This Spring we are launching our fresh new wine lists, fully overhauled, pulled apart and meticulously put back together again to ensure we truly represent Spain, its diverse terroir, varieties and wine-making techniques in all its sun-baked glory.
As Spring has officially sprung we can now present you with our new lists so let's take a look at some of those beautifully delicate pink & orange wines we can now share with you.
Nothing announces Spring quite like the popping of a cork of perfectly chilled rosé Cava.
This from Bodegas Sumarroca. Carlos Sumarroca is one of Spain’s most important and awarded agriculturists and together with his wife Nuria, the enterprising couple set about establishing Sumarroca as the largest estate-grown Cava producer in Spain.
They practice sustainable farming, harvest at night, and only use free-run juice. Combining their passion for the land and tenacity in cultivating vines, their Cavas have bags of personality and character.
Sumarroca is one of the only family, state fruit & organic growers in the cava region. Producing only Cavas that deserve the Reserva and Gran Reserva designations. This organic rosado is harvested from a selection of their own Pinot Noir plots at Finca Sumarroca that are composed of chalky soils with some gravel.
This is a certified organic Rosado Cava with a lovely salmon pink colour, plentiful aromas on the nose, with elegant strawberry and red fruits, combined with floral notes. On the palate it is fruity and unctuous, with a delicate finish.
Clarete is a uniquely Riojana style rosé. Unlike most rosé which is made by pressing off the juice of red grapes with minimal skin contact. Clarete is a blend of white (Viura) and red grapes (Tempranillo) co-fermented with their skins to produce a lighter, almost Provençal style rosé. This style has a very rich tradition in Rioja and at Ontañón as well. A throwback of sorts, to a time when red and white grapes grew in the same rows and consequently became part of the same blend.
TASTING NOTES Pale and Provençal pink in colour with aromas of red raspberry and strawberries. Supremely crisp and refreshing with vibrant red berry fruit notes accented citrus zest notes and brilliant acidity. A perfect harmony exists between the fruit and acidity.
PAIRINGS The ideal Spring and Summer sipper, but not to be forgotten in the cooler months. Accompanies a wide variety of dishes from seafood and shellfish as well as lighter rice and pasta dishes. The ultimate picnic and party wine!
Next to the National Park of Donana, an area of preserved natural beauty, Bodegas Contreras Ruiz champions the rich, full-bodied Zalema grape.
Located in the deep south of Spain, on the Atlantic coast close to Portugal, this is the perfect site to grow this local variety organically. Their goal is to make complex wines, where this single grape variety is expressed in different ways according to site and soil.
VITICULTURE
An intensive berry selection is done in the vineyard to reach a yield of 7,000kg per hectare.
WINEMAKING
Macerated on the skins to get the colour, then the must is extracted after alcoholic fermentation and rested on the fine lees until bottling.
TASTING NOTE
Pale salmon-pink colour, red berries on the nose. Surprisingly weighty and fleshy and well structured despite its youth with excellent balance between freshness and persistence.
Nestled in the rugged hills of the Catalan countryside, in the tiny village bearing its name, is the well-respected Celler de Capçanes.
It was this wild Montsant landscape which first captivated Jürgen Wagner back in the early 90s, but it was the huge potential he recognised in this unique village cooperative that determined what followed. Pouring all his efforts into working with the growers to nurture the best from their vineyards and the most honest expressions of their terroir, Celler de Capçanes has established itself as one of the most engaging and outward-looking wineries in the area. A combination of diverse vineyard plots and old vine Garnacha is captured and eloquently expressed in all their wines. Winemaker, Anna Rovira together with Jürgen, conjure up complex and characterful wines that show how, with a shared vision, focus on quality and hard work, great wines and an enviable reputation are not the exclusive birth right of prestigious single estates.
VITICULTURE
The 100% Garnacha Blanca harvested in early September from old bush vines cultivated in and around the village of Capçanes.
WINEMAKING
As an orange wine, it is produced with extended skin contact during vinification of the white grapes, more usual in red winemaking. After a 15 day maceration on the skins, fermentation is carried out at a controlled temperature (16ºC) in stainless steel tanks and lightly pressed afterwards. The wine is then aged on its lees before a light fining prior to bottling.
TASTING NOTE
A delicious wine made from 100% Garnacha Blanca grapes with an intense golden colour and amber reflections due to the time on skins; the nose is reminiscent of ripe peach, apricot and floral notes, whilst the palate displays the textural appeal of the variety, orchard fruit characters and perfectly poised acidity.
Owner & winemaker, Rosalia Molina, makes organic wines in one of Spain's highest-altitude wineries. Her mission is to make wines that express the typicity of DO Manchuela: the vineyard, the altitude and the varieties planted.
This is a climate on the edge of what is possible: at 1,100 metres above sea level, the grapes experience a large diurnal range that encourages even ripening and helps to retain natural acidity. Rosalia's vineyards are certified organic, and she uses only natural fertilisers, promoting biodiversity by welcoming chickens, sheep and pigs from local farms to roam the vineyards freely. Grapes are hand harvested and vinified as naturally as possible with native yeasts and little other intervention. The wines are then aged in clay amphora and some in French oak to give texture and complexity.
VITICULTURE
The harvest is done manually into 12 kg cases to prevent the grapes from being crushed and are harvested from 15-year-old vines grown on limestone and stony soils.
WINEMAKING
The wine is produced as naturally as possible and fermented spontaneously on the skins in 1000 litre amphora to maximise the potential of the grapes. There are no added sulphites and cold stabilisation is done naturally during the coldest months when temperatures can drop to -15° C.
TASTING NOTE
A very pale orange-pink colour, the nose is elegant with sweet aromas of stone fruits, minerals and anise, supported by apricot, mirabelle plum and citrus notes. Full and well-rounded on the palate, with plenty of weight, yet still elegant, lively and light in body. Easy to drink.
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