Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 14.7%, Hermanos Holgado

Appearance

Intensely deep, almost black with a tight ruby rim and the faintest hint of orange at the edge.
Nose
Full yet fresh and open with distinct notes of blackcurrant and hints of other black fruits like blueberry and bramble. There is are noticeable hints of toast and lead pencil giving away the French oak, all in good harmony with a slightly creamy feel and a faint balsamic note.
Palate
Fairly full bodied with lots of fresh, hard black fruit and that attractive toasty note. It is well structured and quite firm with plenty of decently ripe tannin, and is surprisingly young tasting for a wine of its price which has been in bottle for about six years. It will still improve over up to three years and represents very good value.
Comments

After their succes producing Pajarete cheese, the Holgado brothers are also making excellent wines in their vineyard, Dehesa Palomino, which is situated near Villamartin in the beautiful Parque de los Alcornocales on the fringe of the Sierra de Cádiz. Cabernet ripens well under the Andalusian sun. They use artisan methods to grow a range of vines, all cultivated organically and harvested by hand. While the bodega is modern, they also use artisan methods here. This Cabernet was fermented in stainless steel and undewent the malo-lactic in barrel where it was then aged for six months before bottling in spring 2012. 

Price
8.50 euros, Licores Corredera

Holgado Petit Verdot 2013 14.7%, Hermanos Holgado

Appearance

Opaque black cherry red with very narrow pinky almost purple rim, young looking.

Nose

Big, fresh and very attractive. Perfectly ripened grapes and notes of American oak, brambles, blueberries and traces of spice, bitter black chocolate with a faint balsamic even minty hint. The oak is nicely balanced and not excessive, just enough to add complexity, though more bottle age will be needed to age the wine.

Palate

Full bodied and dry with plenty of texture and a certain amount of mostly ripe tannin, chewy. There is also plenty of black fruit, just the right acidity and those spicy balsamic notes. It is fresh, clean and long, a very good wine with some charm, but personally I would have given it more time in oak. Still it will be interesting to see how another say, three years in bottle brings it on.

Comments

This Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz is produced organically at the vineyard called the Viña Dehesa Palomino located in the protected spectacularly beautiful natural park of Alcornocales, between the sierras  Grazalema and Las Nieves, east of the road from Algeciras to Jerez. Here, some distance from "civilisation" near Villamartin, there is both Atlantic and Mediterranean influence in the microclimate. Vines have been cultivated here since the XVI century, originally by monks. While they use modern equipment they also use artisanal processes. Having made money in Pajarete cheese the family decided to invest in small scale wine production and planted Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The PV was hand picked, selected and then fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in American oak for six months. Given that the wine is nearly 4 years old is is amazingly fresh, but needs more bottle age. Meanwhile it would be delicious with Retinto beef, steaks or game dishes as their proteins balance the tannins.

Price

10.00 euros, Licores Corredera