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The Wines…

Bodega Vinificate, Aguja Ancestral 

Region: Cadiz

Grape: Palomino

Bodega Vinificate was born in San Fernando, Cadiz, by two winemaker brothers, Miguel and Jose. The two of them are passionate about their own land, respectful of the terroir and the local grapes. The main idea of the project is to express, in their wines, the soil, climate and the local grapes varieties. The winds of Levante (east) and Poniente (west) play a big role in the climate and affects the vintages every year. The Levante is warm and dry that comes from Sahara Desert and the Poniente brings the humidity and the freshness from the Atlantic Ocean. 

Wine Notes: Aguja Ancestral is a sparkling wine made in the Ancestral method. The wine is bottled before the first fermentation is finished, the carbon dioxide, which is given off as the yeast convert the sugars into alcohol, is trapped in the bottle. Palomino grape, single-estate 35 years old from Chiclana, Pago El Marquesado, Viña de Los Caracoles, sandy soil. Hand harvest, vertical pressed and then fermentation continuous in the bottle.

Bodegas Luis Pérez, La Escribana Vino De Pasto Macharnudo 2018

Region: Jerez

Grape: Palomino Fino

Luis Perez Rodriguez, a professor of oenology at Cadiz University and former chief winemaker at Domecq Sherry, started his winery in 2002 with the goal of making non-fortified Red and White wines from the Sherry region.

Grapes are harvested from the San Cayetano & La Escribana vineyards, at the foot of historical Majuelo mountians. Wine is naturally fermented and, depending on the vintage, a portion of the grapes might be sun dried for 6-8 hours to concentrate sugars for higher alcohol needed to age wine under flor. Because flor aging translates to “freshness” on our palates, this portion of the wine depends on the balance of the vintage. If the vintage is naturally fresh then the flor interaction is less by leaving less headspace in the casks. Conversely, if it is a richer vintage then they will leave more headspace in the casks and increase the flor influence on the wine. In either case, these whites have great intensity and zest with notes of preserved lemons and savory, chalky overtones from the soil. These wines are also part of a revival of what was popular to drink among the "people" of Jerez in the 18th and 19th centuries locally called "Vino de Pasto". The locals could not afford Sherry so they consumed young (less than a year old) unfortified Palomino Fino of the vintage.

Bodega Cauzón, "Granada" Bianco 2019

Region: Granada

Grapes: Macabeu, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc

The vineyards are on the northern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in Cortes y Graena, at elevations of 800-1000 meters, and they are largely on sheltered, north-facing slopes. These factors combine to produce an intense diurnal shift: temperatures are aggressively hot during the day but cool at night, which moderates ripening and allows for more balanced, fresher wines. Ramón uses no chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides, and adds nothing (including sulfur) to his wines in the cellar.

Grapes see 1 day of maceration, and the wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel. Lovely stone fruit on the palate, with herbal tea notes. Density meets fresh grassy acidity in an ideal way so the wine has depth and length, but is also perfectly crisp.

Dominio del Urogallo, Pésico "Pésico" Tinto 2015

Grape: Albarín Tinto, Carrasquín, Mencía, Verdejo Tinto

Winemaker, Francisco asencio, decided in 2011 to abandon everything and dedicate himself to viticulture. Today, Fran crafts wines on opposite ends of the Spanish peninsula: Dominio del Urogallo in Cangas de Narcea, Asturias, and Bodegas Alonso in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where he bought and renamed the historic Pedro Romero winery containing some of the Sherry’s oldest soleras. Pésico is fermented with indigenous yeast in used French oak barrels of the sizes 225 liters, 228 liters and 500 liters. The wine matures for approximately 21 months in the oak. No sulfites or any other additives are used during the entire vinification process.