2016 Bodega Vinificate Amorro Tinto

Region: Cádiz < Andalusia < Spain

Grapes: Tempranillo, Tintilla, Palomino

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Biodynamic farming; 20-30 year old vines on albariza soils (typical for the area, a combo of marl rock created by ancient sea sediments + clayey-loam), whole cluster, partial carbonic maceration; fermented and aged for 16 months in fiber tank, with Tintilla + Palomino co-fermented together; bottled unfined/unfiltered with zero added SO2; 12% ABV

Winemaker: José and Miguel Gómez Lucas

Andalucía is a very hot and dry region famous for Sherry (the fortified stuff that your great-auntie used to drink, and now is having a bit of a renaissance).  The vineyards of Cádiz, with their stark white, chalky albariza soil, look like a moonscape.  But brothers and local boys José and Miguel Gómez Lucas, both chemists and oenologists, believed that Cádiz had the potential to produce great unfortified wines – and more specifically, red wines, that were true to their land (red wines that were true to a white wine region) -- and the fresh stuff they actually wanted to drink in the heat.  So, they started their own project, Bodega Vinificate, in 2011, renting vineyards and doing crazy stuff (for the region), like applying biodynamic and permaculture principles, picking early, doing short macerations and light extractions, experimenting with amphora, skipping the So2 add, etc.  Their carbonic Amorro Tinto is unlike anything we’ve come across from Southern Spain.  This is all-day glou glou, fresh and juicy with bright red fruit and cinnamon spice literally popping out of the glass, yet distinctly reflective of the place from which it hails – there is a distinct saltiness from the nearby Atlantic sea, and a chalky finish (from those super chalky albariza soils).  Fun fact: in the local dialect, ‘Amorro' means to drink straight from the bottle, hence the (adorable) label art -- which is so appropriate for this light and extremely gulpable red, which practically begs to be downed, with a slight chill, directly from the bottle.