2022 CINCO LEGUAS

LA MALDICIÓN BLANCO

“Textured and refreshing…this wine screams for food!” 

​

Marc Isart is a renowned Spanish wine maker, who was previously head enologist at the acclaimed Bernabeleva before co-founding Comando G, another top winery in the Vinos de Madrid appellation. In 2013, Marc established his own project with the sole purpose of making humble wine from the humble place where he grew up. Cinco Leguas stands for Five Leagues— in the 16th Century, this was the maximum distance from the Royal Palace in Madrid, that wineries could be located to sell their wine to royalty. The winery is in the town of Chinchón, about 60 km south-east of Madrid. Maldición loosely translates to ‘curse’ and refers to the location of vineyards, far from town, so when farmers were asked where they were heading, the answer was ‘La Maldición’, the cursed vineyards that took so long to get to. Approximately 8,000 bottles were produced.

​

REGION: Vinos de Madrid, Spain.

​

VARIETIES: 100% Malvar.

​

WINEMAKING: The vines are 80-100 years old and planted at 730 m of elevation. Fermentation and maceration are on skins using indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged in small (300 litre) neutral oak barrels.

​

TASTING NOTE: A beautiful pale-gold in the glass. Lemon, yellow pears and apples, with dried citrus and stony minerality. Mouth-coating texture backed by zesty acidity. A wine begging for food!

​

PAIRING: Apple or pear chutney with goats cheese on apricot and hazelnut crisps. Drink now, or keep up to 3 years.

​

※

​

CHAMPAGNE FORGET CHEMIN

MARIE FORGET BRUT ROSÉ NV

“Energetic, complex, and wonderful.” 

​

The Forget family has been producing champagne since 1932 and is known for their high-quality wines made from estate-grown grapes. It is a family-run winery which today is managed by Thierry Forget, a passionate 4th generation grower-producer. The winery is located in the Premier Cru village of Ludes, in the Montagne de Reims sub-region, which is famous for its chalky soils—well suited to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Marie Forget Brut Rosé is named after Thierry’s daughter, who is an integral part of the winemaking team. The grapes are sourced from five ‘Premier Cru’ villages, sustainably farmed by Thierry and his team.

​

REGION: Ludes (1er Cru), Champagne.

​

VARIETY: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier.

​

WINEMAKING: Made with the Champenoise/Traditional Method, the base wine is aged in large neutral oak foudres after primary fermentation in stainless steel tanks. This cuvée uses a solera system of blending for the red wine (going back to the 2002 vintage) and a blend from 7 vintages of the white wines. The wine is aged on the lees for 24 months after secondary fermentation. The wine is disgorged and a dosage is added at 11g/l of residual sugar.

​

TASTING NOTE: Red cherries, and raspberries dominate the aromas. The palate is complex and rich, with a fine and persistent mousse and a long finish. The zippy acidity is backed by saline and chalky minerality.

​

PAIRING: Sous-vide duck legs, tuna tataki, or squash ravioli with browned-butter. Drink now, or keep for a long time- if you can!

​

※

​

2021 VIÑAS DEL CÁMBRICO MIRANDA

“Unique, and classic, all at the same time.” 

​

Cámbrico is in the Sierra de Francia in the province of Salamanca, Spain. In 1999, Fernando Maillo, the proprietor and chief winemaker, embarked on an ambitious project to revive these abandoned vineyards and perform scientific analyses on the different grape varieties. Today, these revived varieties include the indigenous Rufete, Calabres (a local clone of Grenache), Aragonese (a local clone of Tempranillo) and the rare Rufete Blanca. The winery was built in 2006 and has a total of 7 hectares of vineyards, on slate and granite soils, which give a beautiful mineral quality to the wines. Because of steep slopes, the vineyards are terraced, and the labour is highly manual. Cámbrico is a gravity-flow winery with all vinification performed without mechanical pumps, to preserve the flavours and textures of the wines. The vines for this wine are 80-100 years old, planted at 700 m of elevation. Only 3,548 bottles produced.

​

REGION: Sierra de Francia, Salamanca, Spain.

​

VARIETY: 100% Rufete.

​

WINEMAKING: Grapes are de-stemmed and sorted. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts. There is minimal cap management with occasional pump-overs and punch-downs. The wine is aged in neutral French oak barrels (500 and 300 litres).

​

TASTING NOTE: Plum, blackberry, and strawberry, along with violets and slate. Subtle, sweet baking spices like cinnamon, which compliments the vanilla from oak. Medium, silky tannins, with a long finish.

​

PAIRING: Black Forest cake with raspberry coulis, also great with charcuterie and blackberry chutney. This will develop beautifully in the next 3-5 years.