Join us on Thursday April 7th for a great in-store tasting with Jose Pastor Selections. The line-up is not only delicious and affordable, but each bottle is Spanish! We have a refreshing white from Basque country, a classic Albarino from Galicia, and an earthy Mencia that has become a favorite on our $25 and under table. What a great trio to welcome spring with! Join us between 6pm and 8pm for this free tasting.
Bengoetxe - Getariako Txakolina 2020 (12% ABV) 750mL
Martín Crusat, a biologist by trade, is living out his father’s dream of having a small winery. His father purchased a summer home in 1985 and promptly planted a hectare of Albariño there. It wasn’t until 2012 that Martín and his wife Patricia had their first harvest, and they just recently finished construction on their bodega, which is centrally located between their three vineyard sites. They named their project “Vimbio” which is Gallego for a type of local willow tree that was often used to tie the vines to their trellises. They take utmost care for the environment; they treat their farm as an entire ecosystem and encourage plant and animal life to thrive amongst their vines, keeping their 2.5 hectares under green cover year-round. Wild blackberry bushes dot the vineyards, and wildflowers proliferate in spring. Algae from the nearby Atlantic is used as a fertilizer, and many biodynamic practices are incorporated. In the cellar they intervene as little as possible, using natural yeasts and aiming to reduce sulfur levels in their wines.
Vimbio is their namesake cuvée comes from three parcels on clay soils, primarily Albariño with the rare and nearly extinct Caiño Branco added for acidity, and a bit of Loureiro for fruit and spice. Grapes were hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed immediately before undergoing fermentation and lees-aging in stainless steel tanks, stirred regularly only for the first three months. The finished wine was bottled without fining, and with a light filtration and minimal added SO2.
Complex and gorgeous Albariño -honeysuckle, ripe white peach, celery leaf.
La Senda - 1984 Mencia 750 ML 2020 (12.5% ABV)
1984 is sourced from 3 old-vine vineyards in the hills of Priaranza del Bierzo, in the southwest part of the appellation. This is where Mencía thrives and at its most expressive. The vines are 70-90 years old and planted on clay soils incorporated with slate and trace minerals at 650 meters elevation, some of the highest vineyards in Bierzo. The grapes are partially destemmed, macerated for 7-8 days in 3 large oak casks. The wine is then transferred to small barrels to finish primary and malolactic fermentation, then aged for 8 months. The finished wine is bottled without fining, filtration and only minimal SO2 addition.
This is fresh and engaging Bierzo, showing crushed cherries, orange zest, lavender, and incense, with an iron-like structure and mouthwatering acidity. Pair this vibrant and complex red with anything char-grilled over wood fire or roasted on a spit.