2017 Curi Una Noche y Un Dia

Region: Alicante < Spain

Grapes:Giró (the local clone of Garnacha)

Vineyard/Cellar Stats:Organic farming, 15-60 year-old vines on calcareous soil; grapes are partially de-stemmed and foot trodden in open vats, then fermented on the skins until fermentation is complete, then racked to tank without pressing where it rests 6 months on fine lees; bottled unfined with a minimal addition of SO2; 45 cases; 13% ABV

Winemaker: Violeta Gutiérrez de la Vega + Alberto Redrado

 

Curii Uvas y Vinos is the name of the personal project of a couple that is sort of wine royalty in the Alicante region: Violeta Gutiérrez de la Vega (from a famous wine family) and her partner Alberto Redrado (Spain’s equivalent of a master sommelier, who also holds a master’s degree in viticulture + enology).  Their goal is to rescue and restore old parcels of native grapes and make small lots of wines with minimal intervention.  Here in Xaló (Jalón), about 5 miles from the Mediterranean Sea, the couple works just 3 hectares, making the true Mediterranean wines that they actually want to drink -- fresh, with lifted aromatics and drinkability – unlike the bigger stuff more common in the region. This is a fresh and vibrant Tinto (young wine), true to its Mediterranean roots, that smells like scrub brush and anise, with tart blue and black fruit, chalk and more of that anise (red licorice!) in the mouth. Serve chilled, with paella or anything tomato-based.