Socaire Oxidativo 2014 12.5%, Bodegas Primitivo Collantes

Appearance

Light to mid strawy brassy gold with golden highlights.

Nose

Forthcoming, interesting and attractive with traces of apricot, quince jelly and plenty of over ripe apple notes from the carefully controlled oxidation. The aroma has something of autumn in it, of over-ripeness, without sweetness, and inevitably a slight strawy waxy Sherry note. Most winemakers avoid oxidation like the plague but in Spain they have mastered it and made a virtue of it, as beautifully demonstrated here.

Palate

Fresh, clean and fruity, though the fruit is more mature. It still tastes like the usual Socaire but further developed and complex, slightly resembling a Fino with bottle age only lighter and fruitier. Acidity and length are perfect and there is a dry texture and faint minerality from the albariza. It is an unusual and intriguing wine, but one which will captivate you in no time at all.

Comments

This is a new version of the excellent 100% Palomino Socaire; basically exactly the same wine, but with extended ageing and thus older and showing a little oxidation, hence the name. In fact it is aged for a total of 5 years (three more than the standard wine) in an ex Fino butt which gives it greater depth and complexity, but only 600 bottles were produced. It comes from the albariza of the firm´s Matalian vineyard and was fermented in butt, and the ageing took place in the absence of flor.

Price 

25 euros, Licores Corredera

Ibargüen Crianza 2014 14.5%, Bodegas Ibargüen

Appearance

Very deep blacky red with a ruby rim showing the slightest trace of maturity.

Nose

Big and and ripe with cherry, plum and blackcurrant fruits and traces of smoke and spice, partly from the oaks, which also impart traces of vanilla, toast, clove and cinnamon. There is a great balance of fruits and spices giving the wine good complexity and an interesting and attractive  nose.

Palate

Full bodied and characterful with a real southern air. The fruit shows full ripening under a hot Andalusian sun yet, while good and ripe, it is good and fresh, and enhanced by the oak. Decent acidity gives it a certain freshness and the tannins are ripe and unaggressive, so it has a nice, fairly rich texture and a gentle chewiness. length is good and satisfying.

Comments

Located in the foothills of the Sierra de Grazalema, about 15 kilometres east of Arcos, this chateau-like bodega is producing very good red wines. This Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz is made from estate grown, hand picked, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon which are vinified and aged separately for approximately 12 months, the Cabernet in American oak and the Syrah in French. The wines are then racked and blended before bottling. The precise ageing period and blend depend on the vintage, but there is slightly more Syrah than Cabernet in this one. Good value.

Price
7.00 euros, Licores Corredera

Atuna 2017 14%, Santiago Jordi

Appearance
Bright pale lemony gold with golden highlights.
Nose
Forthcoming zippy and quite fragrant. Chardonnay can often be a little vegetal with added oak for flavour, but this wine seems not to have any oak and instead has slightly tropical fruity aromas of lemon icing, pineapple and kiwi, very appealing.
Palate
It has a lively refreshing tartaric acidity and plenty of those tropical fruit flavours which give it a slightly New World character which is slightly at odds with its Cádiz origins. Nonetheless, it is elegant and fresh and would be perfect for casual summer drinking.
Comments
Santiago Jordi Martín is a consultant oenologist and president of the Federation of Associations of Spanish Oenologists. His philosophy is to make interesting wine from small vineyards on poor low fertility soils using traditional methods and varieties with minimal intervention so that the vineyard character can shine through. This 2017 is the first release of Atuna, which is made from 100% Chardonnay, is a Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz. The label illustrates the various cuts of tuna, which the Cádiz coast is famous for, and he produced the wine with accompanying tuna very much in mind. "Bottling the power of the sea of Cádiz, the personality of its aromas and the character of its seafood" as he puts it. Only 6,500 bottles have been produced.

Price

8,95, Licores Corredera

Table Wine Bodegas: Hacienda Parrilla Alta

This fine cortijo built in 1881 and owned by the Rebuelta González brothers (related to González Byass), is located in an old 400 hectare estate at San José del Valle, about 35 km south east of Jerez, in lovely countryside close to the Sierra de Cádiz. It was planted with olives in the mid XIX century and currently includes agricultural and pasture land, where pure bred Iberico pigs roam free, and 16.5 hectares of vineyard. The pigs are sold to Sanchez Romero Carvajal who own the famous 5J brand. Nearby is the old Moorish castle Gigonza, and just a few km away is the large reservoir of Guadalcacín. The vineyard is on a fairly steep slope with albariza soil round which is the Arroyo (gully) Alquitón which drains into the Guadalete.

Vineyard manager Nicolas Lobato, manager Juan Miguel Gomez and proprietor Ricardo Rebuelta

The grapes, which are sustainably grown, are 6.5 hectares of Palomino and a little PX planted in 1972, and 10 hectares of the red varieties Tintilla, Shiraz, Petit Verdot and Merlot, planted in 2001/2, all supported on wires and all hand- picked. In 2012 they began to make red wines and gradually converted the old olive mill into a bodega as it was ideal for the purpose having thick walls and a high roof. Modern equipment was installed along with mostly French oak barrels for ageing. Ramiro Ibáñez was appointed as winemaking consultant and the wines, which are contract bottled by EMC3, are gaining a good reputation. 

Production totals a little over 20,000 bottles (plus olive oil) and the wines, which are Vinos de la Tierra de Cádiz, are:

Blanco Joven Palomino and PX cold fermented, 6 months on fine lees before bottling.

Tinto Joven Petit Verdot, Tintilla, Syrah tank fermented, malo-lactic plus 4 months in French oak.

Arroyo Alquitón Destemmed Tintilla from the best parcel undergoes alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation in barrel followed by 12 months in French oak, then bottled with minimal filtration.

Tinto Dulce Tintilla and Syrah made sweet by stopping the fermentation and aged in French oak for 3 months

Address: Carretera de Gigonza (CA-5033) km 3.5, 11580 San José del Valle (Cádiz)

Telephone: (+34) 647 625 786

Website: www.haciendaparrillalta.com

Blanco Joven 2016 11%, Hacienda Parrilla Alta

Appearance

Very pale bright silvery gold.

Nose

Fresh, very young and almost raw with that appley Palomino character and hints of pear, glace fruits and meadow flowers, all very delicate.

Palate

Very light, super fresh, clean and gently tangy, it is a little like a mosto. There is an attractive minerality balanced with orchard fruit. It would benefit from some more bottle age to concentrate the flavours and nose.

Comments

This is a vino joven, a young wine which is not subjected to ageing, and is made from Palomino and a little Pedro Ximénez grown sustainably on albariza soil on a large estate near San José del Valle, of which 16.5 hectares is planted to various vine varieties. Yields are low and great care is taken both in the vineyard and the bodega where artisan techniques are used. The grapes were hand selected and de-stemmed before being gently pressed. After fermentation the wine was racked and then left on its fine lees for six months in stainless steel tanks at low temperature to allow precipitation before bottling. Only 2,000 bottles of this Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz were released.

Price
5.95 euros, De Albariza