Wine by the pool

A few weeks ago, and together with some friends (in fact, a wine tasting group, the GMT; more on that another day) and their spouses, we had dinner by the swimming pool. Being in such a company, obviously some selected bottles were opened, coming from Sicily, Ribera de Duero (an excellent Pago de los Capellanes Reserva 2000), Switzerland (a rare and delicious Amigne Fletrie 2000 from the Cave des Tilleuls, Vetroz), and Catalonia.

We started with Taleia, from Castell d’Encus in DO Costers del Segre, already mentioned in this blog. I was interested to taste VRM (Viognier-Roussanne-Marsanne) 2007, from Vins de Taller in DO Empordà, but I was somewhat disappointed; the oak was overwhelming the fruit and spoiling a little a wine with fine potential.

We moved to the reds, including a bottle I brought myself: a magnum of Clos Mogador 1998. Unfortunately, I do not open bottles like this every month; this one was a birthday present from my wife after a particularly memorable tasting session back in 2002. Organized by Vins Noè, we sampled some of the most relevant Priorat wines from the 1998 vintage (reportedly Excellent). Mas Igneus was rated sixth; Clos de l’Obac fifth; Clos Dofí (Finca Dofí nowadays) was considered fourth; Cims de Porrera and Clos Martinet, from the same winemaker (Pérez) but very different, tied for the second place, and the undisputed winner was Clos Mogador. I have lost whatever notes I might have taken that day, but I remember well the enormous structure of the then young Clos Mogador and the broad spectrum of aromas and flavors that filled nose and mouth. At that point in time a discussion thrived: could these Priorat wines (the others were not so different) age well? Clos Mogador 1998 was 40 % Garnatxa, 40 % Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20 % Syrah. The high proportion of Garnatxa, according to some, boded ill for the long-term evolution.

I had the pleasure to meet briefly Rene Barbier, Clos Mogador owner and winemaker, a few weeks ago, and his advice was to drink this 1998 soon.

So I was understandably anxious to open this magnum. (One remark: my experience with magnums is that it is a nice bottle size to open with friends, provided it is not too “special”. If so, I find it difficult to convene a group that can really appreciate it. What do you think?)

In the end, all went well. The wine evolution had been beautiful. The mighty young Mogador I remembered had evolved into an elegant, but still full-fleshed gentleman which integrated the rich secondary aromas with the tertiary developed in 10 years in the bottle. Toasted, mineral, spices, coffee. Great aroma evolution after 1 hour in the glass, and a veeeery long finish.

The rest of the evening’s wines were, in my case, a kind of anticlimax. I had treasured this bottle for years, and I had not been disappointed. Only that now I face the traditional dilemma between drinking wines (relatively) young or giving them time to ripen in the bottle with a little more weight in the latter alternative.

Will I be patient enough?

 
 
http://www.costersdelsegre.es/eng/index.php
http://www.encus.org/en/index.php
http://www.doemporda.com/index.php?action=home
http://www.vinsdetaller.com/in-menu.html
http://www.vinsnoe.com/
http://www.doqpriorat.org/eng/index.php
http://www.masigneus.com/
http://www.costersdelsiurana.com/en/index.asp
http://www.masmartinet.com/
http://www.closmogador.com/

Mas Sinén: the masia at the end of the road

Mas Sinén is at the end of 2 km of dirt track starting from the village of Poboleda’s comparatively huge church (popularly known as the Cathedral of Priorat). This small winery, with the official name of Celler Burgos Porta, was started seven years ago by Salvador Burgos and Conxita Porta. Salvador has long experience in the wine world, having led the Poboleda Cooperative for several years and taken part in the Mas Igneus project, and comes from a family with winemaking tradition starting in the early 1800s.

The couple revitalized the estate, which included old vines in costers and a 17th century masia (country house), overhauled the main structure to house the winery and built a partially underground aging cellar. Wine goes from winery to aging cellar by gravity.

The old house is surrounded by the vineyards, with soils in which the slatey llicorella predominates. In the higher reaches, the steep costers hold the old Carinyena and Garnatxa vines while the lower grounds have been planted more recently with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Vineyard management follows the rules of the Catalan Council for Ecological Agriculture Production (CCPAE) and bottle labels are stamped to that effect. They are now also embracing biodynamic farming practices.

Technical management is in the capable hands of Toni Coca, a well known consulting oenologist of several Priorat and Montsant wineries.

Production is small and self-limited, with a maximum of 25.000 bottles not yet reached. The remaining grapes are sold to other wineries.

In selected years they produce a white, Mas Sinén Blanc, 100 % Garnatxa Blanca with 5 months aging in French oak. It is well structured, round, with slight wood hints, buttery and with a lot of fruit.

As for reds, the Mas Sinén Negre is a blend of Garnatxa, Carinyena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged for 12 months in French oak. Moderately deep cherry red, very clean to the eye, with aromas of tobacco and black fruit. In the mouth it is velvety, without outstanding tannins, confirming the black fruits and with a long finish.

The top wine, Mas Sinen Coster, comes from the older vines of Garnatxa and Carinyena, growing in the steep costers, and is aged for 12 months in French oak. It is one step ahead of its brother in everything: deeper colour, more complex and intense aromas including red fruits (cherry) and leather notes. In the mouth is bigger, more powerful, with a very long finish and more mineral notes. I am not a fan of very old wines, but I am curious to see its development over 10 to 20 years.

It is a pity for us Catalans that a lot of the already small production is exported, boosted by high ratings from Parker. However, it is a good excuse to visit Priorat’s rugged terrain and hardy people and share a bottle.


http://www.doqpriorat.org/eng/index.php
http://www.massinen.com/
http://www.masigneus.com/
http://www.domontsant.com/