Laura S. Lara
Updated Tuesday, April 2, 2024-12:26
Although there is no consensus on what a natural wine really is and the debate now focuses on whether or not they should be certified, the truth is that this class of wines commonly called "green", for following a philosophy of minimal intervention in the vineyard that is transferred to the winery, they are more in vogue than ever outside and within our borders.
Barcelona has become the capital of natural wines
, with Madrid hot on its heels, in true New York style. A fashion, for some, and a reality ready to stay for those who see the future of oenology in this type of wine.
Leaving aside the disagreements surrounding the definition of natural wine, the most widespread meaning refers to those wines that have been made with
maximum respect for nature
, with minimal intervention, taking advantage of natural resources, promoting biodiversity and generating minimal waste. One of their big differences is that
no sulfur is added
for their preservation, so the little sulfur that can be found in them is completely residual, produced naturally during alcoholic fermentation. That is why they are also called wines without added sulfites.
They are wines that, although they usually present spontaneous turbidity and aromas, wild if you will, unlikely in, let's say, "normal" wines (
what a purist calls a defect, a lover of natural wines elevates to the altars
), The production of these wines has improved considerably in recent years and today we can find references capable of convincing both traditionalists and skeptics. These are some of those spontaneous and unpretentious wines, which bring their commitment to the terroir and the environment to the glass.
Nosso by Menade (Menade Wineries)
A
natural Verdejo
made in the DO Rueda by Bodegas Menade without the addition of sulfur neither in the field nor in the winery, without sulfur or copper treatments, with the intention of expressing the meticulous work that the winery carries out in the vineyard. The wine undergoes part of the
spontaneous malolactic fermentation
(wild bacteria) in the barrel. Afterwards, it is racked and aged on its lees for 2 to 3 months. Finally, it spends a few months aging in the bottle. Clean and bright, on the palate it is
dense, fruity and mineral
. A white that the elders of the area say "tastes like old-fashioned Verdeja."
Price: 12.30 euros
Sandstone Paraje Los Panaderos (Manuel Cantalapiedra)
This
ecological
and natural Toro ink from Castilla y León comes from vines planted in glass in Villabuena del Puente at 750 meters of altitude. Harvested by hand and destemmed without crushing by
Manuel
and
Issac Cantalapiedra
(father and son), it follows a
10-day maceration with manual bazuqueos
and spends 11 months of aging in French oak barrels. It is bottled without fining or filtering, with a slight contribution of sulfur. The result is a fluid red wine, spicy on the nose, with a vegetal and very mineral background. A deep and structured wine on the palate, with good acidity and length, faithful to the area from which it comes.
Price: 14.45 euros
AUS Merla (Alta Alella)
Freshness, daring and an openness to other worlds. The
Celler de les Aus
is a project based on the knowledge and experience accumulated over four decades dedicated to wine, which reinforces Alta Alella's commitment to obtaining quality natural wines without using sulfur. AUS Merla is a
natural and vegan wine
that proposes a return to the essence and vinifications of the past, with the tranquility that comes with know-how. The purest expression of the
Mataró
(
Monastrell
) variety from the Barcelona municipality of Alella. A red wine with
three months in barrel
that has its own personality and gives a new meaning to the "earth-fruit" binomial.
Price: 21.70 euros
Santyuste (Esmeralda García)
The return of
Esmeralda García
to her hometown, Santiuste de San Juan Bautista to recover the family's old vineyards and make wine in her own way was a revolution in this area of Rueda. Santyuste is just a small sample of what this vineyard is capable of doing from a non-interventionist philosophy. A
natural Verdejo
from ungrafted vines between 150 and 200 years old, located in four different locations between 800 and 850 meters above sea level on very deep limestone and sandy loam soils. A young white with
a stay on the lees
, intimate and free, that shows all the character and landscape of this area.
Price: 19.75 euros
Le Naturel Blanco (Aroa Bodegas)
Under the umbrella of Aroa Bodegas, in the Zurukuain area, in the Yerri Valley (Navarra), the
Vintae
Rioja team produces natural wines, without additives, without sulfites, using native yeasts and seeking a pure transmission of the
terroir
. A white and a red that are the result of intense work in the vineyard so that the grapes express themselves honestly and sincerely, bringing the freshness and altitude of the area directly from the vine to the glass. Le Naturel Blanco is a
white Grenache
of limited production, given the low production of the organic vineyards from which it comes, whose main quality is its exuberant acidity.
Price: 9.80 euros
El Porrón de Lara (Finca Torremilanos)
In Ribera del Duero, Finca Torremilanos returns to an authentic and powerful style of wine with this Tempranillo from
vines about 40 years old
planted at 800-900 meters of altitude. Strains worked through organic and biodynamic agriculture that give rise to wines
without added sulfites
, without clarifying and without filtering. Porrón de Lara is a wine that seeks a different expression of the Ribera, aged in used barrels to avoid the contribution of wood and in small concrete vats. A fresh and expressive red that vindicates the personality of the vineyard and that, according to
Ricardo Peñalba
, represents "a reunion with our origins in an area where, until just 20 years ago, it was believed that the balance and virtue of the wine were found in the 13 degrees".
Price: 13.75 euros
I am Arcilla Tinto (Bodegas Gratias)
"Soy Arcilla represents the union of man, the earth and the cosmos through the vines. It is the coherence between thinking, feeling and doing in the same direction," explains
Iván Gómez
. A natural, artisanal wine that is part of the line of parcel wines with which Bodegas Gratias aims to capture the essence of very specific terroirs with very defined characteristics in Manchuela. This, in particular, is a
bobal
from Iván's grandfather's plot, the Cerro de los Moñigos area, with very deep clay soil and a high iron content, fermented in small 500-liter
bins
and aged in
French oak barrels. used for 8 months
. Rarely can we appreciate the characteristics and
influence of the soil
on a variety in such a clear way.
Price: 27 euros