Noel Young Wines

Cien y Pico, Manchuela Spain New Release

These are two absolutely fabulous new releases, amongst the best and most exciting I have tried this year.

Four aspiring wine Knights and some bloody old vineyards,” is how Zar Brooks describes Cien y Pico.
This exciting new producer is based in Manchuela, a small region in south-eastern Spain. The name means ‘Hundred and something’, and refers to the age of the ancient Garnacha Tintorera vines from which the wines are made.
The project is the result of many years of experience in the region, and the personal quest of four winemakers (Australian Zar Brooks, his Bulgarian wife Elena Golakova Brooks, Spaniard Luis Juminez Garcia and Italian Nicola Tucci) to protect and preserve the 19th century vineyards they found in Manchuela.
The old bush trained vines give excellent colour, fruit concentration and flavour to the wines, but yields are very low, around 3 tonnes per hectare. For some growers, harvesting the small crop is uneconomical, and the attraction of EU subsidies, in exchange for uprooting the old vineyards, has proved too tempting. These 100+ year old bush vines are an ancient variety- Tintorera, also known as Garnacha.According to Jancis Robinson and her Oxford Companion to wine Garnacha Tintorera synonym for the red-fleshed Alicante Bouschet, Tintorera being Spanish for 'dyer' or teinturier. Alicante Bouschet is in fact , a cross of Garnacha (Grenache) and Petit Bouschet.

When Zar and his team first tasted the wines and visited the region, they agreed: something needed to be done. And Cien y Pico was born.
They have four vineyards, all located on the Meseta (or ‘plateau’) of Castila-La-Mancha. With only 300 mm of rain per year, the plateau is extremely dry; the deep-rooted, gnarled old vines thrive in the low vigour but limestone rich soils. The mountains surrounding the Meseta offer protection from the icy winters, while in summer the intense sun at this altitude of nearly 1000 metres warms and ripens the grapes to perfection.
The wines are made predominantly from Garnacha Tintorera, with a little Bobal and Syrah thrown in.
The name ‘Doble Pasta’ refers to the Spanish expression for a particularly dark-coloured, juicy style of wine. This version is full of blueberries, damsons and cherries, with a hint of lavender and fresh tea. The four winemakers modestly refer to the wine as ‘fresh-picked fruit off the vine during harvest with just a little winemaking’. In this case, 20% only was aged in new oak barrels for 19 months.
‘Knights-Errant’ is a step-up, and made from the best fruit at their disposal. The name refers to the winemakers themselves, as well as the tale of Don Quixote, which was set in the same area. The wine spent 19 months in barrel, with 85% in new oak. About 15% of the blend was kept in stainless steel to ensure freshness. Chocolate, cinnamon and black pepper mingle alongside the lush berry fruits, while the velvet-textured palate lingers long on the finish.
Both wines are closed in screwcap. The first vintage, the 2007, has just been launched. On their first outing, at the 2010 IWC competition, both wines won Gold medals.

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Cien y Pico 'Doble Pasta' Garnacha Tintorera 2007

Spain

A brand new wine made from 100+ year old Garnacha Tintorera vines. Very low yielding grapes are traditionally vinified and aged in 20% new French oak for 19 months. Unsurprisingly deep in colour, meaty and savoury on the nose with deep plummy fruit, hints of oak and spice too. It's rich and dense on the palate, meaty and savoury, some perfume too and creamy oak giving the palate a softness and richness. It's got a wild untamed edge to it that's really appealing, the tannins are ripe and crunchy and it has real life and energy to it. It needs full flavoured food, and is an absolute cracker. The jury is out on the label however, but the wine is fabulous.

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Retail price £11.49 Per bottle

Case Qty: 12

Case Price: £120.00

Cien y Pico 'Knights-Errant' Garnacha Tintorero 2007

Spain

This is the top red of the two they make, aged 19 months in 85% new Radoux French barriques. Very low yielding and picked at perfect ripeness, great depth of colour, the 100+ year old vines giving loads of everything!! Rich meaty nose, roasted meats, chocolate, spice and toasty oak. It's grown and grown in the glass over the evening suggesting a long life. It's plush and rich with a huge core of plum and black cherry fruit, meaty and dense with black olive and pepper and toasty French oak. It's young but with air very appealing and worked really well with a well aged steak tonight. It's a cracking wine with vibrancy and freshness, richness and great balance. Definitely a larger scaled wine than the Doble Pasta, for ageing go for the Knights Errant. Without a doubt two great wines from historic vineyards.

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Retail price £19.49 Per bottle

Case Qty: 12

Case Price: £209.00