In our tasting today Wine-Searcher’s Wine Director, David Allen MW tastes a great-value wine, from the exciting Spanish Region of Calatayud. This is the 2019 vintage of Altovinum’s Evodia Old Vines Garnacha.
Altovinum was created as a joint venture between Eric Solomon, founder of US importer European Cellars, Catalan winemaker and consultant Jean-Marc Lafarge and Yolanda Diaz the Technical Director of Bodegas San Alejandro.
The trio identified the high plateau between the villages of Accred and Atca in the foothills of the Sierra de Santa Cruz as an exceptional sub-region. Altovinum sources Garnacha fruit from the villages of Atea, Acred and Alarba where vineyard sites are steep (up to 25%), elevations average 900 meters above sea level, soil types comprise slate and quartzite over clay and vine age varies from 40 to 100 years. The unique terroirs and the abundance of old vines ensures the production of top-quality fruit.
The wines arr fermented as whole berries and predominantly aged on concrete tanks, just 20% ageing in an assortment of old French and American oak barrels and concrete eggs.
To learn more about the wine, its pricing and availability in retail stores follow this link to the Wine-Searcher website: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/altovinum+evodia+old+vines+garnacha+calatayud+aragon+spain/2020
#winesearcher #winetasting #altovinum #evodia #oldvines #grenache #garnacha #spanishwine #calatayud #spanishredwines #winelovers #masterofwine #spanishredwine
Hello there today I’m taking another look at a Spanish gacha and I’m excited to do so because I actually think some of these ganas Old Vine Vineyards in the Kate region of Aragon are some of the best value wines you’ll find around so this is evodia ghacha It’s the 2020
Vintage of this and it’s made by a company called Alto Venom and this is actually simply labeled as a Spanish red table wine it it it doesn’t carry a Cate designation all those the fruit I believe was sourced entirely from there alter Venum was was founded by somebody
Called Eric Solomon in conjunction with auson wine consultant Donar lafage and somebody called Yolanda Di and Yolanda um is the technical director for bodas San Alejandro um and he probably the person who knows the most about the TOs of this region and the quality of the The Vineyards of these high altitude of
These high altitude sites in this Sierra Santa Cruz what we have here is a wine made from fruit sourced from Vineyards in three villages in this area so you have ATA asre and alabra The Vineyards tend to be steep SL slopes with s of up to 25° steepness and numerous exposures
But there is a commonality in that most of them have very similar slate and quartzite soils so free draining soils over clay subsoils the average elevation of The Vineyards going into this wine is about 9 00 m above sea level so there’s a real cooling influence there and these
Are some of the highest sites in Aragon and this is Old Vine gacha it’s unirrigated it’s trained into Bush Vines and they’re all sustainably farmed the fruit was hand harvested and it was partially damed but even the fruit that was dammed was left as whole berries so
There was no crushing went on whatsoever fermentation took place in concrete Vats and lasted for 20 days and there was a gentle 7-Day post fermentation mation that followed that the majority of the wine about 80% aged for 6 months in concrete tanks and the remaining 20% was
Put into neutral old French and American Oak barrels or concrete eggs so let’s have a look at the wine show we and see what we make of it it’s a wine that is a relatively dark ruby red but it’s not pretty deep at all I mean that’s at best a medium intensity
Looking down through the wine I can see the stem of the glass really easily swelling it this is 14 1 half% alcohol according to its its label and certainly it’s clinging to the glass and it’s taking a little while actually to form now quite large tear running down the
Sides of the glass so that that’s showing that’s a fairly viscous wine so let’s see what make the aroma shall we there’s a red fruit note but there are also not not of meatiness earthiness perhaps touches of spice perhaps a slightly leathery note but behind all that there’s a sort
Of a raspberry and deeper darker red berry fruit so let’s taste shall we the palette is smooth and mellow there’s a warmth and a richness actually quite a warming slightly spicy Note coming from the alcohol on the mid pallette that’s giving quite a sort of a a licoricey concentration there sweet
Licorice not bitter licorice it’s open and it’s it’s Juicy Fruit there’s almost a slight raisined touch as well they’re not overly s the Wine’s attractive it’s open it’s inviting the structure is fine there are some tannins some delicate tannins there but they’re not particularly drying or gripping you know
There’s just a little almost a spice element coming from them and that follows through to the Finish where you have there’s a red to Black fruit but it seems to be layered with slight sort of tertiary notes there’s a a slight meatiness probably from reduction and and there’s a slight sort of forest
Floor tobacco leaf note it’s a wine with good complexity good intensity it’s got a lovely smooth structure and I think that would be really versatile to go with a large large number of foods it’s it’s just it’s it’s warmth and its texture it’s rich and it’s inviting and
Particularly for when winter drinking I think it’s concentration that would make that very very suitable indeed that’s you know that’s coming through from this really these really Old Vine Vineyards between 80 and 100 years old you’ve got these low yields and this lovely concentration of fruit and it does just
Show through there the flavors are lasting really well I you know there’s a reasonable complexity as well I wouldn’t say this was the finest wine I wouldn’t say say that you want to age it it could probably you could probably keep it for five or six years very happily but for a
Wine to to buy and drink in the next couple of years that’s providing reliable quality drinking of lovely richness and these hint of spice this is a wine that constantly suggests to me that it’s one of the best vanue wines around I’ve tried it on a number of
Occasions I’ve never never cease to be impressed by it certainly a wine I would be happy to drink regularly so thank you very much for watching watching I do hope you’ve enjoyed the tasting if you have do please press the like button and do please share it with your friends do
Consider signing up and following us on YouTube it would be fantastic to have your support there do also please leave any feedback you have in the comments box below we’d love to know what you think about the wines we’re looking at the tastings we’re doing or anything else that relates to that more
Importantly however do please make some time and come and join us for another tasting in the near future w’t you thanks again bye for now
1 Comment
Available in Ireland €18 not bad