Country: | Spain |
Region: | Rueda |
Winery: | Ossian Vides y Vinos |
Grape Type: | Verdejo |
Organic: | Yes |
Vintage: | 2016 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Ossian Quintaluna Verdejo is made from 100% Verdejo
Quintaluna is a young wine that is made exclusively from Verdejo in the province of Segovia. 60% is very old grape: pre-phylloxera (ungrafted). 40% is made of very young grapes on trellises, grown certified organic, with low yields. The key to success for the Verdejo grape is held in the soil. Ideal soil has a high content of sand and pebbles of different sizes. Some have higher proportions of clay and others have significant proportions of clay and limestone. As the pebbles and sand allow for good drainage, the clay holds enough moisture to allow the vines to thrive.
The color is a straw yellow with greenish reflections. On the nose, you will find aromas of white flowers, stone fruit (peach), and citrus (lemon, mandarin). It also displays tropical fruit aromas. The palate is complex. Natural acidity is evident in the freshness and length on the palate. Almond and ripe fruit flavors are found in the mid-palate with fresh grass and citrus on the finish.
It pairs wells with all kinds of appetizers, entrees and salads.
Review:
"Light, bright straw. Fresh pear, orange pith and a suggestion of pungent flowers on the powerfully scented nose, along with a building mineral nuance. Juicy and incisive in the mouth, offering Meyer lemon, pear and quince flavors accented by a spicy ginger flourish. Silky and focused on the finish, which shows powerful floral lift, minerally cut and impressive persistence. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (February 2021), 92 pts
Ossian Quintaluna Verdejo is made from 100% Verdejo
Quintaluna is a young wine that is made exclusively from Verdejo in the province of Segovia. 60% is very old grape: pre-phylloxera (ungrafted). 40% is made of very young grapes on trellises, grown certified organic, with low yields. The key to success for the Verdejo grape is held in the soil. Ideal soil has a high content of sand and pebbles of different sizes. Some have higher proportions of clay and others have significant proportions of clay and limestone. As the pebbles and sand allow for good drainage, the clay holds enough moisture to allow the vines to thrive.
The color is a straw yellow with greenish reflections. On the nose, you will find aromas of white flowers, stone fruit (peach), and citrus (lemon, mandarin). It also displays tropical fruit aromas. The palate is complex. Natural acidity is evident in the freshness and length on the palate. Almond and ripe fruit flavors are found in the mid-palate with fresh grass and citrus on the finish.
It pairs wells with all kinds of appetizers, entrees and salads.
Review:
"The 2020 Quintaluna is pure Verdejo from small plots on sandy soils in the province of Segovia, fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. They still use grapes from external suppliers but are working toward using 100% their own grapes (which they might achieve in 2023); therefore, the wine is not certified organic, because some of the vineyards from the growers are not certified. It has a balsamic nose reminiscent of bay leaf, dried yellow flowers, chamomile and pollen intermixed with pit fruit. It has a dry palate and a chalky texture, with balance and finesse, with moderate ripeness and 13.5% alcohol. 110,000 bottles. - Luis GUTIERREZ"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (January 31st 2023), 92 pts
Ossian Capitel Verdejo is made from 100% Verdejo.
Ossian Capital represents a particular expression of very old Verdejo vines, taking its potential far finesse, elegance and longevity. It is made in selected years with a selection of extraordinary grapes.
Color: Old golden yellow color with greenish reflections.
Aromas: Surprisingly nuanced and profound.
Flavors: Fresh, full and very light.
Review:
"The 2020 Capitel is pure Verdejo from the oldest vines from the Peña Aguda vineyard in the village of Nieva on slate soils. This is the last vineyard to be bottled and has higher alcohol (14%) than the rest of the vineyards despite now harvesting earlier. The wine has a different aromatic profile but getting closer to the style of Ossian, less opulent than in the past, with more energy, quite fruit-driven with some exotic notes reminiscent of banana skin. The whole clusters were pressed and the juice put to ferment in barrel where the wine matured with the lees and, starting this year, without bâtonnage, because they feel the wines have enough volume and stirring the lees can bring more oxidation to the wine. 2,500 bottles produced. - Luis GUTIERREZ"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (January 31st 2023), 93+ pts
Inglenook Rubicon is made from 93% Cabernet Sauvignon 7% Cabernet Franc.
Since its inaugural vintage in 1978, Rubicon has been the Estate's premier red wine, reflecting the soul of the property and expressing Francis Coppola's wish to create a Bordeaux-styled grand wine, that is, "a wine that can please contemporary taste, but with a historical aspect [that defines] our vineyards at their zenith."
Rubicon was named after the small river crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 B.C., declaring his intention to gain control of Rome, thereby launching a civil war among opposing factions. Over time the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has come to signify any irreversible action with revolutionary intent or the outcome of which holds great risk. True to its uncommon depth, Inglenook's Rubicon continues to be a testament to the finely tuned rendering of a risk well-taken.
2016:
After four years of drought, a winter with average rainfall was welcome, as it provided ample soil moisture for a strong start to the 2016 growing season. Average late-spring temperatures and limited precipitation minimized the risk of frost during mid-May bloom, ensuring average yields. June closed with a heat spell, slowing vine canopy growth at the ideal time. Harvest of the blocks contributing to the 2016 Inglenook Rubicon blend occurred under optimum conditions from September 6th through September 27th.
Ideal harvest conditions endowed the 2016 Rubicon with the three elements associated with a truly great wine from the Rutherford appellation: complexity, balance, and elegance. The aromas are intense and focused with top notes of creamy, sweet vanilla, and black licorice wound around a core of exquisitely ripe black cherry and crème de cassis. This refinement extends directly to the palate, where the wine is both broad and deep with sensuous, silky tannins. Supremely balanced in terms of both opulence and complexity, ripe black fruits and an ultra-smooth texture provide an impressive crescendo to a very long finish.
Review:
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is a wine of total precision and class. Translucent and energetic, with distinctly mid-weight structure, the 2016 is a wine of reserve, tension and breeding. Shy at first, the 2016 has a lot to offer, but it needs a number of years in bottle to be at its most expressive. Cedar, tobacco, licorice and wild cherry add the closing nuances.
- Antonio Galloni 97 Points
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Amador Diez Cuvee Verdejo is made from
This cuvee is named after Amador Diez de Íscar, who was president of the winery for 21 years. It is produced in limited quantity with meticulous care from a selection of the 10 best hectares of the winery’s centennial pre-phylloxera vineyard – harvested by hand – and vinified with the aim of favoring its longevity, making it ideal for its consumption today while maintaining great aging potential. The wine is bottled manually with an exclusive presentation that includes a label stamped on wood.
Straw yellow color. Dominant aromas of white fruits, citrus fruits and anise. The barrel ageing brings delicate sweet aromas, such as coconut, vanilla, and liquorice. Fresh, rich and intense on the palate with typical flavors from the Verdejo grape variety.
Pair with appetizers, fish and especially seafood. Also grilled meats and food of intense flavors such as cheeses and ham.
Review:
"One of the most ambitious Rueda whites, this comes from a selection of pre-phylloxera vineyards and is built to age. The oak is better integrated than on the 2015, which is also available in the market right now, supporting a wine with amazing intensity and focus. Nutty and intense, it has flavours of pear, citrus and marzipan, with undertones of fennel and cinnamon, good structure and racy, palate-cleansing acidity."
- Tim Atkin (November 2020), 95 pts
Ossian Quintaluna Verdejo is made from 100% Verdejo
Quintaluna is a young wine that is made exclusively from Verdejo in the province of Segovia. 60% is very old grape: pre-phylloxera (ungrafted). 40% is made of very young grapes on trellises, grown certified organic, with low yields. The key to success for the Verdejo grape is held in the soil. Ideal soil has a high content of sand and pebbles of different sizes. Some have higher proportions of clay and others have significant proportions of clay and limestone. As the pebbles and sand allow for good drainage, the clay holds enough moisture to allow the vines to thrive.
The color is a straw yellow with greenish reflections. On the nose, you will find aromas of white flowers, stone fruit (peach), and citrus (lemon, mandarin). It also displays tropical fruit aromas. The palate is complex. Natural acidity is evident in the freshness and length on the palate. Almond and ripe fruit flavors are found in the mid-palate with fresh grass and citrus on the finish.
It pairs wells with all kinds of appetizers, entrees and salads.
Ossian Vides y Vinos Estate
With raw material of similar quality, Javier Zaccagnini and Ishmael Gozalo traveled to Burgundy in search of a good winemaker. There they found Pierre Millemann, which already had a strong reputation and long experience in developing large Burgundian whites. Pierre accepted the challenge and he is now in charge of the design and supervision of what this wine should be.
Under his guidance began the project with the 2005 harvest, were making two different cuvées, and fermenting the juice in Burgundian 228-liter barrels manufactured by four different coopers (all from Burgundy), with oak from three different forests, with 2 different roast. All this was intended to investigate what wood is best suited to the Verdejo grape, and endowed the wine more complexity.
The vineyards are located in the town of Nieva (Segovia). The cellar in which the project started is a small facility that is part of the old Monastery of El Parral, the twelfth century, opposite the Church, Mudejar Romanesque style, from the same era.
In short this is an old project 100% grape Verdejo 100%, 100% ungrafted, 100% organically grown, 100% fermented in oak barrels, 100% Burgundian philosophy.
The first vintage, 2005 Ossian, was bottled on October 25, 2006, yielding 12,000 bottles were put on the market in December of that year, after nine months of barrel aging and 2 months of bottle aging. Sold out in three weeks and they were awarded a 93 point score in the Penin Guide.
The project was founded on an absolutely exceptional vineyards: 9 hectares of venerable vineyards between 100 and 200 years old. This is a pre-phylloxera Verdejo since that escaped the plague because of its sandy soils.
Ossian Vides y Vinos Vineyard
The vineyards are located in the town of Nieva (Segovia province), the highest in altitude among of all the villages that are included in the D.O. Rueda, between 840 and 930 meters above sea level (150 meters in the area near the Duero River). This causes a specific climate, with higher thermal oscillations between day and night in the valley, delaying the harvest date and, finally, improving the quality of wine.
Moreover, Ossian has been certified Organic for more than seven years. The winery does not get a single chemical synthesis, or fertilizer, herbicides or fungicides of any kind. It is the oldest registered and certified organic vineyard in the D.O. Rueda.
Le Blanc du Chateau des Landes Bordeaux Blanc is made from 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillion.
Le Blanc du Chateau des Landes Bordeaux Blanc is a very fruity style of Bordeaux Blanc AOC. It has great aromatic intensity with white peach and citrus aromas.
No oak for this wine. The wine was aged on the lees for a few month in stainless steel tank.
Malolactic fermentation was completed as well in the process .
Excellent as an aperitif, it also goes very well with poultry and salads. If you have a chance to have access to fresh oyters, it is a great match as well.
The first vintage of this wine was made in 2018 as Nicolas Lassagne wanted to create an easy drinking wine that will be perfect as an aperitif in the summer time or to compliment salads and seafood in the winter time.
Pale Yellow color with fresh green tones.
Very aromatic, with citrus, tropical fruit, tangerine, lemongrass and lemon thyme. Fruity notes with anise and minerals, typical of the Verdejo grape. Fresh in the mouth, the wine is slightly fizzy, with an excellent balance between acidity and sweetness.
100% Verdejo from the Rueda region.
Vine density: 2,222 vines per hectares
Yield: 9,000 kilos per hectares
Machine harvested
Selected yeast
Fermentation lasts between 6 and 8 days.
Total Acidity: 6.8 g/liter
Pairs with appetizers, dessert or light meal.
Rioja Oriental is blessed with a warm, dry Mediterranean-influenced climate (unlike Rioja’s west, where the climate is more continental). The soils, formed by carbonate sedimentation with diverse colluviums containing deposits of volcanic ophite, quartz, and sandstone, covered with carbonate clay, sand, and silt. At varying depths, there is a poor, cold horizon containing petrocalcic calcium (calcium carbonate) with a distinctive white color—this is prized by many for its ability to impart a mineral-driven finesse to the wine.
Rioja’s eastern-most district is often described as flatter than its western counterpart but make no mistake—there is significant elevation here. The grapes for Propiedad represent the pinnacle expressions of Palacios Remondo’s terroir and come from three estate vineyards: Las Mulgas, Valviejo and Corral Serrano Viejo.
The soils between 0.5 and 2 meters thick are from the Quaternary Period, formed by carbonate sedimentation with colluviums of very diverse origin, containing volcanic ophite, quartz, sandstone, etc. covered with carbonate clay, sand, and silt. The exposure is east/northeast on the Yerga Mountain slopes with vineyard heights reaching between 400-640 meters (1,321-2,099 feet) above sea level with a vine age of 30-94 years old. The grapes were harvested between Sept. 28th and Oct. 6th.
The grapes were destemmed, crushed, and fermented with native yeasts in wooden vats with gentle cap immersion. Maceration took place over 35 days followed by spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrel. Aging was 10 months in fudres and bocoyes (wooden cask) followed by fining but no filtration.
Propiedad is quite elegant but has remarkable concentration. Dried herbs, strawberry, blueberry, and baking spices ripple over subtle earthy notes and fine-grained tannins. The palate is seamless and beautifully balanced, sporting a mineral verve and seductive mouthfeel. Will age beautifully for a decade or longer.
Review:
Nose: red fruit, ripe fruit, expressive, dried herbs, wild herbs. Mouth: tasty, full, good acidity. , aromatic, varietal
-Guia Penin 95 Points
A blend that is unique in Rioja, this combines mostly Garnacha with around 7% of Tinto Velasco, Graciano and Bobal, all sourced from a six-hectare parcel on the Monte Yerga. Rich, dense and concentrated, with remarkable intensity, focus and balance, nuanced oak and a fine, refreshing finish. 2020-28
-Tim Atkin 95 Points
The old-vine Garnacha 2017 Propiedad was produced with grapes coming from organically farmed vineyards in Las Mulgas, Valfrío, Valviejo and Corral de Serrano in Alfaro, vineyards that are organically farmed. The destemmed and crushed grapes fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and the wine matured in larger oak vats (mostly 5,000-liter) for 12 months. It has the Mediterranean profile of the vintage with some jovial notes of orange peel and red cherries intermixed with aromatic herbs. The palate reveals fine-grained, slightly dusty tannins. The palate has more freshness than what you expect from the notes on the nose. This wine has a good evolution in bottle even in warmer years like this or 2015.
-Wine Advocate 94 Points
A super elegant and silky Rioja with delicate red fruit and milk chocolate aromas, rather than the blueberry and bitter chocolate of so many modern wines from here. Lingering, filigree finish that draws you back to the glass.
-James Suckling 94 Points
The wine offers a touch of pear, spice and dried fruit aromas on the nose, and exotic fruit characters. Minerality emerges from the primary rock soils, followed by an elegant and lively finish.
Chicken and pork dishes, good food companion to many dishes.