We drove and drove, from Rioja, through Navarra, and into Aragon. We
were heading to the Pyrenees, and the destination was the beautiful
Uncastellum vineyard. It is remote: the last 10 km of the journey
have to be done by 4x4 on unmade roads, but it was worth the effort.
Vintae have taken a 100 year lease on this vineyard, which consists
of 22.5 hectares of vines at 800 m altitude in the foothills of the
Pyrenees. It has always been organically farmed since the vines were
planted some fifteen years ago, and the first vintage they made wine
here from was in 2015. The appellation? It's the rather unwieldy
Vina de Tierra de Cinco Villas y el Rio Gállego.
This vineyard will be the latest addition to the Garnachas de España
series of wines from Vintae, distinctively labelled with a picture
of a vine on each, showing a stylised depiction of the root system
interrogating the soil. The Garnacha from here will be called
Perdida del Pirineo. We tasted a cask sample of this along with the
other members of the range:
La Garnacha Salvaje del Moncayo 2015 Spain
This is a mountain between the south of Navarra and the west of
Aragon. 810 m, 55 year old vines, stony soil with schist. Lots of
abandoned old vineyards here. It’s Vino de la Tierra Ribera del
Queiles. Lovely supple, rounded fruit with lovely juicy cherry and
raspberry fruit. Very fresh and supple and superbly drinkable. This
is the Pinot Noir of the south and it's beautifully done with fine
detail and nice acidity. There’s a lovely mineral core and the
sweetness of the fruit is really direct and seductive, but it's
fresh and balanced. 92/100 (Wine Society and Majestic for £8.99)
La Garnatxa Fosca del Priorat 2014 Priorat, Spain Comes from El
Molar, and it's at 310 m with schist soils. 14.5% alcohol. Warm,
sweet, spicy, herbal berry fruits nose. Warm, spicy and a bit
peppery with warmth and ripeness but also dusty, spicy detail.
Grippy and structured but shows restraint. Fresh acidity on the
finish. A really distinctive wine that tastes Mediterranean. 91/100
(c£11)
La Garnacha Olvidada de Aragon 2013 Calatayud, Spain Vineyard
planted in 1941 at 850 m, with ferrous clay and stony soils. 14.5%
alcohol. Fresh, direct, structured and intense, this is a big,
impressive wine that combines ripe fruit with good structure and
freshness. There's a vivid, chalky, bright edge to the raspberry and
cherry fruit. Lovely intensity here with potential for further
development. Modern styled but good. 92/100 (c£12 Cambridge Wine
Merchants)
La Garnacha Perdida del Pirineo 2015 (cask sample) Vines planted
1999, altitude 790 m, clay with limestone, facing south east. 15.5%
alcohol. Amazing floral nose with cherries, herbs and liqueur-like
sweet raspberries. The palate is very fresh with sweet, pure fruit
and a nice black pepper character, as well as some exotic
Mediterranean herb notes. There's a slight saltiness, too. Despite
the elevated alcohol, this is very fresh. 93/100
El Garnacha Viejo de la Familia Acha 2010 Vino de Mesa, Spain 15.5% alcohol. From a 1906 vineyard, this is 90% Garnacha and 10%
other varieties (mixed plantings). It's Rioja, but they couldn't
label it this way and still call it Rioja. 'This isn’t our house
style,' says Raúl Acha, 'but we wanted to make a Garnacha for long
ageing.' Structured, pure and concentrated with fine raspberry and
cherry fruit with a bit of blackberry richness. Some chocolate and
spice notes. This has a lovely grainy intensity. Powerful, broad but
focused with nice finesse, lots of power and some oak. 93/100
La Garnacha de Hielo 2014 Spain This is an ice wine Grenache. The
grapes are left hanging over winter, and if they aren't eaten by the
birds and the temperature drops enough, they are picked frozen and
pressed in the vineyard, and allowed to ferment slowly over winter.
Very linear with integrated acidity and notes of citrus and
marmalade, as well as some cherry. Intense and spicy with lovely
precision. Very sweet with amazing acidity. 92/100
We also tried an older wine from this vineyard, made by the previous
owner:
Uncastellum 2003 Vino de la Tierra Ribera del Gallego-Cinco Villas,
Spain 13.5% alcohol. Tempranillo, Grenache, Cabernet and Merlot.
Sweet berry fruits with some lush blackberry character and fine
spicy notes. Generous and ripe with nice balance and freshness.
90/100
