Iberian Wine Tasting Thursday, July 28th
Exciting New Wines from Argentina, Chile, Spain & Canary Islands with Jose Pastor Selections and David Bowler!
Iberian Wine Tasting
Thursday, July 28th 4-6pm
*Our Big Spring Park location- 200 Westside Square*
$35 Per Person (Includes Personal Charcuterie Pairing)
Or
$20 Per Person (Wine Tasting Only)
Reservations Requested. Call 256-759-9952
Presented by special guest,
Beth Farris of Grassroots Imports
2021 Cantalapiedra "Lirondo" Verdejo, Spain $22.99
The Cantalapiedras descend from several generations of winegrowers working in the municipality of La Seca, the heart of the Rueda appellation. Although there are records
of the Cantalapiedras’ grape-growing dating to the 19th century, the birth of the current estate can be traced directly to the year 1949, when patriarch Heliodoro planted his first vineyard plot, or majuelo, at the tender age of 15. Since 2014, Manuel (Heliodoro’s grandson) has been the driving force behind Cantalapiedra Viticultores, taking charge of first the winemaking and now the farming of their vines. Lirondo’s fruit was farmed organically, and comes from bush trained vines that are 30 years old. The grapes were hand harvested, destemmed, and gently pressed. The juice saw 6 hours of skin contact and aged on its lees for 6 months before bottling. Unfined and unfiltered, 2021 was a cooler vintage for Lirondo resulting in a fresher wine with higher acidity and lower alcohol.
2021 Canopus "Pintom" Rosado, Argentina
Pintom Rosado Subversivo comes from northwest and southeast facing vines planted by Canopus in 2010. The first grapes were harvested by hand, direct pressed and left to ferment. The last ¼ or so of the harvested grapes were left whole cluster and put into mesh bags that were deposited into the fermented juice and left to infuse the wine for 6 months in concrete. The wine was bottled without fining, filtration and 30 ppm’s of SO2 total.
2020 Gustavo Riffo "Lomos de Llahen" Pipeno, Chile $17.99
I dare you to find a better value than Chilean Pipeño wines. País, a biotype of Listán Prieto brought to Chile during Spanish colonization in the 16th century, has been made into these juicy, light-bodied, rustic country wines for generations. Deriving it's name from the giant open-top fermentation vessels these wines are made in (Pipas), Pipeño wines are often bottled early, in liter bottles to celebrate their youthful energy, and intended to be consumed within the year of their production.
Gustavo Riffo has been organically farming his vineyards and making wines in the village of Portezuelo in the Valle del Itata since 1986. "Lomas de Llahuen" is exactly what you want from a Pipeño - bright, quaffable and a joy to drink. Fresh strawberry, blood orange and a whiff of smoke, this bottle is hard to put down. Give it a slight chill and drink it with some pizza tonight.
2021 Los Bermejos Listan Negro Maceration Carbonica, Lanzarote, Canary Islands $27.99
Los Bermejos is a winery based on the island of Lanzarote, owned and run by the passionate winemaker Ignacio Valdera. Only 125 km from the African coastline, conditions here are extreme. The porous, black volcanic soils have extremely high drainage, lowering the water content of soils that are only nourished by a few inches of rain per year. The winds that blow from the Sahara desert and Atlantic Ocean are so fierce that each vine is planted in small holes or hoyos, and further protected with stone walls. The hoyos also allow the vines to more quickly reach the organic matter located beneath the top layer of solidified lava. Virtually no vegetation can survive such inhospitable soil; the region is more reminiscent of a lunar landscape than the lush traditional image of a vineyard. Not surprisingly, yields are very low, and all vineyard work is meticulously done by hand. Farming is done organically and the winery is in the process of certification. Ignacio occasionally supplements each crop with purchased fruit from growers who share his vision of sustainable viticulture.
100% Listán Negro, 100% carbonic maceration. An extremely fresh and bright wine meant to drink young and with a chill.
2020 Fronton de Ore Tradicional Tinto, Gan Canaria, Canary Islands $21.99
If you haven't yet dived into the world of Canary Islands wine, let this bottle be your introduction. Made from the Islands' superstar indigenous grape, Listan Negro, the Fronton de Oro Tinto is one of these rare gems that is out-there and new while being eminently drinkable. Medium bodied but juicy, with great acidity, the Tinto is loaded with warming spices, cracked black pepper, and smoky cherries. Fermentation happens in mostly old American oak (1 in 8 barrels is new), and while you can feel some tannin in the glass I don't get much extraction from the oak. A must-try for anyone who's in the middle of falling in love with wines with terroir from volcanic soils.
2021 Canopus "Malbec de Sed" Valle de Uco, Argentina $20.99
An organic and biodynamic Malbec with a small blend of Chardonnay added to bring fresh aromatics. This is a juicy style of Malbec, that is full of dark purple fruits, a hint of spice, and a softer texture.
2021 Canopus Malbec "Y La Nave Va" Malbec, Argentina $37.99
100% Malbec from 4 hectares of organically farmed 12-year-old vines planted on calcareous alluvial rocks, sand and limestone at 1080m elevation. The grapes were harvested by hand and 75% was destemmed, then fermented with the skins in concrete tanks for roughly a week, then raised in used French oak barrels for 12 months. The wine was bottled without fining or filtering and rested a further 10 months before release.