Mixed Pack Highlights
This pack features a selection of two reds and one white designed to pair well with the transience of Fall, crisp cool air, and a cozy dinner. These three wines are a gradual gradient from light to medium to full-bodied, covering the wide spectrum of natural aromas and flavours that Fall brings.
- La Estela del Ciclohome is an elegant Albariño from Rías Baixas in Galicia. Bright lemon-yellow in colour with a slight green tinge. Ripe citric notes of lime and mandarin with subtle hints of Jazmin, orange blossom, and undertones of hay. Intense and sumptuous! On the palate, it’s fresh, balanced, elegant, and luxuriously enveloping thanks to its good glycerin content. Good for sharing with friends at your cozy fall dinner.
- Sínodo's Garnacha Graciano is a wine that elevates the strengths of these two traditional varieties of La Rioja. The Garnacha brings bright fruity flavours of red berries and is complemented by the freshness, structure, subtle spiciness, and dark fruit notes of the Graciano; this is followed by a complex and smokey sweet background of oak. A nicely balanced medium-bodied wine.
- This 100% Mencía from very old vines at Raúl’s family winery, Castro Ventosa, in Valtuille de Abajo is specially selected for Auténticos Viñadores, made with the best grapes from vineyards facing the south. Deep cherry red in colour with aromas of ripe red fruit, blackcurrants, raisins, blackberries and blueberries, with light notes of black olives, violets, balsamic and spices. On the palate, it is fresh, balanced, smooth and round with well-integrated tannins and a long-lasting finish. This vintage is internationally sold out, these are the last bottles which make it extra special.
Read more about each wine below.
Auténticos Viñadores - La Estela del Ciclohome 2018
Another subtle, fresh and elegant white wine from Galicia made with 100% Albariño, a native grape variety most prolific in the Rías Baixas DO. Like its siblings in Ribeiro: Ciclohome Godello, and Ciclohome Treixadura, it is sustainably cultivated using traditional methods.
La Estela del Ciclohome is straight-up Albariño with nothing to hide, it celebrates the grape variety like in the old days. Bright lemon-yellow in colour with a slight green tinge. Ripe citric notes of lime and mandarin with subtle hints of Jazmin, orange blossom, and undertones of hay. Intense and sumptuous! On the palate, it’s fresh, balanced, elegant, and luxuriously enveloping thanks to its good glycerin content.
Albariño represents over 90% of all vines planted in the Rías Baixas DO. The vines are trained along granite posts (called Parrales) and wires so as to protect them from humidity and to maximise their exposure to sunlight in the summer. It is believed that the Albariño grape was introduced to the area in the 12th century by the Cistercian monks of the Armenteira Monastery.
"El Ciclohome" in Galego - the local language spoken in Galicia - means "The man on the bicycle". It is said that in the mid 18th century there was a man, commissioned by The Vatican, to ride his bicycle in search of the best local wines in parts of Galicia, which he would then bring back to the Monastery of San Clodio (in Leiro, Ourense) where the monks selected the best wines to be sent to the clergy in The Vatican.
La Estela (the trail) is a metaphor for the paths taken by the Ciclohome and the lasting impression that he left behind in Galicia on his tireless search for the best wines.
Annual Production: 1,300 bottles (The club has access to 160 annually)
Type: Blanco (White)
Body: Light
Palate: Dry, fresh, balanced, and elegant
Finish: Smooth & Long
Grape Variety: 100% Albariño
Viticulture / Farming: Sustainable - Terroir Driven
Sínodo - Garnacha Graciano 2018
Sínodo's Garnacha Graciano is a wine that elevates the strengths of these two traditional varieties of La Rioja. The Garnacha brings bright fruity flavours of red berries and is complemented by the freshness, structure, subtle spiciness, and dark fruit notes of the Graciano; this is followed by a complex and smokey sweet background of oak.
Sínodo is the passion project of three friends; Roberto Monforte, Gorka Etxebarria, and Juan Antonio Blanco, who met during their Oenology studies at the University of Rioja.
Their families have been producing wine in La Rioja for generations and they continue to care for the vineyards that their ancestors planted, some over a century ago. All the grapes are cultivated organically using sustainable and traditional methods.
Several of Sínodo's vineyards (Raposeras and Los Tollos) have been designated a Viñedo Singular; so far there are only about 80 vineyards in Rioja that have been recognized with the title (similar to Grand Cru in la Bourgogne, France). In order to achieve the Viñedo Singular designation, the wine must meet a strict set of requirements. This new system will ensure maximum traceability of the region's most unique vineyards and make sure they remain protected in the future.
Annual Production: 2483 bottles (The club has access to 200 annually)
Type: Tinto (red)
Body: Light/Medium
Palate: Dry
Finish: Balanced and crisp
Grape Variety: 50% Garnacha 50% Graciano
Viticulture / Farming: Sustainable & Organic - Terroir Driven
Auténticos Viñadores - El Castro de Valtuille Selección 2017
Raúl Pérez’s family has been producing wine for generations, since 1752 to be exact, in el Bierzo. His rule-breaking attitude and drive to push the limits has led him to become the most talked-about winemaker in Spain and earned him the award for the world’s top oenologist, two years in a row.
His methods include observing every type of soil, studying each plot’s individual micro-climate and obsessively watching the ripening times of every grape variety. When nature speaks, he listens. In doing so, he’s able to get the best expression of his grapes without any additives necessary to transform it into his unique style of beyond natural wines.
This 100% Mencía from very old vines at Raúl’s family winery, Castro Ventosa, in Valtuille de Abajo is specially selected for Auténticos Viñadores, made with the best grapes from vineyards facing the south. After an exhaustive selection process, a very careful fermentation, and brief ageing in large French oak foudres the wine that emerges is the purest expression of the terroir.
Deep cherry red in colour with aromas of ripe red fruit, blackcurrants, blackberries and blueberries, with light notes of black olives, violets, balsamic and spices. On the palate, it is fresh, balanced, smooth and round with well-integrated tannins and a long-lasting finish.
This vintage is internationally sold out, these are the last bottles.
Annual Production: 4000 bottles (Albae Wine Club has access to a limited number of 300 annually)
Type: Tinto (Red)
Body: Full
Palate: Dry
Finish: Smooth & Long
Grape Variety: 100% Mencía
Viticulture / Farming: Sustainable - Terroir Driven
