Wednesday 19 June 2019

Mahara Sparsus Aurata 2017 11.9%, Bodega Vinifícate

Appearance
Quite deep, amber tinged strawy yellow with old gold highlights.
Nose
In many ways similar to the Mahara Liza Ramada having been made using a similar - but not the same - method, and it is from Sanlúcar so it is different. All the  intense Palomino apples are there but there is more grape and it is a shade lighter, less full-on and more elegant.  There is more maritime salinity and in place of the ginger there is a hint of herbs. Bursting with character and super interesting.
Palate
Full and fresh with a zippy tang, lots of apple, a trace of  cider and a gentle texture with just a little grip with a chalky albariza dryness, and a little more salinity than Liza Ramada. It is very natural tasting with a very long clean finish. You can really see the difference between two different vineyards, which show how important they are, and it is wonderful to see people treasuring them.
Comments
This wine comes from a small 1 hectare west facing vineyard, Viña el Vicario, in the Pago Mahina near Sanlúcar. It is made from 100%  Palomino grapes from vines of over 80 years of age which means a miniscule yield of less than 20 hl/ha - fine quality but uneconomic for most people. In fact , if it were not for people like the Gómez Lucas brothers, vineyards like this would have long since disappeared, and many have. The hand picked grapes are de-stemmed and fermented with their skins for a week before pressing and the wine completes the fermentation in amphorae where it ages on the lees for nine months before bottling. 1846 bottles produced. Sparsus Aurata is the Latin name for the gilt head sea bream (or "dorada" in Spanish).
Price
17.15 euros, Licores Corredera


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