Vino Blanco Aranzá 2017 10.5%, Barrialto Viñas y Vinos

Appearance

Bright strawy gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Fresh and unmistakably Palomino with its aromas of quince and both fresh apple and stewed apple with slight traces of straw, apricot and green herbs. There is an attractive "out in the countryside near the sea" air about it and it smells very natural - which in fact it is,

Palate

Very clean and fairly crisp and tangy with all that apple flavour and a faint flavour and feel of apple skin as well. Being from Balbaina, it has a very gentle background salinity and a faintly dry chalky texture which give it a very clean finish.

Comments

This wine is made in Sanlúcar by Rafael Rodríguez Jiménez, a third generation mayeto (grower-producer) who is also affiliated to Mayetería Sanluqueña. He makes a couple of the Corta y Raspa wines and has a little bodega in the Barrio Alto of Sanlúcar. The Palomino grapes for this wine came from vines of over 50 years of age in the Viña La Palma in the pago Balbaina, where they grew on three hectares of tosca cerrada albariza soil. The wine was made the artisan way with the must being fermented in ex Manzanilla butts and the wine aged in them until bottling in April 2019 with minimum stabilisation.

Price
10.60 euros, De Albariza

Vino Blanco Añina Casalbón Corta y Raspa 2017 12,5%, Rafael Rodríguez Jiménez

Appearance

Mid golden straw with golden highlights.

Nose

Super fresh with lots of slightly grassy apple and quince fruit, the faintest background trace of flor and a hint of glacé lemon. There is a little weight and roundness to it as well as a trace of wild flowers giving a charming feeling of being in the fresh air in an orchard or meadow.

Palate

Smooth, fresh, light and fruity with lots of apple, perhaps a hint of pear, and naturally it has that dry chalky albariza texture. Acidity is fairly moderate but gives just the right amount of tang which perfectly balances the roundness afforded by perfect ripeness.

Comments

This wine comes from another vineyard owned by the Rodríguez Jiménez family, this time Casalbón in the pago Añina which has vines approaching 30 years old (the other is Las 40). It is made in the same way as Las Cuarenta; 100% Palomino fermented and aged in a single butt with minimum flor and demonstrates the difference between the produce of two vineyards in the same pago and on the same tosca cerrada type of albariza. Rafael is the third generation and like the other mayetos affiliated to the Corta y Raspa project finds it more profitable selling wine than grapes. Like the other wines in this innovative range, yields are kept low and there are only 600 bottles.

Price

9.50 euros, Er Guerrita

Corta y Raspa Las 40 2016 12% Rafael Rodríguez

Appearance 

Bright clean light gold with golden reflections.

Nose

Full ripe and generous, Burgundy-ish at first with a fleeting aroma of toast, but there is no oak here, it is not necessary. Then the mineral and apple notes come through along with hedgerow grasses and faint floral and citric notes. What a good start.

Palate

Big, broad and fairly soft, the acidity is comparatively low, yet the wine is well balanced. It has a gentle texture and lots of flavour of ripe orchard fruit with faint traces of herbs all held together with a mineral backbone. It is really quite sophisticated  and super drinkable.

Comments

Rafael Rodríguez Jiménez is a 3rd generation mayeto (grower) and member of the group of growers which is Mayetería Sanluqueña, formed to produce quality wines from their albariza vineyards and make a better living than just selling grapes. They are backed by the oenologist Ramiro Ibáñez. The first release of Mayetería Sanluqueña wines consists of four 2016 wines from three growers, and Rafael Rodríguez produced two of them, from different vineyards in the Pago Añina. This one is made from 100% Palomino and comes from the tosca cerrada form of albariza in his vineyard Viña Las 40, and is bottled by EMC3 in El Puerto. Only around 700 bottles. It is a pity all the Mayetería labels are identical except for the information, but hopefully that will change. They have probably had considerable financial outlay, but made a very sound investment judging by the quality. This is great value for money.

Price
9.95 euros, De Albariza