Atlántida 2014 13.5%, Compañía de Vinos del Atlántico

Appearance

Bright deep blacky ruby red, still with some pink at the rim.
Nose
Very attractive with lots of perfectly ripe - but not overripe - fruit. There is a distinct and very slightly yeasty, almost creamy, aroma of sappy black cherry with a hint of loganberry backed up by restrained hints of toasty French oak. There is a faint balsamic hint which is all that gives away the heat of the vineyard - even the alcohol is restrained.
Palate
The almost crisp sappy black fruits predominate while gentle notes of oak and a certain minerality add complexity and freshness. The structure is medium with unaggressive tannins and perfect acidity giving very good, almost zippy balance and long tangy fruity finish. This wine is delicious and would repay keeping for up to five years.
Comments

The Compañía de Vinos del Atlántico produces and distributes fine quality wines all over Spain and Portugal, and also exports them. This is one of their best, made by Alberto Orte from 100% old vine Tintilla grapes grown organically on albariza soil in a single 1 hectare vineyard in the pago Balbaina. The bunches of grapes are harvested at night, by hand, and only 10% are de-stemmed. During fermentation there are two daily pump-overs and afterwards the wine is pressed and put into used 500 litre French oak barrels where it remains for a year, going through the malo-lactic and depositing sediment before being racked into used 225 litre barriques where it ages for 16 months before bottling. The result is superb and shows what a great grape the Tintilla is.

Price

25 euros, Er Guerrita

Atlántida Blanco 2016 12%, Compañía de Vinos del Atlántico

Appearance

Bright mid gold with the faintest tint of brass.

Nose

Forthcoming and very attractive it immediately appears sophisticated. The French oak is well integrated with fresh crisp aromas of pear and apple with a slight hint of lemon. It has considerable presence even a little weight, largely from the oak, drawing you in, and rewarding you well.

Palate

Up front it is fresh and quite crisp (Vijiriega always has good acidity) with lots of tangy apple and pear fruit, and a soft very faintly buttery character from the lees blends seamlessly with the oak which has been beautifully handled - ie not excessive. There are faint background traces of green fruit, straw, even wax, so it is complex, with an attractive hint of bitterness, and overall it is a serious, versatile wine, but with a sense of fun.

Comments

Compañía de Vinos del Atlántico started making wine in Cádiz in 2011 and had great success with Atlántida Tinto and Vara y Pulgar, both Tintilla. They own 16 hectares of albariza in the pago Añina split into 3 different vineyards: San Cristóbal, El Aljibe and San José. In San Cristóbal they have been planting various indigenous varieties since 2002 and have been working on clonal selection. They now have 21 grape varieties and more than 200 clones growing in 30 different plots, including old varieties of Palomino taken from vineyards planted over 60 years ago and from these they select the most promising to plant in greater quantity. Their entire vineyard is organic and respectful of the traditional ways, for example using vara y pulgar training and marco real plantation.

Atlántida Blanco 2016 is their first white from Cádiz and is made, like the reds, by Alberto Orte. It is also a first in the province for being made from Vijiriega, a grape variety which was once widespread in Andalucia but almost died out after Phylloxera, with only a few plots in Granada, Cataluña and the Canaries surviving. The grapes are foot trodden and the wine is fermented in barrel using native yeasts without temperature control. It is aged for 12 months in French oak demimuds (600 litre barrels) and a further 6 months in stainless steel tanks to allow solids to settle out. Only 1,100 bottles were produced, and I urge you to get two - one to enjoy now and another to keep for 2-3 years.

Price

25,90, Licores Corredera