DAY ONE-PART 2
(above) the tasting table, Olga with Patrick (below)
After leaving Jeromin the bus proceeded to one of the vineyards of a winery I had not yet seen on the West Coast, Licinia, the name coming from the original Roman name of the town of Morata southeast of Madrid. This winery is a newer incarnation devised by viticuluralist/entrepreneurs Victor and Jose Ramon Lissarrague. Essentially for this project, so the story goes, the brothers contacted the leading professor of agronomy in Spain and he, in turn, was asked to suggest someone that could over see the project. He evidently chose former student Olga Fernandez and the rest, as they say, is history.
The bus arrived at the first of what was apparently four properties of the bodega that we were going to visit in succession. The philosophy of this winery is to farm organically and produce wines that are reflective of this specific microclimate. The completely stealth winery, in an unmarked industrial building village, has the full package of modern winery hardware including two sorting tables. The grapes are harvested by hand in small 8-kilo crate to reduce bruising of the grapes during picking. The estate consists of 67 acres divided among four separate varietal plantings, Tempranillo, Syrah, Cabernet, and Merlot.
Arriving at the first vineyard, the Tempranillo if memory serves, we are introduced to Victor and Olga who proceed to explain the vision of Bodegas Licinia. Tables are set up with glassware and the barrel sample of the 2008 is tasted…in the vineyard. Back on the bus and off to the next stop, the Merlot vineyard where the process is repeated. Not sure if anyone else noticed it was pretty warm out there (30°C…about 91 degrees Farenheit).
We wondered how the people who had just gotten of a trans-Atlantic plane flight were doing but the show must go on. Finally after the third repetition of the exercise it occurred to one of the group leaders that maybe another 30-40 minutes in the sun wasn’t the best idea and the group stopped by the winery for water and coffee, and to see the equipment of course.
Unfazed however, our fearless group leader then took us to Syrah vineyard to complete the process. This time, everyone walked out into the vineyard, little was said, the wine was poured and tasted and everyone marched back to the bus. The process had been planned a certain way, and darn it, it was going to be completed. Tasting components in succession and trying to gain an impression of a wine is no easy task. Having walked in four different vineyards which were somewhat but not radically different and tasted four different barrel samples of four different varietals about a half hour to an hour apart, it would be hard to give you our thoughts about the wine. The Licinia people are very committed and enthusiastic and clearly excel at the technical end. The vineyards were trellised differently, all the bells and whistles were available to the viticultural and winemaking team and the hardware was pretty serious. But to say this wine was going to translate into a $50+ wine in two years when it hit the market is difficult to say.
Castillo Casasola, the name of this unique spot
But the end of the work portion of the day was probably something of a relief to the folks that had traveled that day. Interestingly enough, from the vineyard, however, was probably the most impressive sight of the day…the dinner venue. Perched on the edge of a granite ledge, some 800-900 feet above the floor of the valley, was what could be best described as a hacienda that was probably from at least the 19th Century built within the confines of a 13th Century castle.
The bus could not traverse the narrow road up to the property so we were all shuttled to the spot by cars driven by the local who then fixed a traditional Spanish soup dish with meats after a ‘cocktail hour’ of the bottled 96 Licinia and tapas. This amazing spot was occasionally rented to Hollywood types we were told but it is hard to imagine how you would ever find it if someone didn’t take you there. One of the more remarkable spots I have ever visited.
The view from the top.
Some food, wine, water, and a trip down the mountain to the bus where we made our way to the Parador Alcala de Henares, and ultra modern hotel facility, part of which was just completed, built on the front of a magnificent 17th century building, the ancient Dominican Collegiate-Convent of Santo Tomas de Aquino. It was a long day for us and had to be really long for the folks who just arrived.
As to Licinia, we liked the 2006 a lot, but the question was again the price. Given the economy, the sudden deluge of upper end Spanish wines hitting the market in the U.S., and the fact that this wine is pretty unknown, so much depends on where a wine is positioned pricewise. All the information we could get from the importer was the ‘projected retail price’ ($55) which at this price level could vary quite a bit depending on the various markups (or lack threreof) in the supply chain. It’s a decision for another day. Tomorrow it’s off to Navarra.
Tags: Spain
