Saina Nieminen
Saina Nieminen
I have for some time been quite fascinated by Las Alpujarras - largely because I haven't really been able to find out much about the area! Arabic Spain has for almost half a century been one of the passions of my Arabic teacher, and apparently some of that interest has been contagious. But still, even the etymology of the name "Alpujarra" (or Las Alpujarras or Alpuxarra) is uncertain. I think the currently accepted idea among the three or four Arabists who happen to care, is that it is from the Arabic al-bushart meaning "pasturage". The wines of this two-part area all come from the Granada area rather than the (perhaps) historically more interesting Almera part.
Jarno Malmberg of Funky Wine Imports got a few samples from Barranco Oscuro that he kindly invited a few of us to try.
We started with a sparkling white from a rare grape:
Barranco Oscuro Vigiriega Brut Nature 2007 - label
100% Vigiriega, an autochthonous variety. A "natural" sparkler that smells of ripe strawberry and rocks. Crisp acidity, quite full fruit but it is always refreshing rather than heavy. But the aftertaste is strange in being malty and beer-like but still not being bad despite it! Weird but lovely!
Then some reds:
Barranco Oscuro 1368 2000 - label
The name 1368 comes from the elevation of this supposedly the highest vineyard in Europe (but I recall some discussion of that not being the case?). IIRC, a blend of practically everything red (Grenache 30% or so). Lovely dark fruit, seemingly quite vulcanic aromas though "natural" and low sulfur. The scent is tight and brooding and makes me afraid that this will be overextracted. It isn't, but it is deeply tannic but refreshingly so and has bright red fruit and acidity, too - structurally (but not aromatically) it reminds me of unspoofulated, young Nebbiolo. Nice and lively, but needs age.
Barranco Oscuro Pinot Noir Borgon Granate 2005
A barrel sample. Lovely dark fruit aromas, perhaps a touch of new oak, some sweetness to it, but the colour and general appearance is like that of the 2000 of the 1368 just before: dark, brooding, very tannic but palate-cleansing and lively. Nice wine!
Barranco Oscuro 1368 1998 - label
Nice to try a "natural" wine with a bit of age on it. Of the whole tasting, this was the only wine that was IMO ready to drink. It was a much lighter colour than the others and the scent wasn't any more so dark and burly. Instead the aromas are sweet, red but pleasantly tart - reminds me quite a bit of lingonberry. Lively and crunchy, good sweet fruit, moreish and refreshing despite being quite full bodied. Nice!
Barranco Oscuro Syrah Rubaiyat 2005 - label
Concentrated, extracted, dark, meaty - seems a bit reductive? - anyway, all nice aromas, but in a way that made feel this is all about the future. The palate is full of grip and concentration and equally wild acidity. This is a big wine, but like the whole range, it is extraordinarily lively. Nice! Just don't open now. But why use Omar Khayyam (Persian heritage) when Alpujarra, rather, is full of Arabic heritage? Wouldn't the locals, Ibn Quzmn or Ibn Zaydn, be better choices for the label?
Barranco Oscuro Tempranillo y ms 2005 - label
50% Tempranillo + Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Dark, rich fruit, sweeter than most others tonight but still powerful and brooding. Ripe, sweet, tannic, rich, grippy. Young, but nice!
Barranco Oscuro Cerro Las Monjas 1368 2003 - label
Garnacha (30%), Syrah (30%), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Tempranillo. Tight and crunchy, dark toned in fruit and sweet but not over-the-top like so many 2003s are - this was in line with the other 1368s we had - I think even the level of acidity that I perceived was similar. Nice but young!
Then we had three whites:
Barranco Oscuro Blancas Nobles 2006 - label
Vigiriega (70%), Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Moscatel Morisco and Albario. A mass produced wine with 3100 bottles made ;) . A massive 14,8% alcohol, yet I didn't notice it at all - one of only a handful of wines at such a high level that I have said that about. The scent is strangely buttery but clean and citrussy. It reminded me a bit of unoaked Chardonnay that goes through malo. But the palate was a surprise after the scent: crunchy, acidic, moreish and more characterful than Chardonnay has usually in my experience been. Nice!
Barranco Oscuro Blancas Nobles Clsico 2006 - label
Vigiriega (50%), Vermentino, Viognier, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Moscatel Morisco and Albario. 1160 bottles made. And a whopping 15,1% abv! I don't know what sort of oaking this sees, but it is too much. There was bright citrus aromas mixed with bitter oaky ones and I think the purity of one clashed with the nuttiness of the other. Despite a lovely set of reds and a very decent white before this, I found this actively repulsive. The palate was much less oak influenced and was rather attractive and amazingly didn't show the massive alcohol almost at all! Sadly in an otherwise splendid tasting of Barranco Oscuro there was this one that I really didn't like.
Barranco Oscuro Tres Uves 2006 - label
A third each of Vigiriega, Vermentino and Viognier. 1080 bottles. A whopping 15,1% abv. How is it possible that they can make three wines with such massive alcohol and I don't find it off-putting in any of them? Well this was a funky wine, though all their wines are "natural" this seems the most "natural" of them all: it smells funky and oxidative and appley. It is much like a Fino or Manzanilla with its flor-like aromas except this has a touch of appley oxidativeness that the fresh Sherries shouldn't have. I loved it, but I wouldn't suggest it to many wine drinkers!
And finally while cleaning up, we had some blind wines:
Domaine Mas de Martin Vin de Table Franais L'Insens 2008 - label
Vin de Table Ros from Muscat de Hambourg. Only 2500 bottles made. Quite a deep pink. A rich scent of strawberry, quite sweet. It was fun but didn't have the savoury scents I want to see in ros. Full bodied, a bit alcoholic palate (14,5% abv IIRC). Well made and does have interest as a ros, but I still wasn't too keen on it.
Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Cuve Ste. Catherine 2003
About 2,5 years since my last taste and this seems to be improving. From what memories I have of that last bottle, it was an interesting Riesling but heavy. This time - just as in some German 2003s I have recently tried - the fruit finally seems to be receding a little bit which makes the low acidity poke through and which makes this into a much more balanced whole than I remembered. I am still not sure this will ever be seen as a great example of this wine, but at least at this moment it was good and provided pleasure.
Union Champagne de Saint Gall Champagne Cuve Orpale Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 1998 - label
A really rather enjoyable BdB! White flower aromas, mineral; good body, good structure - my glass disappeared quickly!
Jarno Malmberg of Funky Wine Imports got a few samples from Barranco Oscuro that he kindly invited a few of us to try.
Barranco Oscuro Vigiriega Brut Nature 2007 - label
100% Vigiriega, an autochthonous variety. A "natural" sparkler that smells of ripe strawberry and rocks. Crisp acidity, quite full fruit but it is always refreshing rather than heavy. But the aftertaste is strange in being malty and beer-like but still not being bad despite it! Weird but lovely!
Then some reds:
Barranco Oscuro 1368 2000 - label
The name 1368 comes from the elevation of this supposedly the highest vineyard in Europe (but I recall some discussion of that not being the case?). IIRC, a blend of practically everything red (Grenache 30% or so). Lovely dark fruit, seemingly quite vulcanic aromas though "natural" and low sulfur. The scent is tight and brooding and makes me afraid that this will be overextracted. It isn't, but it is deeply tannic but refreshingly so and has bright red fruit and acidity, too - structurally (but not aromatically) it reminds me of unspoofulated, young Nebbiolo. Nice and lively, but needs age.
Barranco Oscuro Pinot Noir Borgon Granate 2005
A barrel sample. Lovely dark fruit aromas, perhaps a touch of new oak, some sweetness to it, but the colour and general appearance is like that of the 2000 of the 1368 just before: dark, brooding, very tannic but palate-cleansing and lively. Nice wine!
Barranco Oscuro 1368 1998 - label
Nice to try a "natural" wine with a bit of age on it. Of the whole tasting, this was the only wine that was IMO ready to drink. It was a much lighter colour than the others and the scent wasn't any more so dark and burly. Instead the aromas are sweet, red but pleasantly tart - reminds me quite a bit of lingonberry. Lively and crunchy, good sweet fruit, moreish and refreshing despite being quite full bodied. Nice!
Barranco Oscuro Syrah Rubaiyat 2005 - label
Concentrated, extracted, dark, meaty - seems a bit reductive? - anyway, all nice aromas, but in a way that made feel this is all about the future. The palate is full of grip and concentration and equally wild acidity. This is a big wine, but like the whole range, it is extraordinarily lively. Nice! Just don't open now. But why use Omar Khayyam (Persian heritage) when Alpujarra, rather, is full of Arabic heritage? Wouldn't the locals, Ibn Quzmn or Ibn Zaydn, be better choices for the label?
Barranco Oscuro Tempranillo y ms 2005 - label
50% Tempranillo + Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Dark, rich fruit, sweeter than most others tonight but still powerful and brooding. Ripe, sweet, tannic, rich, grippy. Young, but nice!
Barranco Oscuro Cerro Las Monjas 1368 2003 - label
Garnacha (30%), Syrah (30%), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Tempranillo. Tight and crunchy, dark toned in fruit and sweet but not over-the-top like so many 2003s are - this was in line with the other 1368s we had - I think even the level of acidity that I perceived was similar. Nice but young!
Then we had three whites:
Barranco Oscuro Blancas Nobles 2006 - label
Vigiriega (70%), Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Moscatel Morisco and Albario. A mass produced wine with 3100 bottles made ;) . A massive 14,8% alcohol, yet I didn't notice it at all - one of only a handful of wines at such a high level that I have said that about. The scent is strangely buttery but clean and citrussy. It reminded me a bit of unoaked Chardonnay that goes through malo. But the palate was a surprise after the scent: crunchy, acidic, moreish and more characterful than Chardonnay has usually in my experience been. Nice!
Barranco Oscuro Blancas Nobles Clsico 2006 - label
Vigiriega (50%), Vermentino, Viognier, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Moscatel Morisco and Albario. 1160 bottles made. And a whopping 15,1% abv! I don't know what sort of oaking this sees, but it is too much. There was bright citrus aromas mixed with bitter oaky ones and I think the purity of one clashed with the nuttiness of the other. Despite a lovely set of reds and a very decent white before this, I found this actively repulsive. The palate was much less oak influenced and was rather attractive and amazingly didn't show the massive alcohol almost at all! Sadly in an otherwise splendid tasting of Barranco Oscuro there was this one that I really didn't like.
Barranco Oscuro Tres Uves 2006 - label
A third each of Vigiriega, Vermentino and Viognier. 1080 bottles. A whopping 15,1% abv. How is it possible that they can make three wines with such massive alcohol and I don't find it off-putting in any of them? Well this was a funky wine, though all their wines are "natural" this seems the most "natural" of them all: it smells funky and oxidative and appley. It is much like a Fino or Manzanilla with its flor-like aromas except this has a touch of appley oxidativeness that the fresh Sherries shouldn't have. I loved it, but I wouldn't suggest it to many wine drinkers!
And finally while cleaning up, we had some blind wines:
Domaine Mas de Martin Vin de Table Franais L'Insens 2008 - label
Vin de Table Ros from Muscat de Hambourg. Only 2500 bottles made. Quite a deep pink. A rich scent of strawberry, quite sweet. It was fun but didn't have the savoury scents I want to see in ros. Full bodied, a bit alcoholic palate (14,5% abv IIRC). Well made and does have interest as a ros, but I still wasn't too keen on it.
Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Cuve Ste. Catherine 2003
About 2,5 years since my last taste and this seems to be improving. From what memories I have of that last bottle, it was an interesting Riesling but heavy. This time - just as in some German 2003s I have recently tried - the fruit finally seems to be receding a little bit which makes the low acidity poke through and which makes this into a much more balanced whole than I remembered. I am still not sure this will ever be seen as a great example of this wine, but at least at this moment it was good and provided pleasure.
Union Champagne de Saint Gall Champagne Cuve Orpale Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs 1998 - label
A really rather enjoyable BdB! White flower aromas, mineral; good body, good structure - my glass disappeared quickly!