Wine of the week
It’s not all white wine in sherry country, as Bill Bolloten discovers with this magnificent tinto
Samaruco 2019 (Bodegas Luis Pérez)
IGP Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz
Varieties: 50% Syrah, 50% Petit Verdot
ABV: 15%
€19.90 from Bodegas Luis Pérez
€21.90 from Bodeboca (2021 vintage)
It’s been said more than once that the future of sherry will be in wines that look to its past. The winemakers in this region who are resurrecting unfortified white wines, the so-called vinos de pasto, are now deservedly attracting attention and admiration everywhere.
But the Marco de Jerez also has a less well-known heritage of red wines. There were thirty red grape varieties in the region before the phylloxera blight decimated vineyards. And now, as well as recovering older and historic white varieties, local winemakers are also reviving this red wine tradition.
At the Pago del Corchuelo of their Hacienda Vistahermosa, Luis Pérez and his winemaker son Willy grow the Syrah and Petit Verdot that are used for Samaruco. On a hill 106 metres above sea level, this vineyard of stony and calcareous clay soils has a unique microclimate with Atlantic influences. The soils are hard to work and stressful for the low-producing vines, which makes for robust wines with concentration and minerality.
The grapes are harvested manually at night, before being fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation begins in these tanks and continues in used French oak barrels, where the wine is aged for 12 to 16 months.
The result is a superb wine, considered by the bodega to be one of their grandes clásicos. It’s deep purple in colour, with aromas of sweet red and black fruits, and hints of spice and chocolate.
The palate is dense, silky and concentrated. There is intensity, heft and power here, but this wine is also lithe, graceful and lifted with its wonderfully balanced structure and polished tannins. It finishes long with earthy and mineral flavours.
I’m pretty sure I hit the sweet spot by uncorking this 2019 now, but it would likely still be fine with a few more years of age.
And if you see it, don’t miss the bodega’s more keenly priced Garum, a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot. It’s a very likeable Jerez tinto and is widely available in shops and restaurants across the south.