Jeff - Wine Specialist, Sherman Oaks
I’ve said both of the follow before, that I love Spanish wine, and that Spanish wine reminds me a bit of California. When we consider wines from famous regions like France and Italy, grapes are often specific to growing region. Not so with Spain. We typically see Tempranillo, Garnacha (aka grenache), and Monastrel (aka Mourvedre) grown all over the country. This gives us the opportunity to see how the different regions influence the grapes. Throughout the tenure of my job, I often will have customers come in claiming one region as the supreme region for Spanish wine, no different than the preference for Napa, Sonoma, or Paso Robles.
In that context, we are happy to bring you another wine from the Priorat region of Spain, Pasanau Ceps Nous. Located in Montsant, “The highest village in Priorat”. Priorat is a coastal region facing the Mediterranean, just to the south of Barcelona, lined with picturesque cliffs.
The Pasanau winery has been around for 5 generations. The founder was among the pioneers regenerating the region after it was ravaged by Phylloxera, and the family has a strong focus on organic, "regenerative" farming.
Ceps Nous is a blend of two of their vineyards at the base of Serra do Montsant, the highest vineyards in Priorat. La Morera do Montsant is 300m above sea level and is composed of clay and flint soils, which lends structure and acid to the wine. Poboleda is 700m above sea level, with slate soils contributing minerality.
The wine is 100% Garnacha, aged 7 months in French oak, and is dangerously delicious given its 15.5% abv. (because it is not boozy at all).
Tech talk aside, what I love the most is that it has far more acidity than I’ve typically experienced with Spanish wine. While my instinct was to pair with poultry and savory accoutrement, I instead found myself reaching for “girl dinner” of cheese, crackers, and charcuterie. (For the record, I’m pretty sure it’s also bachelor dinner!)
The fruit is luscious, with cherries, orange peel, cranberry, cranberry-like tannins, with supporting undertones of clove and cinnamon. It’s a little like holiday cranberry sauce, which is why I was immediately thinking of savory poultry (I’m sure this would be amazing for Thanksgiving). But the acidity persisted and opened up a world of opportunity to pair this wine.
And like I said, it is dangerously delicious. It is far too easy to drink for a wine that is 15.5% abv.
Come check this out. You will be happy you did. I have loved Spain thus far, typically for the spice, the power, and explosive fruit, but this wine brings acidity to the party, and I am very happy about that.
