'Bahierra' Field Blend 2021
$250.00 RRP
Located in the tiny pueblo of Villaseca, on the municipal footprint of Fonzaleche, Baherra is just north of Sajazarra, and features cold stony limey soil. It's a tiny 0.45 hectare field blend vineyard, planted 100 years ago to roughly 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 10% Viura and other unknown cultivars. Total yield is 1-1.5 tonnes (harvested in October).
Mostly hand de-stemmed, about 15% of whole bunches are retained, then fermented by native yeasts and macerated for 2 weeks in two open 500 litre French oak barrels, then gently vertical pressed, racked and aged 14 months in the same barrels. It's aged a little over a year in French oak foudre, then gravity-bottled, unfiltered and unfined, with little sulphur. Eva and Oscar made this wine separately for 3 years (then blended it away) as 'practise' before bottling a definitive first release from 2016. 1,300 bottles.
Simply, the taste of a place. Tree and vine, wood and leaves, sky and earth. Brilliant, bright, savoury, lactic-electric fruit, centred and radiating. Floral, detailed, deep, fresh. Wonderful.