontillado.) Moreover, the joy of the Coleccion Añadas is that you can try the 2009 fino alongside the oloroso of the same vintage, or even a box of six, and now you can try the 2010, which is a fish of an altogether different kidney.

A lovely wine if you can get hold of it.

Corta y Raspa “La Charanga” 2016 in Angelita

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In just over a week have had two absolutely cracking dinners in Angelita. Absolutely delighted to see the place full to the rafters on both occasions (standing room only downstairs the other night) because if anywhere deserves to be full this place does. Can’t speak highly enough of their approach to sharing wines – a fun list of interesting stuff that always has me trying new things and almost always enjoying them.

There were a few of those this week but this wine I knew alright, and it is a cracker.

This wine is by Antonio Bernal Ortega, one of the mayetos that make up Ramiro Ibañez’s Mayetería Sanluqueña. I refer to that earlier post for details of the project – as so often with Ramiro the idea is in itself fantastic – because this wine deserves a post all to itself. It is 100% palomino from the vineyard “La Charanga” on Pago Maína near Sanlúcar, a “river influence” pago famed for an albariza rich in diatoms.

The wine came out at first with a touch of reduction, but nothing that a big glass and a swirl couldn’t cope with and once it settled down it was a gem. It has an attractive sea-air and apple tart nose and on tasting shows a lovely salinity and shape. Fresh at the beginning and mouthwatering at the end, not heavy by any means but a nice splash of almond, apple, and herbs, fading to that salinity and a touch of peppery spice.

A lovely little wine all told, and it was a big hit with my sister in law – who despite being a newcomer to my little world of palomino white wines took to it like a born winelover, calling the salinity and flavours perfectly. A wine for all seasons and all publics. If only there were more of it …

Paola Medina in the new Taberna Palo Cortado

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Paola Medina of Williams & Humbert is one of the most important wine makers in el Marco de Jerez and was the star of yet another absolutely outstanding tasting at Taberna Palo Cortado – this time in their new premises at Espronceda 18.

Williams & Humbert are well known for their collection of vintage wines – they are said to have a cask set aside from every harvest since time began (or at least since the bodega began). Until relatively recently – in fact until the Medina family took over the reins in the early noughties, the wines that were released were of the old oloroso variety, but for the last fifteen years they have also been setting aside 10-20 casks of wine a year for biological ageing and the results – most vividly experienced via the Colección Añadas of a year or so ago – have been ground-breaking. Just as Ramiro Ibañez’s Pitijopos collections have laid to rest any doubt about the relevance of terroir for the wines of the region, Williams Colección Añadas are about the best evidence for the relevance of vintages.

And the tasting provided more of said evidence and also some good news, in the shape of new wines. Taking the good news first, Paola told us that they were in fact making even more distinct wines than before. Since 2015 they have been making an ecological fino de añada, and in addition to the finos and olorosos de añada that we already know and which come from wines from vineyards in Añina and Carrascal (de Jerez), the bodega is now also making separate wines – in fino and oloroso – with fruit from those two pagos/viñas, making a total of seven specific wines for each vintage.

And indeed the first wine we tried on the night was the first of the new kids on the block, the Fino Ecológico de Añada 2015, made with palomino from a vineyard near Trebujena and in process and a lagar (on the road from Jerez to Rota) that are fully separate from those of the other wines. (Apparently, in order to get the certification of ecological you need the ecological alcohol from the Rioja and you have to keep everything separate, which requires some pretty extreme measures – early harvests and fermentation in a different town, for example.)

Whatever the difficulty level it was a cracking little wine – had a nice subtle chestnut aroma on the nose, was full in body again with a suggestion of chestnut and had tremendous sapidity and zing for a wine that had only had a bare two years under flor. Paola attributed the sapidity to conditions in the lagar, where a lovely, healthy, thick white veil of flor formed, but this will be an interesting wine to follow.

Next up was Fino Don Zoilo, a classic fino with a good nine years under flor. A classic that we don’t see often in these parts since the majority is apparently exported to Japan, where in addition the public prefer filtered, clarified wines. Couldn’t have been more distinct to the wine that preceded it: even aside from the biological angle and the Jerez/Trebujena sourcing it was solera rather than vintage, nine years under flor rather than two, and filtered. Those differences showed: although the 2015 had sapidity this had sharper saline intensity, was finer in body and greasier too. To me it had a chamomile tea-like nose, a much dryer palate with less chestnut and more raw almond and mor pronounced citrus notes, with a classic fresh finish. Top stuff.

Then came the wine that I was looking forward to – a look at the Fino de Añada 2010. I was a big fan of the Fino de Añada 2012 and probably even more so of the Fino de Añada 2009 and was looking forward to more of the same but this is a fish of a different kidney altogether. Whereas the Fino de 2009 was so chestnutty, generous in body and full of manzanilla-pasada like fruit, this one is incredibly dry, fine, and sapid, a much more austere wine altogether. Surprising contrast and a demonstration of the variations possible in static ageing: whether as a result of the rainy growing season in 2010, or the climatic conditions in the years that the wine spent under flor, two wines from the same pagos in consecutive years are totally different.

The surprising 2010 was followed with Amontillado Don Zoilo, an amontillado with an average age of around 12 years, of which nine under flor. Specifically, we are looking at the continuation of the Fino Don Zoilo: wine from the last criadera of Don Zoilo is used to refresh a small solera of one criadera and the solera itself of this amontillado. The resulting wine, it must be said, is fantastic. Has a lovely hint of honey on the nose and honeyed chestnut on the palate and the oxidation and concentration (this was 19%) really seemed to complete what had been quite an austere fino, while keeping its lovely sharp profile and fine body. Really buzzy, enjoyable wine that would be superb on the dinner table with almost anything savoury.

After the amontillado it was time for an oloroso but not just any oloroso: our old friend the Oloroso de Añada 2009. Really enjoyable as always, and maybe it was the time of year but it just reminded me so much of Christmas pudding on the nose, with brandy, burnt Christmas cake, nuts and figgy fruit. (There was another top shout from one of my colleagues (or somebody anyway): baked banana.) Then after all that enticing richness there are saline flavours and a little bit of burnt caramel bitterness in there. Really such an enjoyable, juicy wine.

The last wine up was the Canasta 20 años, the VOS version of the original Canasta (which has around six years of ageing). It is a cream of oloroso and pedro ximenez. Unlike some creams the Canasta wines are blended at the outset rather than prior to bottling as a means of enhancing integration and you have to say this resulting wine is extremely elegant. Nice acidity and freshness to it despite what must be a fair dollop of sugar per litre, and very nice array of flavours from figgy to cedar and even tobacco. Really enjoyable stuff, although these sweeter wines really refuse to grow on me. I sometimes wonder if I do them justice when they are tagged on to tastings of dry wines like this one:  maybe one of these days I should try to get a few of these VOS and VORS creams together and try them out side by side and in the right mindset.

And then the Taberna Palo Cortado tapas party began, with lashings of Williams & Humbert wines and an awful lot of laughter. Another absolutely top night: perhaps the best news of all is that normal service is well and truly resumed.

Manzanilla de Añada 2012 – 1/11

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Been musing about authenticity this week and you can’t get more authentic than this – single vintage, single vineyard, old school.

But in other respects it was and is a mould breaker, and more importantly it is enjoyable stuff – tonight I am noticing a leafy nose then raw, unbaked bread on the palate, full in body, then salty, slightly bitter herbs and a hot finish.

Socaire 2015 revisited

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Good to come back to this and more grist to the mill of my palomino theories.

This is the Socaire, a wine named for the hiding spots from the wind that sweeps over the primest of albariza real estate in Chiclana, Finca Matalian. The Finca has a very high chalk content, is 100m up and right by the sea in the Southernmost limit of the “marco de Jerez”, making it a unique bit of terroir. And sure enough it is the source of a really fantastic line up of wines, of which this is one. In fact it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this wine is a bit of a phenomenon: there are people out there who even define the movement towards making new wines in the region as “Socairismo”.

From memory (if you want precision you are reading the wrong blog) this wine was fermented and aged in butts that had previously been used to make the marvellous Arroyuelo fino, then given 20 months or so in the butt, without flor (at least the butt was full) before being released around Easter this year.

I first tried this back in September and I found it a little quiet compared to the first vintage, from 2014, although given my experience with other palomino white wines at the time I wondered if it would find its feet with some more time in the bottle and so it seems to have proved. Maybe it is just the memory of the 2014 wearing off but this certainly isn’t timid at all. Lovely big aromas of over-ripe plums and aromatic herbs and a packet of flavour on the palate. A really tasty and enjoyable wine with just enough of a fresh finish to wash it down.

Fantastic stuff and I am beginning to convince myself of this need to keep these in the bottle. It is not an easy thing to do though.