{"title":"Where the Atlantic Breathes Life into Vine and Glass - Green Spain 6\/18\/26","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"gaba-do-xil-2018","title":"Ladeiras do Xil Gaba do Xil Valdeorras","description":"","brand":"Vino Veritas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40848516284606,"sku":"","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0579\/2805\/7022\/products\/image_4f4fcb64-9b71-4a0b-bf23-fd096a690f47.png?v=1634143501"},{"product_id":"almanova-ribeira-sacra","title":"Almanova Ribeira Sacra Mencia 2023","description":"We’ve featured this producer’s white wine before, and now it is time for his delightful red. For those unfamiliar with Ribeira Sacra and \/ or Roberto Flammini (which I am guessing covers everyone in the continental U.S.), I think there are two important waypoints to approaching this wine.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI’d like you to think of this wine as Ribeira Sacra Red Wine, the place, instead of Mencia, the grape. Mencia is far more well known than Ribeira Sacra or Roberto Flammini, but I think the latter two are more important, if more complicated.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe second waypoint to approaching this wine is through its heroic (spinetinglingly so) vineyards. I’ll always remember how Roberto Flammini welcomed me to his tiny winery: “I promise, I am not trying to kill you.” What a gentleman!\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWe had just climbed the tiniest of dirt roads high up in Ribeira Sacra, truly a scary climb for this not-so-rugged indoorsmen. Roberto was offering a tour of the vineyards – a 45-degree slope down 1,000 meters to the river. A tremendous plunge! Pictures can’t do it justice, but maybe this illustration will. The vineyard has to be terraced to an extreme degree: After each row of vines, a terrace rises 8 feet tall, before the next row. Imagine if your front yard had a 2-foot-wide strip of grass, then an 8-foot wall, then another strip, and so on, all the way up an entire mountainside. Roberto calls this heroic farming and, having seen it myself, I agree.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOf course, the best way to learn about this wine is to just to keep pounding it with an amazing platter of Iberico ham, local raw cheeses, and fresh vegetables picked straight from the garden. Best if experienced at an altitude of 900 meters, overlooking a dense forest, on a steep hillside in Green Spain, with the wind in your hair. And if all that is not quite attainable at the moment, don’t worry, for this wine will take you there:\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt's vividly red-fruited, in the lighter spectrum of the range – pomegranate, strawberry and a touch of fennel spice. Mencia can come in many forms (which is why I prefer to use Ribiera Sacra for this wine), and this is on the elegant, luminous, featherweight side of the spectrum. Which is not to say that its “lightness” reflects any lack of flavor. Like great Pinot Noir, it is both light bodied and flavor-full, rich in depth, while dancing and lithe in character. Its charms continue on the palate with a polished, gentle midpalate and a velvety, long finish.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eNow a note about the price – I was introduced to some of the top Ribeira Sacra producers by a wise and intrepid client years ago. As things go in the wine industry, the world found out about these magical wines. Now the top one or two producers are snapped up on allocation and simply nothing ever remains –at prices verging on $100 a bottle.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI believe this producer belongs in that top echelon of the region. But you’ll notice that it’s not $100 a bottle. That’s because I was there, and as a merchant I am buying this wine as “direct” as the law will allow. Cutting out two middlemen is the entire reason this wine is on offer at this price. Try it, fall in love with it (as I have), and relish in knowing you are drinking one of the best – for far, far less.","brand":"Misa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43124293697769,"sku":"10840372721314","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0579\/2805\/7022\/files\/Websitephototemplate_84.png?v=1697041807"},{"product_id":"2020-cachazo-carrasvinas-verdejo","title":"Cachazo \"Carrasvinas\" Verdejo 2024","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhen you go out to eat in any Spanish restaurant in Spain, I guarantee you that two wines will be on the list – Rioja, and this one, Felix Lorenzo’s Cachazo Carrasvinas Rueda Verdejo. It’s true!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBut you sense a fallacy. Rioja is a religion, whilst the other, with that long Spanish name, sounds like (’cause it is) a single wine. But my story is still true.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eEvery restaurant in Spain, no matter its locale, will always stock a really good, deep selection of Rioja, plus local wineries. It’s kinda funny, but that’s how it is. And they are kinda insistent on the fact that Rioja is good, and local is better, and anything \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003enot\u003c\/em\u003e local (or Rioja) is crap. Except for this Verdejo. Why?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBecause of its amazingly chuggable, crushable deliciousness: spellbinding aromas of pineapple, grapefruit, white peach and kaffir lime leaf come bursting from the glass. When they first taste this wine, many people will immediately think that it’s a really good Sauvignon Blanc. But as much as Verdejo deserves its own category, this wine is a category-buster. The midpalate is vivid and crisp, continuing with flavors of honeydew melon, fennel, and white flowers. If you want to look for it, there is a real depth of character here. But I didn’t bother, I simply chugged it down – it was hot, I was thirsty, and this was delightfully thirst-quenching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAnother reason it’s so popular in Spain: respect. Respect for the man and his family that makes it, as well as respect for its compadre price. Story time:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFelix Lorenzo is a third-generation generation winemaker, born at his family-owned winery Cachazo (founded in 1946). Back in the day, the winery produced “Amontillado-style wines.” Remember “The Cask of Amontillado?” It’s that wine. Haven’t drunk one of those in a while (nor read Edgar Allen Poe recently)? You’re not alone. While Sherry-styled wines can be great, hardly anyone—anywhere—drinks them. Felix saw this trend coming in the late 1970s and not only led his family winery to change, but the entire region as well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHis new approach included winemaking techniques of preserving freshness of fruit, modern equipment to bottle and maintain the lively, crisp, gleaming distinctiveness of Verdejo, traditional techniques in the vineyard preserving their ancient heritage of now some 100-year-old vines. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eYou’ve heard this kind of of story before, because it’s one that we at Waterford seek out continually.  It’s a recipe for great wine, and this bottle proves it. In the early 1980s what Felix was doing and proposing created a sensation. However, thoughtful winemaking and careful persuasion led him to success, bringing seven other local wineries with him and founding the DO of Rueda. In a sense – although he would never claim this himself – it’s justified to say that Felix Lorenzo is the father of modern Rueda.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThat may not mean much to you, but to Spaniards it means that this guy took a region that was fading away into the scrolls of time and turned it into one of Spain’s greatest wines. And not only that, but he and his family toe the line on pricing. Tasting at their winery, my note was “rather obnoxiously underpriced.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e You’ve heard of inflation and logistical problems? Well, here is a winery where those aren’t a consideration. The quality speaks for itself in the glass. Now that’s respect we can all enjoy. Salud!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCritical acclaim:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"93 points. Medium yellow in the glass, this wine offers pineapple, passion fruit and jasmine aromas. Its gorgeous texture fills the mouth with vivid white peach, apricot preserve, orange blossom and river rock flavors with a soft hint of iodine on the post-palate. \" - Wine Enthusiast\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Misa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43265158512873,"sku":"8425895100468","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0579\/2805\/7022\/products\/image_a736856f-3621-4710-846e-e5e3f7b5562d.png?v=1657557359"},{"product_id":"casal-de-arman","title":"Casal De Arman Ribeiro White","description":"","brand":"Waterford Wine \u0026 Spirits","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43639833133289,"sku":"","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"ponte-da-barca-albarino","title":"Ponte Da Barca Albarino 2024","description":"","brand":"Misa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49188514693353,"sku":"18414495000145","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0579\/2805\/7022\/files\/IMG-3279.png?v=1780346154"},{"product_id":"quinta-de-muradella-candea-monterrei-tinto-2022","title":"Quinta De Muradella Candea Monterrei Tinto 2022","description":"","brand":"Vino Veritas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49633632289001,"sku":null,"price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"bodegas-fulcro-a-pedreira-albarino","title":"Bodegas Fulcro \"A Pedreira\" Albarino","description":"","brand":"Left Bank","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50982707069161,"sku":"S02300","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/waterfordwine.com\/collections\/where-the-atlantic-breathes-life-into-vine-and-glass-green-spain-6-18-26.oembed","provider":"Waterford Wine and Spirits","version":"1.0","type":"link"}