Tinto y Blanco » Mallorca

Tribal wines ViRAT 2005

Dave Worthington — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:00:17 +0000

Thats a bloody big looking dog on the front of the label, and if you didn’t know that Virat is the wild dog of Mallorca you’d be wonder why on earth you’d put that picture on the front label of a bottle of wine. I was anyway.

This is an entry level callet, the indinious grape of Mallorca, made by Ana Martin. I’m really getting into this variety, it offers something very different and more importantly, its a super enjoyable guzzle.

The nose is a little slow to get started but there are some sunny cherries, sage, sea spray, a little tobacco and mocha. medium bodied and lighter in colour than a lot of Spanish wines, but juicy and snappy fruit. Tangy tart cherry and blue plums, dirty herbs and a lemony zing. Give it some time to do it’s thing and you’ll find something lovely. 90 Pts

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $34 Closure: Conventional Cork

An Negra Vit ‘Son Negre’ 2005

Dave Worthington — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:00:10 +0000

This is the top shelf offering from An Negra Vit. It’s made from the best vineyards these guys have access to with an average vine age of 55 years. What makes these vineyards special is the cooling sea breeze at night that cools the vines down from the heat of the day. Crop levels are kept at around half a kilo per vine and the juice is fermented in 3000 litre wooden vats. As with the AN, the oak treatment is 17 months in new french oak. These are excellently made wines, the wine is very well balanced and smooth and the level of extraction just right. Not cheap tho.

Very similar in profile to the AN, but the intensity and complexity knobs have been turned up a notch. Smokey, earthy nose of dark cherry, blackberry, and currants with a sprinkle of spice and a shake of herbs. A bit of a gamey note too. Plenty to like on the palate, a smooth entry followed by soft fruit tannins and a uber long finish. More of the same on the palate, but with some added spice and a step up in concentration from the AN. Excellent stuff, but I’d probably buy two bottles of the AN for the price of this. 94 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $230 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.annegra.com

An Negra Vit ‘AN’ 2005

Dave Worthington — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:00:16 +0000

When most Aussie think of Mallorca they think of Christopher Skase, perhaps a party island culture, or maybe a boat load of poms completely binned out of their brains on the beach. But not wine. I’ve known that wine was made here but I never had an idea of the quality available. If it’s anything like this stuff, bring it on.

I haven’t got a lot of information on these guys, but from the look of it 3 guys set out to turn a dairy farm into a winery by sourcing indigenous Callet and Montenegro grapes from old sites around the island (over 100 of them!). They spent a couple of years working out how to make the wine and now seem to be on song. AN is a blend of mostly Callet with a dollop (5%) of Montenegro from 50 year old vines. Fermentation is mostly in concrete tanks, with a few oak vats used as well. Then into new french oak for 17 months.

The colour is deep and dark with violet on the rim. An intense, smokey nose of plums and mulberry with a bit of earthy dark cherry and wild herbs. Very clean and focused in the mouth, smooth with velvety tannins and plenty of acid for a clean, long finish. Scorched earth, cinnamon and nutmeg over the top of some juicy, meaty fruit: blackberry and mulberry with a core of ripe cherry. It drinks almost like an Italian wine, it has overwhelming smoothness and structure but there is something wild about it too. 93 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $115 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.annegra.com