2017 Alfredo Maestro Tejero Viticultor, Tempranillo “Vina Almate” Castilla y Leon, Spain -photo grapelive

2017 Alfredo Maestro Tejero Viticultor, Tempranillo “Vina Almate” Castilla y Leon, Spain.
One of the best deals in natural and pure Tempranillo, the Viña Almate by Alfredo Maestro Tejero, comes from Clay-Calcareous and Alluvial soils at an elevation between 700-1000 meters with vine ages ranging from 10-80 years. This 100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) cuvée is made from fruit sourced from various plots in Valtiendas (Segovia), as well as in Peñafiel (Valladolid) in the Castilla y León region, basically in the Ribera del Duero, but since his winemaking practices don’t adhere to the D.O., it’s considered a rebel wine. All the grapes, known locally as Tinto Fino, were hand-harvested, mostly by Alfredo himself, as he is pretty much a one man army, then they are whole-cluster crushed and fermented with native yeasts in steel vat with about 12-15 days of maceration. The resulting fresh and vibrant wine raised over winter in vat, without oak and bottled in February unfined, unfiltered, and with very low or no SO2, capturing the purest form possible. This 2017 is slightly reductive at first with a touch of earthy funk that blows off allowing pretty fruit and floral details to take over on the medium bodied palate showing blackberry, plum, mulberry and black cherry fruits, along with minty herb, leather, mineral tones, sandalwood, licorice and dried lavender. The natural tannin and acidity make this a succulent red wine, a touch drying on it’s own, but smooth with a range of cuisine options, it’s great with BBQ, picnics and a party quaff.

I love Alfredo’s wines, they are honest and charming offerings, much like he is himself, I am grateful to have done a few tastings with him and he gives off a warm of friendship, which is transmitted through his wines as well. His family came to the winemaking town Peñafiel, in the Ribera del Duero from the Basque Country, and according to his importer Jose Pastor, having grown up amongst the grapes vines, and always having a great interest in wine, it seemed he was destined to be a winemaker. Through the encouragement of his closest friends, he started making his own wine in 1998 and in that same year he planted his first vineyard -Almate- which he named after himself, not short of confidence, on the Rio Duraton near his home. From the beginning he farmed organically, but followed the winemaking guidebooks to the letter for a few years before following his own instincts in the cellar and going all natural, this gave his wines a new life and got the attention of the natural wine world. This Vina Amate, his highest production bottling, is a great way to discover the Alfredo Maestro wines, but he does some cool Garnacha too, as well as a couple single parcel Tempranillo(s), a lovely Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) Rosado, along with a wild white wine called Lovamor made from hundred plus year old parcels of Albillo, a rare native varietal, which in the latest vintage was “Orange Wine” style fermented on the skins for 7 days and aged in neutral chestnut wood barrel. All of which are delicious and exciting, and again this Vina Almate is a solid starting place to launch into these wines, giving good bang for the buck.
($15 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

By admin