Barrialto 'Aranza' Palomino Vino de Pasto 2022
The Wine
Barrialto Aranzá comes from a small part of a three-hectare, 60-year-old, bush-trained palomino vineyard called La Palma in the Pago Balbaína Baja. The limestone-rich albariza soils in this part of the vineyard are pure tosca cerrada, which Mayetero Rafael Rodríguez prefers, as he says wines coming from this soil have a certain “magnetism,” resulting in naturally balanced wines. Aranzá refers to the traditional agricultural measurement in the area of half a hectare, or one aranzá, that the wine is produced from.
SOIL - Tosca cerrada albariza is a very hard sub-type of albariza with a slight grey tint, with chalk levels around 60%, and a cement-like solidity (hence “cerrada,” or closed). When wet, it becomes soft and extremely slippery, and it appears to dissolve. This type of albariza leads to a fine, velvety wine, with a bit more balance and elegance than those from antehojuelas albariza soils.
VINIFICATION - Hand-harvested palomino grapes are de-stemmed and pressed, followed by spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts from the vineyard without temperature control in 500L ex-Manzanilla casks. After fermentation, it rests for two months on the fine lees in the same barrels before being racked into a stainless steel tank for six months before bottling unfined, with only a light paper filtration and minimal additional sulfur used before bottling.
TASTING - Pickled hay, buttery chalk and the cold steel smell of yesterday¿s Tea Billy. Savoury, earthen, edged and filled with pickles and spice. Dandelion, a nice rim of diatom (blue oceanic fossil minerality), pickled cucumber, a sapid buzz in the cheeks and corners of the tongue. A round and savoury style, the cereal-inflected Palomino is mid-weight with an understated, lovely finish of bitters on the point of the tongue. Incredible volume and textural satisfaction at such a low alcohol level.
The Details
Variety - Palomino
Country - Spain
Region - Jerez
Extra - Cork
Year - 2022
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker
Rafael Rodríguez, with his Barrialto micro located in Sanlúcar’s Barrio Alto sub-zone, represents an exciting and important evolution for unfortified white wines from Sherry country in Andalucia. Rafa, who is also an architect, descends from three generations of grape growers in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where his grandfather was an almacenista.
The most groundbreaking aspect of the vision for Barrialto is his dedication to exploring and exalting the region’s historic terroir through his organically-farmed vineyards. Rafael Rodríguez is a genuine Mayetero, a local term for a viticulturist who makes his own wines by hand. Barrialto produces natural, artisanal white wines from old-vine palomino grapes without fortification, starting with excellent work in the vineyard.
Rafa began working in wine in 2009, and in 2016 he joined the Mayetería Sanluqueña, a pioneering group of five young winemakers, including the like-minded Ramiro Ibanez, dedicated to exploring terroir in the Sherry region through unfortified wines. His first vintage of Barrialto on the market is 2018.
