Bernabeleva "Arroyo del Tortolas" Vinos de Madrid 2016 Garnacha
(Madrid, Spain)
Regular price $65.00 Sale price $49.97 Save $15.03
The vineyard is a narrow north facing 1.2 hectare steep hillside. The vines are 65 years old. The granitic soil is shallow and poor in organic matter, and therefore very unfertile. The changing features of the soil along the slope, as it comes closer to the Tórtolas stream, make us harvest in two stages. This plot is one of the first in ripening of our vineyards.
Where to start? This is inspiring Garnacha. Garnacha for Grenache haters. Garnacha for lovers of Burgundy or traditional Barolo, perhaps. Hailing from a high elevation (1100 meters at its height) vineyard of decomposed granite located an hour and a half or so west of Madrid (in fact, many Madrileños vacation here to avoid the sweltering summer heat), this wine is so bright, so high toned and pretty, intensely flavored yet precise (no baby fat here) that you may want to guzzle it down now with a nice meal, even though the structure is likely there to improve in bottle for at least a decade, probably longer. Young winemaker Marc Isart likes to call this "his Chambolle" given the wine's beautiful aromatics and delicacy. A random listing of other interesting facts about the wine: minimal top soil in the north facing vineyards, use of demi-muids and foudres, some whole cluster fermentation & only naturally occurring sulfites. I'll take this over 99.99% of Châteauneuf du Pape - maybe even Rayas.