Vino Blanco Mirabrás 2017 15%, Barbadillo

Appearance

Slightly brassy strawy gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Lovely fresh herbaceous nose with plenty of seaside character and just a little flor allowing some notes of appley Palomino fruit through. There are all sorts of background subtleties like traces of candied fruit, tarte tatin and camomile which give it a delightful zesty youthfulness and a gentle richness as well, with a faint saline trace at the back. Subtle and classy.

Palate

Beautifully balanced and smooth with fairly low acidity letting the perfectly ripe fruit shine through. The 15% alcohol seems to bring out more depth of flavour without making it feel any stronger, and it certainly feels rounder. Needless to say there is a slight chalky texture and a hint of salinity but over all it is fruity, and with a lovely twist of flor at the end.

Comments

Mirabrás is a wonderfully interesting project, run by Montse Molina and Armando Guerra, which runs the gauntlet between classic Sanlúcar vino blanco and Manzanilla. There are only six toneles of wine yet every release is different. For example the 2016 was 13.5% and this 2017 is 15%, and in between there was a tiny release of 2012 Manzanilla Mirabrás (qv). They are really having fun, but also coming up with delicious and seriously interesting wines. Surprisingly this release has 15%, probably due to some sunning, but at only a year and a half or so of crianza, mostly in toneles filled to the top , it cannot officially be a Manzanilla. 5322 bottles.

Price
14 euros, Licores Corredera

Viña Matalián 2018 12%, Bodegas Primitivo Collantes

Appearance

Bright, fairly pale strawy gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Very attractive with lots of light, super fresh orchard aromas like apple and pear with distant traces of mandarin and paraguayo peach along with hints of white flowers and a little herbaceousness. While it seems fairly delicate at first, there is some intensity behind.

Palate

It starts with a burst of apple and then goes on a journey through all the aforementioned fruits enlivened by nicely judged and refreshing acidity which makes it feel almost crunchy. There are many subtle nuances and it is very clean. Naturally there is a faintly saline note accompanied by a dry chalky texture from the albariza and it all comes together and balances perfectly.

Comments

7,000 bottles of this dry Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz were produced in 2018 from the Palomino grown in the firm´s 19.5 hectare Viña Matalián near Chiclana which is in the Productio Zone. They have two other vineyards: Pozo Galván (17.3ha) and Viña El Inglés (18.31). Two table wines are made from Matalián musts: this one, and a sweeter version, the Semidulce, consisting of Palomino and some Moscatel. The vineyard soil is albariza, mostly the quite hard but very pure tajón type, and the must is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. After fermentation the wine is left on its lees before minimal filtration and bottling. No ageing takes place and there is  no flor involved.

Price

5.90 euros, Licores Corredera

Entrechuelos Vino Tinto Premium 2012 14.5%, Miguel Domecq

Appearance
Deep black cherry red fading to brick at the rim showing maturity.

Nose

Predominantly ripe fresh blackcurrant from the Cabernet with a faint smokey note from the Syrah and fleshed out by the Tempranillo and Merlot, the aromas are now well harmonised with nearly seven years of ageing having shed all their puppy fat. It is at a nice stage of development and probably at its best but will continue to give pleasure for a while yet.

Palate

Quite full bodied, textured and firmly structured with a certain grip from ripe but not excessive tannins, and it is very smooth with plenty of balancing black fruit like bramble, mulberry and black cherry. Acidity is perfect for a wine from so far south and it has excellent length.

Comments

This very fine Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz is made from Tempranillo, Merlot, Syrah and cabernet Sauvignon grapes hand picked at night in the firm´s Cortijo de Torrecera vineyard a little south east of Jerez which sits on albariza soil. Night picking and careful grape selection give maximum freshness and help control the start of fermentation which takes place in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the wine is racked into French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic and ageing for 14 months before bottling. It is then stored in bottle for a further 22 months of ageing before labelling and distribution, and while it is ready to drink on release, it improves for a good few years more as this example eloquently shows.

Price

14.30 euros, De Albariza

Tinto Joven 7 Mil Pasos 2018 13.5%, Finca Las Mesetas

Appearance

Intense opaque black cherry red with a tight purple rim.

Nose

Lovely plump, broad, soft, fresh and generous with loads of very ripe black berry fruit like a compôte of blackberry, morello cherry and black plum with faint traces of sweetness and smoke in the background. There are no wood aromas to distract from all this fruit, but instead traces of violet.

Palate

Full, beautifully rounded, smooth and balanced with just the right acidity to carry through the fruit and few bitter tannins yet it is deceptively well structured and remarkably  drinkable for such a young wine. The ripeness shows it comes from a hot place, the saline minerality that it is from soil with chalk and the freshness that it is from altitude. Good clean long finish.

Comments

Winemaking - ironically in a place called Setenil de las Bodegas - had ceased until the Camacho family decided to revive the tradition. It had once been an important product for this small town on the northeastern edge of the Sierra de Cádiz which sits in a gorge with huge open caves carved out by the river Guadalporcún and where houses and of course bodegas were built. The name “Setenil” derives from the Latin “Ad septem milia” (at seven miles) describing the town´s location and 7 Mil Pasos means seven thousand paces, or much the same thing. The 60 hectare Finca Las Mesetas has 1.3 hectares of Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon planted some 10 years ago at an altitude of over 600 metres, while the rest is used for cattle farming and agriculture. They even have a shop in a cave (La Tienda del Ibérico) selling local produce. The wines are vinified by eminent consultant oenologist Santi Jordi using the production and bottling facilities of Bodegas Ibargϋen and were first released in 2015. There are two, both reds: Tinto Roble Xaldenil and this Tinto Joven 7 Mil Pasos which does not undergo ageing. Production of this Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz is around 3,000 bottles.

Price
8.95, De Albariza

Garum 2017 14.5%, Bodegas Luis Pérez

Appearance
Very deep blacky red fading to a tight pinky red rim.

Nose

Full, fairly rich with faint traces of almost smokey spice and lots of big soft perfectly ripe red and black fruits. The blend works really well with the jammy Merlot, blueberry Petit Verdot and faintly smokey mulberry of the Syrah. Traces of oak add further complexity without interfering with the big soft generous fruity character of the wine.

Palate

Quite full and super smooth with a lovely southern warmth to it. The structure is subtle with gentle ripe barely noticeable tannins - though they are there - and enough acidity to balance the plentiful fruit. This gives the wine a lovely plump, easy drinking texture and it has very good length.

Comments

This delicious wine is made using approximately 70% Merlot, and 15% each of Syrah and Petit Verdot which are grown in the vineyards of the important Pérez family´s Hacienda Vistahermosa in the pago Corchuelo just outside Jerez. The vines, which grow on a chalky marl soil, are tended by hand and yields are kept low with manual harvesting at night. Each grape variety is vinified separately in stainless steel tanks after cooling and passing over a selection table and some of the grapes go in whole. The malolactic fermentation begins in the tanks and is finished in  a mix of used American and French oak barrels where it remains ageing for 12 months before blending and bottling without clarification.

Price

9.50 euros, De Albariza

Barbazul Blanco 2017 14%, Huerta de Albalá

Appearance
Bright, pale, almost silvery gold with the faintest trace of green and golden highlights.
Nose

It has the generosity of Chardonnay along with lots of fresh fruity notes, some of them tropical. The grapes seem to have been perfectly ripe and there are aromas of white flowers, hints of orange blossom, tangerine, pineapple, peach and a faintly grassy fresh herbal note.

Palate

It is fruity on the palate too with all the aforementioned and it has some breadth and depth, rich and smooth. Acidity is relatively low and there is even a passing semblance of sweetness which soon goes, but there is a certain minerality and a slight chalky feel and as the flavour subsides there is a slight salty note on the finish. It is interesting how wines of whatever type grown on albariza always seem to reveal the fact.

Comments

This wine is 100% Chardonnay and is a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz. Vicente Taberner´s Huerta de Albalá estate, around 10 kilometres east of Arcos de la Frontera, grows the red wines while the Chardonnay comes from his 160 hectares of albariza vineyards  in the pago Balbaina which he bought from Osborne. It is fermented at controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks and bottled without any ageing. He also makes a "Seleccion" version which is aged briefly on its lees, but neither wine is aged in oak. They don´t really need it.

Price

8.20 euros, Licores Corredera

Vino Blanco Viñalquivir 2017 12%, Coop Virgen Palomares

Appearance
Bright pale silvery gold with the faintest trace of green.
Nose

Young, fresh and moderately exuberant in its youth with lots of orchard aromas like apple, pear and a suggestion of herbs and flowers. There are also faint traces of confectionery and a gently appealing rawness of youth: faint notes of apple or pear skin.

Palate

Again that confectionery note, it is very soft, fruity and light with low acidity and a little bit of residual sugar. It is dry but not 100% dry, and just a little more acidity would have helped by giving it extra zip. Still, while the fruit lasts it is very attractive. It is a year old already and holding up well.

Comments

This is one of the two white table wines produced by the coop (the other is the annual mosto which is sold as soon as it is made, from November, mostly in the bars and tabancos of the area. There is a prize for the best, and Palomares has won it). Viñalquivir is the more serious of the two. It is made from members´ grapes, grown on albariza, which are mostly Palomino (over 90%) but not all, the rest being "vidueño" or a mix of usually older varieties still grown in the area. It is cold fermented using selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks, and after malo-lactic and a period of setttling it is filtered and bottled, young, fresh and perfect for vegetable and seafood dishes. It is a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz.

Price
3.95 euros, De Albariza

Estero Blanco 2016 12%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance
Pale strawy gold with golden highlights.
Nose

Fresh and quite fruity with notes of apple, quince jelly, apricot and a faint herbal touch along with hints of straw or esparto - a trace of bottle age creeping in maybe, but no bad thing. It has an attractive gentle apply rawness which one might expect from both Palomino and no malo-lactic.

Palate

Slightly more serious than you might expect for what the wine professes to be, and for its price. Naturally there are flavours of apple, but there are more mature notes of stewed apple and some membrillo (quince). There  is a gentle grapeskin texture and nicely judged acidity; it is clean and balanced with a fairly decent length.

Comments

This is a light straightforward white designed for summer refreshment. But it is a little confusing as  the website says it is made from Palomino grown in their own vineyards in the pago Balbaina, while the label says it is a coupage (blend) of traditional grape varieties of the area. Anyway, "Estero" means "estuary" and one imagines they want to project the idea of enjoying it with seafood on Sanlúcar's romantic Bajo de Guia while watching one of the area's legendary sunsets. The idea is good: a young, fresh, zippy wine perfect with vegetables and seafood. According to the website it is made from the first pressing and moderately cold-fermented with selected yeasts at between 17 and 19°C. The minute the alcoholic fermentation is over, after some 10 days, it is stabilised and bottled to retain a little of the CO2 and all the primary freshness. No malo-lactic here. This 2016 however, has been in bottle for 2 years now and has lost any CO2 and some of the primary aromas, but has developed a new and quite interesting character, and while it is probably not worth keeping more than another year, it is pretty sound stuff for the money. Diam cork.

Price

3.00 euros ex bodega

Sauvignon Blanc 2017 12%, Bodegas Manuel Aragón

Appearance
Mid to pale golden straw with golden highlights and the odd tiny bubble on the glass.
Nose

All the hallmarks of Sauvignon Blanc - but grown in a warmer place - with mostly green aromas: verdant, leafy, gooseberries, kiwi and perhaps a hint of melon, lime peel, apple, a trace of under-ripe apricot and minerals, but a little fuller than one might expect from, say Sancerre. It is very fresh with some tanginess, and at barely a year old should develop more complexity in the next year or so.

Palate

Dry with a lively acidity and a just little more body than one is used to, it has the slightly chalky texture one would associate with albariza. There is a very slight feel of bubbles in the wine, so maybe it was bottled shortly after fermentation, as allowing the malo-lactic would have reduced the acidity. On the one hand it is very tasty with those green very slightly under-ripe notes, and on the other there is a slight malic/tartaric rawness which will hopefully calm down a bit with more time in bottle.

Comments

Manuel Aragón was the first bodega to plant Sauvignon Blanc in Cádiz, and it is grown in albariza soil near Chiclana under an Andalusian sun. This cool climate grape seems to have acclimatised reasonably well, being used to calcareous soils in the Loire, but judging by the tartaric acidity it was picked quite early, and I feel that, at the expense of just a little of that acidity - something New Zealand SB fans have come to expect, and probably what they were aiming at - it could have been picked just a bit later to capture more fruit, and give it a rounder southern style. I can't decipher the lot number so don't know when it was bottled, but my guess is very early. While what it will do in bottle remains to be seen, it should round off and be a very decent wine. Diam cork too.

Price
6 euros, Licores Corredera

Vino Blanco Albariza 2017 12%, Grupo José Estévez

Appearance
Bright, clean pale silvery gold with white gold reflections.
Nose

Young, super fresh Palomino with notes of apple, hints of pear and minerals with faint salinity and herbal aromas, but fruit aromas predominate. It is light and very young and some of its aromas are still to develop fully, but it is very promising.

Palate

Fresh and reasonably crisp, it is quite a light wine but very much of its place. There is baked apple fruit balancing nicely with a dry minerally chalkiness so typical of the area. Balance is spot on and it has good length. All you need now is some seafood.

Comments

The image of a seahorse on the label reflects and pays homage to the origins of the albariza soil on which the vines for this new wine grow. This soil began to form 33 million years ago during the Oligocene epoch at a time when what are now the Sherry vineyards were beneath the sea. Millions of years of marine deposits slowly formed a layer of chalk which is now present in all the finest vineyards of the area. This wine comes from the firm's own vineyards and is exclusively made from mosto yema (first pressings) and the juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks where it is left to deposit its lees before filtration and bottling. It is 100% Palomino and is thus a very Jerezano white wine, a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz. It is only recently bottled so it will develop more complexity over the next year, especially as the bottle is sealed with a Diam cork (guaranteed never to give cork taint). This is the little sister of Ojo de Gallo which comes from the pago Macharnudo. 

Price
4,50 Licores Corredera

Tesalia 2015 14.5%, Bodega Tesalia

Appearance
Opaque blacky red, still retaining a hint of purple at a fairly tight rim with ruby glints.
Nose
Big, full and still a little closed but lots of ripe black berry fruit like blueberry and bramble, though a  slightly smoky, peppery hint denotes the presence of Syrah. A ripe grape skin texture is apparent and there are attractive toasty, spicy notes of French oak. This is a serious wine which is yet to show its full hand. It is deep and concentrated, almost brooding  and most impressive.
Palate
Full bodied, quite intense and well structured with noticeable but well controlled ripe tannins. It is very generous with a real feel of the hot south. It has all you'd expect of a fine wine with lots of spice, fruit, texture, grip and complexity, all well balanced and harmonised, but still needs time to give of its best, and its best will be very good indeed in three to five years. This is an extremely good wine.
Comments
This is Richard Golding’s first commercial release of what he hopes will be the “Grand Cru” of Andalucía. It comes from 11 hectares of vines in a beautiful estate in the foothills of the Sierra de Grazalema near Arcos de la Frontera. The wine is made from 65% Petit Verdot, 25% Syrah, 5% Tintilla and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from separate plots, night harvested by hand and vinified separately. The grapes are cold macerated for 4 days before fermentation which lasts a little over 3 weeks. After blending the wine is aged for a year in French oak barrels. Naturally the percentages of grapes in the blend vary slightly from year to year. Total annual production of this Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz is around 6,000 bottles. The ribbon on the neck of the very heavy bottle, which is sealed with a quality 2 inch cork, shows the GPS coordinates of the bodega.

Price

29,60, Licores Corredera

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

Barbazul Blanco 2016 12%, Huerta de Albalá

Appearance

Full strawy yellowy gold with bright golden highlights.

Nose

Very slightly floral with a trace of orange blossom and lots of ripe Chardonnay fruit; apricot and ripe peach. There is a certain richness which comes from the greater ripeness than that of Burgundy for example yet the Chardonnay character is unmistakable.

Palate

There is definitely some body here which is nicely balanced with a decent acidity and a gentle texture, and the wine has plenty of tangy ripe yellow fruit. A hint of mineral gives away the albariza. After a full, quite intense start the wine has a fresh, clean, slightly mineral finish.

Comments

This is Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz Chardonnay grown in a Sherry vineyard! While the firm is based at Arcos where it makes the red wines, it also owns a 160 hectare albariza vineyard in the pago Balbaína (bought from Osborne) where Chardonnay now accounts for 17% of their total vines. It sits at between 100 and 200 metres above sea level. The wine was first released in 2012. The must is pressed from hand picked grapes and fermented in stainless steel tanks at very low temperature (@ 12 C) for around three weeks. Then it rests on lees before stabilisation and bottling. The wine is complex for the money despite no oak ageing - something Taberner know a lot about.

Price
6.60 euros, Licores Corredera

 

Cortijo de Jara 12 Meses 2013 15%, Cortijo de Jara

Appearance

Almost opaque blacky plummy red to youngish ruby rim.

Nose

Attractive aromas of ripe plums and cherries nicely balanced by restrained American oak. There is a slight balsamic note and a hint of spice, partly from the oak and a certain ripe jammy character from the ripeness and a little maturity, but it is fresh and characterful

Palate

The spice and oak are more evident now but not excessive giving plenty of upfront appeal followed by fresh fleshy ripe black fruits, vanilla, even a hint of toast. There is a refreshing and perfectly proportioned hint of acidity to balance the ripe fruit and fairly gentle tannin. After three and a half years or so in bottle it is pretty close to its ideal drinking moment.

Comments

Made from hand picked Tempranillo (roughly 50%, Merlot and Syrah (roughly 25% each) from a 15 hectare vineyard and aged for 12 months in American oak barrels in a picturesque old bodega which was the original house of the cortijo which is located a few miles northeast of Jerez. This is a go-ahead business run by the Garcia Angulo family which also produces white wine, olive oil and chickpeas among other things and has a car concessionaire business. This is the second release of the wine and it can only improve further as the 5 hectares of recently planted vines begin to age.
Price
8.50 euros ex bodega

Entrechuelos Rosado 2017 13.5%, Bodegas Miguel Domecq

Appearance

Very pale, bright faintly copper tinted wild salmon pink with pinky gold highlights.
Nose
Fresh and fruity with hints of raspberry, strawberry and a trace of peach and gently tangy with a slight floral note and some white wine character and confectionery following through.
Palate
Beautifully balanced, clean and elegant, very refreshing with great depth of flavour with lots of soft berry fruits. Attractively tangy, subtle and decently long.
Comments

While this most attractive wine is made in the currently fashionable very pale style,what it may lack in depth of colour it certainly does not lack in flavour. It is made from night harvested Tempranillo, Syrah and Merlot grapes grown on the firm's own vineyards at the Cortijo de Torrecera. Each variety is harvested separately when it is perfectly ripe, and on arrival at the winery the grapes are put in stainless steel tanks and the juice is allowed to drain under gravity, without pressing. This gives very fine juice with very little colour which is fermented slowly at 15C over three weeks before spending a few months on lees before bottling. I am presuming this is from 2017 as a vintage is not stated. If it were older the colour would be more orange. It would help shops rotate stock if a year or clear lot number was stated, not to mention consumers.

Price

4,50 euros, Licores Corredera

Mirabrás 2016 13.5%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Deep bright straw gold with golden highlights.
Nose
Serious, with  lots of nuances; fruity ones like apple - even a faint cider-like hint, herbal ones like camomile and fresh straw, traces of flor and a gentle sweeter, almost honey-like tone possibly from the asoleado. Not far removed from Manzanilla with its light marine notes, yet fruitier and with less flor and alcohol. And there is a certain weight to it. Very attractive.
Palate

Tangy apple,bitter hints of flor and a saline note instantly give away its origins and grape variety. There is also a slightly chalky mineral feel and a decent level of acidity which give it a decent bite and some of the classic Sanlucar wildness and probably some bottle ageing potential, especially if the 2014 is anything to go by. Both delicious and interesting.

Comments

The wine is named after the Mirabrás which is a style of Flamenco associated with Sanlúcar, hence the label design. The wine itself is even more interesting, however. It is made the old fashioned way from 100% old vine (45 years old) Palomino grown in the firm's Cerro de Leyes vineyard which is part of their larger Finca Santa Lucia. The grapes are sunned briefly before fermentation using natural yeast in toneles seasoned with Manzanilla. It remains for some 14 months on its lees, without batonnage, in a mix of the same toneles and some tanks where flor is allowed to develop, but to a small extent as the toneles are filled "a tocadedos". It was bottled without filtration in December 2017 and a total of just over 5,000 bottles were available.

Price
16,95 euros, De Albariza

Tinto Roble No Ni Ná NV 13.5%, Barbadillo

Appearance
Deep blacky red with a reasonably tight young cherry red rim.
Nose
Forest fruits: lots of berries like blueberry, bramble and raspberry with faint lactic and balsamic notes and a trace of Parma violet. There is a youthful jammy character with background traces of toast and spice from the oak giving it a touch of balancing seriousness.
Palate
Big and very fruity on entry, with all those fresh forest berries. Acidity is on the low side but it balances well and there is a faint ripe tannin undertow. It is on the commercial side but is rewarding easy everyday drinking and has lots of charm and general versatility.
Comments
The Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona is selling a new red Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz exclusively in all its branches in the province. It comes from Barbadillo’s Gibalbín vineyards and  is a blend of Tintilla, Merlot, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with two months ageing in a mix of American and French oak barrels. No vintage date is given, but according to the lot number on the back label it was bottled on November 23 2017, so one assumes it is from the 2016 vintage. Mercadona runs no fewer than 1,624 supermarkets throughout the country and has been highly successful thanks to its efficiency, partnership with suppliers and its willingness to react to feedback from customers whom it regards as its “bosses”. The majority of their wines are pretty pedestrian, but this - especially for the money - is better. The expression “no ni ná” is used in Cádiz to mean “yes of course”, the triple negative meaning affirmative. The province virtually has its own language.
Price
2.50 euros

Arroyo Alquitón 2013 13.5%, Hacienda Parrilla Alta

Appearance

Dense opaque black red with a tight rim which has turned a youthful red.

Nose

Cracking nose; fresh, aromatic and attractive with lots of black cherry, plum and bramble fruit and just a trace of violet. There is still some youthful padding with some faint balsamic, lead pencil and spice notes from the French oak, all beautifully integrated. The overriding impression is of zesty fruit with a slightly more serious background. Great start.

Palate

Lots of upfront black fruit with a refreshing acidity which keeps it lively and the alcohol is not over the top and is nicely integrated. There is a decent structure without excessive tannin and the palate is round, balanced, almost zippy and elegant, substantial but not too strong or heavy. This is a classic example of how just good Tintilla can be.

Comments

This classic Tintilla comes from a steeply sloping west facing albariza vineyard with an altitude of over 180 metres near San José del Valle, south east of Jerez. This vineyard is ideal for the slow ripening of Tintilla, and yields are kept low. It is the estate's star wine but production is limited to around 2,000 bottles. The grapes are picked and de-stemmed by hand before undergoing a 7 day cold soak. The wine is fermented in oak using natural wild yeasts and the malo-lactic fermentation also takes place in oak before racking into French oak for 12 months ageing. The wine is subjected to the minimum filtration and was bottled in spring 2015 with a very good quality cork.

Price

15.90 euros, La Tienda del Jerez

Barbazul Selección Especial 2015 14%, Huerta de Albalá

Appearance

Almost opaque black cherry red with black tinged ruby rim.

Nose

Lots of ripe plummy fruit with some red berries there too and an attractive hint of spice from the French oak. Quite fragrant and refined for a hot vintage and more subtle than the normal Barbazul, though there is a hint of fat there. Still, it is a very attractive nose.

Palate

Well stuctured, indeed fairly powerful and generous up front, then it calms down a little and lets the fruit and spice speak. It has lots of black fruit  and a very slight wood feel yet the tannins are remarkably  unaggressive leaving an elegant slightly spicy toasted oak and plum finish.

Comments

This is the first "reserva" from Huerta de Albalá, launched this year, and is a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz. It is made from approximately 50% Syrah, 5%Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Tintilla, depending on the vintage; 2015 was quite a hot year with low rainfall which didn't suit the Merlot. After a manual harvest the grapes are selected and undergo the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in French oak vats before racking into Allier French oak barrels where it ages for 6 months before the final coupage, 32,000 bottles were released, sealed with a Diam cork.

Price
9.75 euros, Licores Corredera

Cobijado 2014 15%, Barbadillo/Carvajal

Appearance

Very deep black cherry red with a fairly tight ruby rim.

Nose

Big and full bodied with noticeable alcohol and a slightly Port-like character. The grapes must have been super ripe and there are aromas of bramble, black cherry and plum as well as a gentle violet note along with faint background spice from the oak and even a trace of eucalyptus. Quite something.

Palate

Very full and well structured with plenty of ripe tannin, pure, clean fresh bramble and blackcurrant and a decent acidity with a subtle gently spicy background, but this is a powerful heady wine which could still do with a few more years in bottle. Very good though.
Comments

Cobijado is the excellent result of a joint project between Barbadillo and winemaker Jaime Carvajal, who worked at Finca Moncloa and Huerta de Albalá before working with Barbadillo. He was given a free rein to select the best barrels of wine at the firm's bodega at Gibalbín and made a blend from 12 French oak barrels (Taransaud) and 13 American oak barrels (Murua), two of the best cooperages. He worked closely with Barbadillo oenologist Montse Molina, and the final blend, which is a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz, is based on Tempranillo and Merlot with smaller quantities of Syrah, Tintilla and Cabernet Sauvignon. Naturally the blend varies a little according to the vintage. It was aged in oak for 11 months followed by 8 in bottle. The wine's name refers to a kind of burka which used to be worn by the women of Vejer de la Frontera, where Jaime's mother came from. It is a big serious wine which would benefit from more time in bottle, but can be enjoyed now. Approximately 12,000 numbered bottles were produced.

Price
15.60, La Tienda del Jerez