The Heritage Club - July 2022
This month we are featuring two old-world style wines from the Iberian Peninsula. Native varietals: Mencia and Albariño have long been enjoyed by the peoples of Portugal and Spain, now our heritage club features these easily pairable libations.
NORTICO ALVARINHO 2020
PRODUCER: Nortico
REGION: Minho, Portugal
GRAPE VARIETAL: 100% Albariño
VITICULTURE: Nortico vineyards are located on the southern banks of the Minho river. The vines are tended in granite soil at a slight elevation. Although it rains a lot the slightly inland area is a little warmer than the coastal plantings, which allows for perfect ripening.
METHOD: Grapes are given a long, cool fermentation. Racking, primary filtration, and cold stabilization occur. Four months in stainless steel, filtration before bottling in February.
SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve chilled to cold with seafood or a charcuterie board.
AGE: Enjoy now or within the next year.
TASTING NOTES: Creamy citrus and yellow apple lead the nose while the palate tastes of lime with a slight salinity.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS WINE
The average wine consumer likely has a few favorite go-to areas or wine varietals. Part of the reason this club is so great is that it can expand those tastes. Albariño is one of those wines that could use a bit more attention. The wines are crisp, refreshing, and very flavorful. Albariño's freshness is treasured so much by locals that most winemakers refuse to use any oak while aging.
Nortico is from tiny vineyard plots (known as jardins) in Moncao and Melgao, on the northern border with Spain's Galicia province, the best Alvarinho growing area in Portugal. Unlike others from the area, Nortico has no added CO2, making for a richer, fuller, well-balanced wine.
This wine pairs wonderfully with our red counterpart this month and truly showcases what the Iberian Peninsula can do. The wines might be hard to pronounce, but they are delightful to drink.
RAUL PEREZ ULTREIA SAINT JACQUES 2019
PRODUCER: Bodegas y Viñedos Raúl Pérez
REGION: Bierzo, Spain
WINEMAKER: Raul Perez
GRAPE VARIETAL: Mencia
METHOD: 80% whole cluster fermentation in large oak vats. Macerations of between two and five months. Aging in various vessels: 225L, 500L, foudre barrels, and cement vats. Bottled without fining or filtration.
VITICULTURE: Mostly clay soils that are well drained.
AGE: This wine will be good for 15 years if stored appropriately.
SERVING SUGGESTION: Decant for 45 minutes up to an hour and pair with peppered steak or summer bbq dishes.
TASTING NOTES: A clean and expressive nose gives hints of sour cherry and pomegranate. This wine tastes quite floral with touches of red fruit and cherry sauce.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS WINE
Simply put, Raul Perez is one of the most skilled winemakers in the world. He was born into the wine business and has some of the most inspired ideas in all of Spain. His wines are quite limited in supply due to his artisinal nature. Handcrafted wines are a challenge to find let alone at this level of skill and quality of price. One of our favorite qualities of Perez is his use of exclusively autochthonous varietals. This means, he only makes wine out of grapes native to his geographic area.
Northern Spain is almost entirely focused on white wine, except Bierzo. Bierzo lies in northwest Spain just to the north of the Portuguese border. There is a good chance that most of our members have not been able to enjoy a Spanish red from this specific region.
Mencia is a delightful grape varietal that is light enough to be enjoyed by all but also packs a good amount of tannin for wine drinkers who love dry reds. This varietal comes at an outstanding value and is one of the easiest wines to pair with food. Opening this wine on a summer evening would be fantastic by yourself or with company. Either way, our guess is that you will love it.