Lesser known but emerging regions of Spain form the latest additions to our portfolio arriving this month:

Sierra de Gredos located one hour north of Madrid and one hour south of Rueda, is a mountainous region that is re-emerging from an era previously dominated by co-operative wine-making, a super-exciting area currently being re-discovered by a new generation of young winemakers who have recognised the potential of the many old vines in the region.

La Transición, a viño de pueblo de Cebreros, is a modern, bang-on trend lighter Garnacha style produced from a treasure trove of old bush vines. The wine, which is made with the commercial and technical advice of Soto Manrique with grapes supplied by growers from Sociedad Agraria de Viticultores, is fermented in concrete vats and aged for ten months in large French barrels. La Transición is also a reference to their new winemaking philosophy; progression from producing bulk wines to evolving to more sustainable practises for both growers through fair pricing and the vineyards by respecting the environment. La Viña de Ayer, also from Soto Manrique, is made from sixty-year old bush vines of Albillo Real, an indigenous white grape with an aromatic style.

Viñas del Cámbrico is producing remarkable quality Rufete and Rufete Blanca from organically farmed grapes of old bush vines in Sierra de Salamanca, an obscure corner of western Spain at the southern end of Castilla y León and one of Spain’s most recently granted DO’s. Wine has been made here since the roman times and the speciality of this region is the indigenous Rufete grape; pale and lighter bodied yet with firm tannins as a red and a minerally style white. Vineyards are located at altitudes from 400 metres to almost 1,000 and the region has very diverse soils ranging from sandy and granitic to clay shales and some slate.

From Ribeira Sacra, O Mouro Mencía is a more delicate and purer example of this grape variety from Belarmino, a newcomer to the region. The wine is produced from forty-five-year-old vines on a mix of granite and slate soils in the Sober region of the Sil valley.

From the Priorat appellation, we are delighted to be able to sign up RAR, the personal project of Scala Dei’s winemaker Richard Rofes. The name RAR not only refers to the initials of Richard Rofes, this also means “rare” in Catalan. The rarity here refers to the winemaking style, which avoids the heavily oaked and extracted style of wines common to Priorat, in favour of a more elegant, fresh and fruit-driven expression.

Berkmann Wine Cellars will be exhibiting at Wines from Spain Trade Tasting
Table 9
Venue: Sky Garden, 1 Sky Garden Walk, London EC3M 8AF
Date: Thursday 7th March

For more information contact Louise.Howles@berkmann.co.uk