Mahara Liza Ramada 2017 10%, Bodega Vinifícate

Appearance

Brassy, amber tinted gold with old gold highlights.

Nose

Raw Palomino is very appley and this is especially so as it was fermented on the skins, more or less the red wine process which gives greater extraction. There are also aromas of stewed apple, quince and very faint traces of cider, rhubarb and ginger, so it is unusual but rather captivating.

Palate

Quite full bodied for a white with a refreshing zingy acidity yet there is a trace of glycerine to round it off, and the slightest hint of tannin in the generous texture, lots of apple of course, it has a very slightly "stewed apple and rhubarb with a hint of custard" flavour but it is not sweet and is more interesting with a decent finish which is clean as a whistle.

Comments

This lovely wine is made from 100% Palomino grapes grown on 35 year old vines in the sandy soil of the 1 hectare Viña Los Caracoles in the pago Marquesado near the Atlantic coast in Chiclana. The grapes are de-stemmed and fermented with the skins for a week before pressing, completing the fermentation and ageing on the lees for nine months in a fibre glass tank without flor before bottling. Apart from ageing in fibreglass, the production process is identical to that of the Sparus Aurata, the main difference being the personality of the vineyards themselves, something very important to the Gómez Lucas brothers. They also make their wines totally naturally, nothing added or subtracted. Again the yield is tiny, and only 1807 bottles were produced. Liza Ramada is the thinlip grey mullet in English and "morragute" in Spanish.

Price

17.15 euros, Licores Corredera

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

Mahara Espumoso Espátula 2017 11.9%, Bodega Vinifícate

Appearance

Light amber with golden highlights and good mousse with occasional bead.

Nose

Quite full with pronounced aromas of apple and apple skin, even a hint of cider, traces of apricot and ripe grapes, and while it is quite zippy with a stoney minerality, there is also a faint creamy quince jelly note in the background. It is most unusual but very attractive and completely natural.

Palate

There is some real character here and a degree of intensity with almost crunchy apples, a refreshing tangy acidity and a touch of apple skin texture giving just a hint of tannin thanks to fermenting on the skins. It is very dry with a slightly saline mineral tang with a long, very clean finish.

Comments

Bodega Vinifícate, or Mahara Viticultores as they are also knowm, really seem to be taking off. The Gómez Lucas brothers based in San Fernando are producing all sorts of interesting wines using interesting methods and the new wines are labelled with illustrations of local birds and fish. This is one only 420 bottles of this lovely sparkling wine made by the ancestral method by which the fermentation is completed in bottle. The Palomino grapes, which were hand picked, came from 70 year old vines in a small vineyard in the pago Mahina near Sanlúcar, the Viña del Vicario. They were de-stemmed and macerated in a fibre-glass tank for a week (hence the deeper colour) before pressing in a vertical press and left to ferment. The progress of the fermentation needs to be carefully observed so as to be able to bottle at the right moment. No sulphites were added and no filtration was done. The wine was aged in bottle for 16 months before sale. Espátula is a bird called a spoonbill in English.

Price

17.15 euros, Licores Corredera

Amorro Blanco 2016 11%, Bodega Vinifícate

Appearance

Bright clean pale gold with golden glints.

Nose

Fresh, fairly full and appley with pear and floral hints, a slight trace of cider and a distinct saline mineral character. There is a teasing slight flor note, but flor wasn't involved. There is a decent degree of ripeness and a feeling of substance, making it rather interesting.

Palate

A reasonably crisp start leads into a broad, very slightly buttery and quite pronounced tangy apple/pear/quince flavour. Balance is good and there is a slightly chalky texture and a faint trace of bitterness which works well and leaves a very tasty and long finish.

Comments

Another lovely Vino de Cádiz wine from the Gómez Lucas brothers in San Fernando. It is made from Palomino grapes grown in Chiclana on both sandy and albariza soils which were harvested at night to keep them cooler. Once back at the bodega they were fermented naturally, using only local yeasts and without the addition of anything,  under controlled temperature. The wine was racked into fibreglass tanks where it rested for eight months before bottling without any filtration or clarification. Only about 5,000 bottles were produced for this first release. Amorro means a wine which can be enjoyed in quantity, and this certainly can. 2016 was not an easy vintage as after a long dry period there was heavy rain in late spring followed by lots of Levante, so careful grape selection was necessary, but the result is very good.

Price

8.80 euros, Licores Corredera