Posts Tagged ‘Balearic Islands’
Mallorca in a glass
Based in Felantix, Mallorca, 4 Kilos Vinicola was founded in the summer of 2006 by winemaker Francesc Grimalt and musician Sergio Caballero, both natives of the island. To start up operations, each partner invested a modest 4 million piestas; colloquially in Spanish a kilo is one million, hence the bodega’s name. Though 4 Kilos now has a proper winery (a converted sheep barn), its first wines were made in a garage. The vineyards – 15 hectares owned by the winery and others belonging to independent grape growers – are scattered across the north and south of the island, meaning all the wines bear the broad VDT Mallorca designation. Farming is sustainable and increasingly organic. Gravelly clay soil predominates. Wines are made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Callet, Fogoneu, Manto Negro, Merlot, Monastrell and Syrah.
Vino de la terra de Mallorca 2016, 12 Volts, 4 Kilos ($37.55, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The striking label is the work of Gary Baseman. While earlier vintages included some Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, this is 100% Callet, an indigenous red variety, from organically farmed vines. Manually harvested. Destemmed. Half the grapes were fermented in stainless steel, half in 2,500-litre wood vats. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and 225-litre oak barrels. The various lots were blended and the resulting wine matured 12 months in French oak barrels. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
Lovely, inviting nose: cherry, earth, herbs and spice. Medium- to Full-bodied but not heavy, smooth but not lacking acidity. Clean, sun-ripe fruit, fine, pervasive tannins and a rumbling of dark minerals fill the mouth. The oak is nicely integrated, one component among many. Finishes long with lingering spice. Refreshing, food-friendly and easy to drink, what the French call digeste. A crowd-pleaser too. Less international in style than the 2013 and better for it. (Buy again? Yes.)
This private import used to be available at the SAQ. Here’s hoping it makes a return. In the meantime, two other 4 Kilos wines can be found on the monopoly’s shelves: The Island Syndicate ($24.75, 13903487) and Gallinas y Focas ($35.75, 13903479). Cyril was especially enthusiastic about the QPR of the former. Supplies of both are running short, especially in Montreal, but if you’re off island, you might still be able to snag a bottle.
MWG March 20th tasting: flight 4 of 7
Two insular reds
The teaser sent to MWG members prior to the tasting described this flight as “Two richer, soft red blends from the same vintage. The insular estates are in the same country but geographically about as far apart as it’s possible to be. No other connections.”
Valle de la Orortava 2013, 7 Fuentes, Soagranorte ($21.20, 12475425)
A 90-10 blend of Listán Negro and Tintilia (which appears to be none other than the Jura’s Trousseau aka Bastardo) from ungrafted vines between 10 and 100 years old and grown in various parcels at altitudes ranging from 400 to 650 m on Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. The grapes from each vineyard were vinified separately. Manually harvested in early September. Alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts and manual punch-downs was in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Sixty percent of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation and eight months’ maturation in 5,700-litre concrete tanks while the remainder was matured in 500-litre French oak casks. Reducing sugar: 2.1 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: LVAB.
Much cleaner than the bottle tasted last February. Slight reduction on the nose but otherwise fine: spice, red fruit, earth, animale, pencil lead, dried herbs, forest floor… in a word, complex. A taste reveals a supple surface, bright acidity and lightly astringent underlay. The clean fruit (cherry, blackcurrant) is forward but the wine is too savoury (dry, peppery, minerally), fluid and fresh to be a bomb. Nicely sustained finish. The closest parallel – though the flavours are different – is a Corsican red like Alzipratu’s Fiumeseccu bottling. Good QPR. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vino de la terra de Mallorca 2013, 12 Volts, 4 Kilos vinícola ($28.85, 11852479)
The estate’s name refers to the two owners’ start-up stake in the winery (4 million pisetas), the smallness of the sum being explained by the fact that wines were originally made in a low-overhead garage. The striking label is the work of Gary Baseman. This 2013 is a blend of Callet–Fogoneu (60%), Syrah (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Merlot (10%) from vines averaging 20 years old and grown in various parts of Majorca. Manually harvested. Macerated and fermented in stainless steel vats – initially at 20°C and rising to 28°C – for around 20 days. After malolactic fermentation ended, 40% of the wine was transferred to a mix of 3,000-litre foudres and the rest into 225-litre French oak barrels (half second fill and half third fill) for nine months’ maturation. 48,000 bottles and 600 magnums were made. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: Entreprise UVAS.
Darker and richer than the 7 Fuentes on both the nose and the palate. Modern heading toward New Worldish but not too: a mouthful of dense, ripe red and black fruit with a velvety texture, good structure (round tannins, sufficient acidity) and an obvious-but-not-fatiguing overlay of oak. Broader than it is deep, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Black spice (pepper, licorice) and dried herbs join the fruit and vanilla on a fairly long finish. Easy to like. (Buy again? Sure.)
Suspecting Entreprise UVAS might offer 4 Kilos’ eponymous flagship wine as a private import, I’d originally hoped to serve it alongside the 12 Volts. Since the agency doesn’t have a website, I turned to various search engines, which provided contact information for the purported president and sales manager. Emails sent to their business and personal addresses bounced. All the phone numbers but one were not in service and the voice mail box for the working number was filled to overflowing. The sales manager’s house – located a couple of blocks from my place – has been up for sale for several months. Attempted contacts through LinkedIn and Facebook went unanswered. Even the SAQ couldn’t provide anything other than the outdated contact info. Has the agency been sold? Does it even exist any more?
MWG January 14th tasting: flight 7 of 7
A lot of deliciousness for $30
Vino de la tierra de Mallorca 2012, 12 Volts, 4 Kilos vinícola ($29.25, 11852479)
A blend of Callet–Fogoneu (50%), Syrah (30%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Merlot (10%) from vineyards in various parts of Majorca. Manually harvested. Macerated and fermented in stainless steel vats – initially at 20°C and rising to 28°C – for 20 days. After malolactic fermentation ended, the wine was transferred to a mix of 3,000-litre foudres (40%) and 225-litre French oak barrels (30% second fill and 30% third fill). 44,000 bottles made. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: Entreprise UVAS.
Beguiling, multifaceted if subdued nose: blackberry, herbes de Provence, sweet spice, dark minerals, sawed wood, leather, kirsch. Smooth and elegant in the mouth. Heady but more medium- than full-bodied. Transitions from sweet-ripe fruity on entry to dry, minerally, old-woody and intriguingly tart on exit, so more savoury than fruit-driven. The silky tannins turn a little astringent on the sustained finish. Not deep but far from superficial, it delivers a lot of deliciousness for $30. (Buy again? Yep.)
The estate’s name refers to the two owners’ start-up stake in the winery (4 million pesetas), the smallness of the sum being explained by the fact that wines were originally made in a low-overhead garage. The wine’s striking label is the work of Gary Baseman.
MWG June 12th tasting: Balearic warbler
Sistema Vinari was created on a lark in 2010 to make wines not to sell but to share with friends and trade with other local winemakers. 2012 is its first commercial vintage. The estate specializes in local grape varieties, though it does allow a little Monastrell and Syrah into the mix, and favours a non-interventionist approach. The wines’ names and minimalist labels are provisional. The only listed distributors are on Majorca, in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, in Australia and here in Quebec.
Vi de la terra de Mallorca 2012, Château Paquita, Sistema Vinari ($33.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
This blend is made from organically farmed (but uncertified as such) Callet (40%), Manto Negro (40%), Monastrell (aka Mourvèdre, 15%), Syrah (5%). The grapes are manually harvested and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Alcoholic fermentation of the Callet and Manto Negro lasts 20 to 25 days and is temperature-controlled (26°C or less). The Monastrell and Syrah undergo carbonic maceration. The wine is matured for six months in fifth-fill 500-litre oak barrels and refined three months in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and with no added sulphur and aged in the bottle for five months before release. Total production: 4,500 regular bottles and 90 magnums. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Deep and engaging nose of peppery plum and raspberry with accents of cinnamon, leaf, graphite, smoke and leather. Medium-bodied and velours-textured. The spicy fruit – dominant but not heavy, structured by round tannins, brightened by sustained acidity, deepened by coal and old wood notes – lasts through the long, clean finish. This elegant, savoury, food-friendly wine is a real find. (Buy again? With pleasure.)
Brett happens 