Old vine wines with Sarah Abbott

Sarah Abbott, co-founder of the Old Vine Conference,  led a unique presentation of wines from old vines at the London Wine Fair 2024.

Old Vine Conference is a London based non-profit dedicated to the promotion of wines made from vines with decades of history behind them.

This is hopefully a good thing in many ways. First of all, of course, old vines usually make harmonious, complex wines with great aging potential. 

Also, it is environmentally useful to maintain the genetic diversity of vines, and maintaining old vines reduces the chance that some varieties might get lost forever.

So what is "old"? for the OVC a vine is "old" when it is at least 35 years old, a rule apparently developed in Barossa, in Australia.

Here are my tasting notes:

1. Villa Bogdano 185 bianco, Veneto Italy, 2018

81yo vines of friulano

This vineyard was originally planted in 1943, and it is now farmed according to EU organic rules (bio).

Moderately intense and still good freshness. Good complexity and length. 

Www.villabogdano1880.it

Rrp £ 23, score 89

2. Garage wine sauzal lot 95, Maule valley Chile 2018, 

No recorded age, monastrell 

Origins shrouded in mystery but these vines were were already old when Nivaldo the owner was a child and HE is now old... 

Ripe cherries, good balance, complex, delicate, fragile, not concentrated as expected, mature now, don't wait any longer.

Www.garagewine.company

Rrp £ 19, score 88

3. Plaimont Manseng Noir, côtes de Gascogne 

Manseng noir variety, young vines re-planted from old vines material.

Vibrant light perfumed wine, floral notes, delicate tannins, might be best enjoyed cool.

Www.plaimont.com

Rrp £12 score 87

4. Marchelle Wines Cinsaut, Bechtold Winery, Mokelumne River, California, USA 2020 

Vines are a whopping 138-year-old!

Intense, elegant, perfect balance, complex, ready now with some aging potential.

Only 77 cases made grab one fast!

Www.marchelleswines.com

Rrp usd 54, score 92

5. Louis Martini, Gnarly vine, Monte Rosso Sonoma valley, 2018

100% Zinfandel

Like the previous wine, this also comes from a 138yo vineyard.

Intense ripe cherries, elegant, complex, perfect balance, long. An exceptional, harmonious wine.

Ready now could yet evolve some in bottle. 

Www.louismartini.com

Rrp £ 61 score 96

6. Once and future, Teldeschi vineyard "Frank's Block" in Creek Valley, Sonoma, 2019

Zinfandel

120yo vines for this fruity, balanced very long wine. Ready now but tannins could perhaps become a bit rounder with a couple of years in the bottle.

www.onceandfuturewine.com

Rrp usd 50, score 89

7. Catena Zapata Malbec, m mendoza, Argentina 

Vines 94yo and 28 yo

Www.catenazapata.com

Plump mature red fruit and also complex long 

Rrp £75 score 92

8. Feudi di San Gregorio, Serpico, aglianico, Campania Italy 2016 

Vines 100+ yo ungrafted

Www.feudi.it

Fruit, alcohol, tannins still very much alive. Hopefully time in the bottle will help harmonize this wine. 

Rrp £60,score 86

Join the Old Vine Conference if you agree old vines often make great wines!

https://www.oldvines.org/membership

Trade tasting of Monastrell wines from Spain

Thank you Peter McCombie MW

Thanks to the UK Sommelier Association and Monastrell Spain (a non profit dedicated to promoting this variety) for a unique masterclass on this relatively unknown grape from southern Spain. It is known elsewhere as Mourvedre, but here in Spain it finds a terroir that results in wines that are markedly different from those in France.

Spanish Monastrell sold about 16m liters of wine in 2022, the last year for which data is available. Of this, roughly one third is red, 25% is white and the rest is split between rosé, sparkling and liquor.

Four bottles out of five are consumed domestically in Spain, with a bit less than 20% exported, mainly to Germany, United States, Poland, the Netherlands and the UK. China's thirst is growing for this like for many European wines and it is already importing well over 100k liters.

In Spain Monastrell is the 6th most planted variety, with some 4% of total vined area, a percentage which rises to almost 8% if only red grapes are considered.

In terms of geographical distribution, Monastrell is planted mostly in the south-east of the country. Murcia captures almost half with 16k hectares, followed by Castilla-La Mancha (40%) and Comunidad Valenciana (15%). It used to be more widespread across the country before the phylloxera plague of the XIX century, but during the XX century it fell out of favor in the central and northern parts of the country. The reason for this is that this variety has turned out to be particularly well suited to hot and dry climates as one is likely to find in southern Spain.

Over the last one hundred years or so, it has been planted in considerable amounts in Australia and in the US.

The name Monastrell comes from the Latin and it indicates the important role played by monasteries in the development of viticulture especially after the definitive eviction of the Arab invaders from the Iberian peninsula.

We tasted recent vintages and in my opinion all these wines are ready to drink now with limited aging potential.

The masterclass was let by well known Master of Wine Peter McCrombie with his usual verve.

Ready, set, go Monastrell!

Here below are my tasting notes of the wines proposed to us in this masterclass:

1. Bodega Viña Elena, Finca CQ, DO Jumilla, 2022

Seven months in French oak.

A fruity wine with moderate intensity. Rough corners that may be smoothed out with a few years in the bottle. Score 85

2. Finca Casa Belaguer, Tragolargo Tinto, DO Alicante, 2022

Similar to the previous wine, red fruits and herbs organic production. Score 85

3. Bodegas Cerron, La Servil, DO Jumilla, 2022

Biodynamic production. An intense start gives way to a balanced and long wine. High altitude (900+ masl) and calcareous soil. 14 months in old wood. Score 89

4. Pepe Mendoza Casa Agricola, El Veneno, DO Alicante, 2021

Fifty-seven-year-old vines produce a complex, perfectly balanced wine with a long, smooth ending. Twelve months in old and new Allier barrels help as well. Sore 90.

5. Bodegas Barahonda, Barahonda Summum, DO Yecla, 2021

Ungrafted very old vines, over sixty-year-old, and organic production at 800 masl. American oak helps make for a smooth wine with lingering fruity notes. Score 90

6. Bodegas El Nido, Clio, DO Jumilla, 2021

70% Monastrell, 30% cabernet sauvignon

Deep ruby red, high concentration, complex aromas and almost jammy at end. High abv (15.5%!) Twenty-four months in oak. Score 88

7. Bodega Monastrell, Chaveo organic, DO Bullas, 2020

Biodynamic, 43yo vines at 850 masl. One year in new Allier oak. Intense, balanced and complex. The best wine today. Score 92

8. Bodegas Piqueras, Los Losares, DO Almansa, 2020

Fruit with a touch of sweet. Moderate structure and balance. Moderate length. Score 90

Meet the producer: Francisco Gomez, Alicante, Spain

A most intriguing selection that offered by Francisco Gomez for our review. Rare monastrell achievements and unique sauvignon blanc for southern Europe. Here are my tastig notes.

Vina de Mateo Red 2022
Monastrell

Slightly tingly, medium body. Paired with Roman porchetta, structured wine and structured food. Score 86.

Vina de Mateo white, 2022

Sauvignon Blanc

Lots of white fruits in this complex, round sauvignon, with a smooth ending. I paired with with slightly spicy Chinese oily tofu and it was an excellent experiment with the roundness of the wine contrasting the moderately spicy flavor of the tofu. Score 90

Sauvignon blanc organic

A very significant sauvignon. It retains the typical freshness of a sauvignon but it also sports a round complexity that raises it up a notch and makes it a good pair for more structured food. For example it went very well with sauteed mackerel.

Score 92

Queen of Kings brut, NV
Next on my list of Francisco Gomez wines was this bottle of bubbles, a first for me: 100% monastrell grapes, so a blanc de noir. A huge surprise, this is a perfectly balanced wine, smooth, fragrant and complex of floral and honey notes. It is ready now but 1 or 2 years longer in the bottle might add another twist of roundness.

I paired it with escargot starter and then with tiger prawns sauteed with spring onions. Both matches turned out to be excellent, the acidity and sapidity of the wine contrasted the sweet tendency and unctuousness of the food (butter in the snails!). Score 93