After enjoying pre dinner drinks in the gardens of the Hotel MR les Rotes, 61 members and their guests assembled in the hotel’s restaurant, Punta Negra, for the May tasting.   The members and guests were gathered to hear Javier Revert, the oenologist from Celler del Roure present wines from that bodega.   Celler del Roure was established in 1996 as a small family winery in the DO of Valencia producing red wines.   Until 2009 they used grapes from the 50 hectares of vineyards in the Sierra Grossa Moixent (Terres del Alforins) for the production of two red wines, Les Alcusses and Maduresa.   Currently they have produced three further wines:  Cullerot (a white), Vermell and Parotet and these are the five wines which the Society tasted.

In 2009 the bodega began experimenting, with the possible use of clay jars (amphorae) which were in their underground bodega, excavated three hundred years ago, and had been used for ageing, but now lay dormant.   There are 97 jars with capacities ranging between 600 and 2,800 litres.   Currently the bodega is making use of 20 of these clay jars, which seem to give the wines the necessary conditions to acquire the benefits of ageing in oak barrels.   They say the results are increasingly successful, as oak sometimes conceals or disguises the authentic origin of the grapes.   The clay jars do not provide flavours and aromas and so help to find “the essence and soul of our wines”.

The average marks awarded by members to each of the wines tasted are shown in red.    The prices quoted are bodega prices; expect to pay a couple of Euros more in shops.

The first wine was a white, Cullerot 2012, which means tadpole, and was produced by the clay jar ageing method.   A blend of Pedro Ximenez 30%, Verdil 30% (see notes at end) Chardonnay 30% and Macabeo 10%, it spent 6 months in clay jars of 2,800 litres.   The wine has a pale yellow colour and a floral aroma and an Alcohol by Volume (ABV) of 13.5%, costs 6.50€ and is given 90 points by the Guía Peñín.   The average mark given by members was ­­­82.5 points.

Second was Vermell 2012 a young red wine which had only been bottled on the previous Monday (12^th May) and society members were the first public to have tasted it.  The wine is the second red produced by the bodega using only clay jars, having been matured in them for 4 months.   The grapes are harvested early and it has a short maceration, approximately 12/14 days, to preserve its freshness and fruit.   With an ABV of 13,5% it is a blend of Garnacha Tintorera 40%, Monastrell 40%, and Mandó 20% (see notes at end).   It costs 6€, is awarded 92 points by the Guía Peñín and members gave it an average of 81.3 points.   The quoted Guía Peñín points should be treated with caution as a wine only just released is unlikely to have been assessed.

This was followed by Les Alcusses 2010, Alcusses being the name of the valley in which the bodega is located.   The wine is a blend of six grapes: Monastrell 40%, Garnacha Tintorera 20%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%, Merlot 10%, syrah 10% and Petit Verdot 10%.   The wine is aged in both French oak barrels and clay jars.   The wine has a deep cherry colour, a ripe spicy nose and a powerful taste.   The ABV is 14.5% and it receives 91 points in the Guía Peñín and costs 7€.   The members’ average mark was 85.8 points

The fourth wine, Maduresa 2009 was another six grape blend consisting of Mandó 35%, Garnacha Tintorera 20%, Syrah 15%, Petit Verdot 15%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10% and Monastrell 5%.   The Crianza spends 12 months in French Barrel and six months in clay jars of 2,600 litres and 12 months in bottle.   It was bottled in May 2012 and has an ABV of 14.5%.   The wine has an intense cherry colour with a garnet edge.   A well structured taste, spicy and mature tannins, the Guía classes it as good value for money at 14€ and awards it 92 points.   Members gave it an average mark of 86.7 points.

Finally we tasted Parotet 2011 which means dragonfly and is the bodegas first red wine aged in clay jars.   Parotet means dragonfly.   The principal grape is Mandó 80% blended with Monastrell 20%.   Maceraton is 20 days and the malolactic fermentation in clay jars of 2,800 litres is 14 months.   The wine was bottled in July 2013, costs 12€ and has an ABV of 14.5%.   Members gave the wine an average of 85 points, while the Guía Peñín awarded 89 points.

A vote of thanks was proposed by vice president Tim Fawle.

Notes.  

Pedro Ximenez is a white wine grape best known for its role in the sweet Sherries of Jerez.   Largely unsuited to table wine production due to its very low acidity, Pedro Ximenez shines as fortified wine either in the Sherry Blend, or as a fortified single-variety wine known as PX. It is grown throughout Andalucía (particularly in Montilla-Moriles) and to a lesser extent in other southern Spanish regions including Valencia, Extremadura and the Canary Islands.

Verdil: A highly misunderstood indigenous white wine grape of Valencia that was rapidly disappearing – in the mid-90s less than 10 hectares remained –  and is a native Valencian varietal only found in the locality of Fontanars dels Alforin.

Mandó: A red wine grape native to the area of Valencia, rare and in an experimental phase for the production of wines. Clusters are small, with loose grains and a moderate production.

Gaby Ferenczy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      17th May 2014