Friday 31 August 2018

Burbuja Blanc de Blancs 2017 12.5%, Bodega Forlong

Appearance
Pale strawy gold with yellowy gold highlights and good mousse with a gentle bead.
Nose
Fresh, forthcoming and fruity; naturally the appleyness of the Palomino predominates, but there are aromas of the orchard and a meadow with wild flowers and hints of pear and a trace of sweeties. There is a clean natural air to it making the whole most attractive.
Palate
There is just a hint of residual sweetness which balances the fizz (carbonic acid gas or CO2) and adds to the fruitiness yet the wine finishes dry. There are lots of orchard fruit notes and there is a certain attractive weight or presence to the wine, while the acidity, which is comparatively low is perfect, just enough and the length is good and the fizz lasts, leaving a strong appetite for another glass - or two.
Comments
Burbuja is the Spanish word for "bubble" and this is Forlong's latest in an ever growing list of really exciting wines: a sparkling wine, and a good one at that. Their 11 hectare vineyard lies in the pago Balbaina Alta near El Puerto de Santa Maria and is farmed organically, verging on bio-dynamically, so the wine is certified organic and has no added sulphur. It is 100% Palomino and comes in hand-numbered bottles - only 530 of them, I'm afraid. The French term "Blanc de Blancs" originates in Champagne where the great majority of wines are made using both red and white grapes, so they came up with the term to differentiate a white wine made only from white grapes from a white wine made only from red grapes: a "Blanc de Noirs". Burbuja is made totally by hand using the metodo ancestral, the original and simplest method which dates back some 500 years, whereby the wine is simply bottled half way through fermentation which then continues in the bottle till the remaining yeast expires. The pressure will obviously be lower than that found in the much more complicated Champagne Method (Metodo Tradicional) wines, and there may be some light sediment and residual sugar; it all depends on when the wine was bottled, but in skilled hands it is amazing how good these wines can be - and indeed are.
Price
19.00 euros, Licores Corredera


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