Members enjoying a pre-dinner drink by the pool

Puerto Blanco is the Society’s regular June venue, banking on good weather so we can sit outside and enjoy our aperififs by the pool.   This year was no exception and 72 members and guests assembled to hear Miguel Velázquez, the managing Director of the Bodega Casa Los Frailes, an organic wine producer, presenting wines from the family bodega.

 

Bodegas Casa Los Frailes, meaning house of the Friars, has been owned for 13 generations by the Velázquez family since 1771 and is a combination of traditional and modern.   The winery covers an area of 10,000 square metres.   There are three cellars, a buried cellar containing 25 amphorae, probably pre 17^th century, a semi buried cellar of cement deposits, built before the 18^th century and a new cellar built in 2000 with a state of the art vinification process.   A barrel hall with a capacity of 600 barrels was built in 2006.   The estate is over 130 hectares located in the valley of Els Alforins in the Denominación de Origen (DO) of Valencia.   The main grape variety grown is Monastrell covering 60% of the estate, with the remainder being Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Shiraz, Garnacha and Marselan (see note at the end)

 

Five wines were tasted: a White, a Rosado and three Reds as described below.  The average points scored by the members for each wine are given in red.

 

Blanc de Triología 2013 is a white wine partially fermented in French oak barrels and made from 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Muscat and 10% Verdil.   It has an intense nose with a smoky aroma arising from the French oak and a fresh and cheerful feeling characterized by a creamy taste.   It is a persistent and attractive wine with more potential if aged for 2-3 years and has an Alcohol by Volume (ABV) of 13%.  The 2012 wine scored 90 points in the Guía Peñín and was rated exceptional value for money.   The 2013 costs 8.50€ and was given 81.6 points by members

Los Frailes Rosado 2103 is an organic wine made from 100% Monastrell.       The grapes are machine picked at night from the first harvest of the year.   A young wine it is a clear, bright pink in colour with a big body.   On the nose it has an abundance of summer fruits and the taste was fresh and juicy.   With an ABV of 13% it costs 4.85€.   Society members gave it 79.1 points.

Triología 2009 is an organic Red wine  made from 70% Monastrell, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Tempranillo matured for 12 months in Hungarian oak, resulting in a complex elegant wine with a long after taste.   The grapes were harvested manually during the month of October from the vines which were over 50 years old in the case of the Monastrell.   The wine scored 90 points in the Guía Peñín and is classified as excellent value for money.   It has an ABV of 14.5% and costs 9.95€ and society members awarded it 82.2 points.

Matured in French oak, La Danza de Moma 2009 is a red wine blended from 50% Monastrell and 50% Marselan.   After manual harvesting and careful selection of healthy, mature grapes, maceration takes place at 28ºC.   Ageing is done on the lees in half fine-grained French oak barrels for 15 months.    It has an intense and captivating nose and the taste is concentrated and the after taste long.   It has an ageing potential of 7 -10 years and with an ABV of 14.5% is awarded 92 points by the Guía Peñín.   The purchase price is 16.50€ and it was given 86.5 points by society members.

 

The 2011 Casa Los Frailes 1771 is a 100% Monastrell.   1771 refers to the year in which the Bodega was bought by the family. The grapes were harvested by hand on the 28^th September.   Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at 28ºC and afterwards maceration for 25 days divided into two stages.   It is an elegant wine with a long after taste.   Aged in French oak barrels, production is 8,500 bottles with an ABV of 14.5%.      The cost is19.50€ and the Guía Peñín gives 90 points to the wine and society members awarded 86.7 points.

A vote of thanks to the speaker was proposed by Hugh Epsom

Note.   Marselan is a red French wine grape variety that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. It was first bred in 1961 by Paul Truel near the French town of Marseillan from which the grape gets its name.   Marselan tends to produce large clusters of small berries that are mid-late ripening. It has strong disease resistance to botrytis bunch rot and powdery mildew as well as to coulure and mites.

 

 

 

Text and Photos by Gaby Ferenczy

20 June 2014