Wine of the week
Phil Mugford heads to Valencia in search of the Frog Prince.
Cullerot 2022
D.O. Valencia
Variety: 50% Macabeo (Viura), 50% Verdil, Malvasía, Pedro Ximénez and other local varieties
ABV: 13%
What´s in a Name?
Roure means oak in the Valencian dialect or roble if, like me, you’re more accustomed to Castellano. Something of a misnomer right off the bat as this bodega, in the Valencian interior, is better known for its subterranean clay amphorae or tinaja. This is the ageing method that harks back to when the Phoenicians, around 500BC, came to what was to them Iberia or I-Shpania which translates as Land of Rabbits…go figure!
The current site of the bodega, acquired in 2006, sits under the watchful gaze of an old Celta settlement Les Alcusses nestling atop a nearby hill. Down on the ground owner Pablo Calatayud oversees around 66 hectares of vines most of which are planted with red varieties, both international and local like Monastrell and the lesser known Mandó. Despite the summer heat in these parts, the reds all seem to have a freshness and lightness that one rarely associates with Mediterranean climes.
But it’s the bodega’s white that always has me coming back for more. Cullerot, the wine in question, means tadpole in Valencian. An odd name for a wine but, as Pablo explains, it has significance. He wanted to create a white wine in a sea of reds. A wine that may have to swim against the current in order to grow into something bigger. Pablo chuckles when I suggest kissing the bottle may turn the drinker into a prince or princess.
This is a wine that also changes its make-up according to the year. The blend is rarely the same in consecutive harvests. Pablo had to search further afield to find the grapes for Cullerot but was fortunate to find willing growers who he pays per hectare, thus guaranteeing them a good price and better care of the vines, rather than the custom of paying them per kilo.
After a short 4-hour maceration the wine goes into the clay amphorae, each of which hold around 2,600 litres. The crianza is around six months, and the 2022 vintage saw 50,000 bottles produced.
The result is scintillating. A burnished lemon in the glass, the nose is all honey and balsamic notes. On the palate it’s bright and glyceric. Citric flavours give over to more herbal elements like aniseed and fennel and the finish is piquant. Considering this retails for around €11 I have no hesitation in claiming this to be one of Spain’s best value white wines currently on the market.
