Spanish Mediterranean Fruit – Bordeaux Style

Alemany i Corrio “Pas Curtei” (Penedès 2011)
Special 6-pack Price: $134 (~$22/bottle) SOLD OUT

One often hears the word “bold” in the context of red wine. While there are many interpretations for the term, thick ripe fruit or big young tannins to name just two, bold should not mean unbalanced. A wine that is bold should have the shoulders to pair with the burliest of cheeses and the most marbled hunks of red meat but it should not be cumbersome or tiring to your palate. In the spirit of boldness and balance, we submit 2011 Pas Curtei.

In a glass the Mediterranean meets Bordeaux with heady notes of the herbal maquis shrubland and licorice over the lush aromatics of crème de cassis and spicy cedar. Although the warmth and dryness of the 2011 vintage in Penedès posed a bit of a challenge, Pas Curtei remains remarkably fresh to balance all that upfront boldness. A blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Carinyena, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is aged for 14 months in a mixture of one, two, and three-year old French oak barrels. While drinking well now it easily has another few years of cellar development ahead of it.

This is a wine with the physique of Saint-Émilion and the soul of the Alt Penedès — the most inland and mountainous subzone characterised by relatively low yield, high quality, and the moderating climate to keep too much of that boldness from tipping the wines out of balance. It’s there that passionate winemakers Irene Alemany and Laurent Corrio are producing a range of world-class wines. Their true garage winery is located in the center of Vilafranca del Penedès where they vinify by variety and batch. The couple, who met at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, apprenticed in vineyards in France and California before settling into the Penedès region to start their own operation using Irene’s family vines.

Pas Curtei is not even the couple’s top wine. That honor goes to Sot Lefriec ($79/bottle), a true vin de garde and one of the most acclaimed wines from Spain. We currently have a few bottles left of the 2006 vintage. Most anyone making a such a well-regarded wine certainly is not going to slouch on any of their products, as evidenced by the superior quality of Pas Curtei.

Since we have a few more six-packs in inventory than we’d prefer, we’re offering Pas Curtei at an even more significant discounted price than our usual Saturday featured wine. It’s a good time to stock up.

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Posted on 2017.02.08 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Catalunya