El Escoces Volante El Cismatico Old Vine Garnacha 2020
97 POINTS: Heiner Lobenberg
96 POINTS: James Suckling
95 POINTS: Robert Parker
95 POINTS: Decanter Magazine
Garnacha Tinta 100%
"An intense and complex wine reflecting its old vine provenance from a single site above Cervera de la Cañada. Spending 13 months in old, 500-litre French oak then a further eight months in cement, the structure of this Garnacha is reminiscent of top Châteauneuf-du-Pape but with a distinctly Calatayud character. Fresh garrigue aromas and dark fruit; deep and concentrated with a peppery finish. Will develop further."
- Decanter Magazine
"80-year-old Grenache, single-varietal. Grown at an altitude of 800 meters in north-east exposure on limestone and hard loam, best conditions for high minerality (limestone), power (loam) and freshness (altitude and north-east). Very low yields, this wine is only made in absolute top years. Hand-picked from bush grapes, 20 to 30% of which are fermented spontaneously as whole bunches without raisining. Matured in large, used wood. Light color, typical Grenache. Geranium and orange zest, fine limestone with a slight chili touch and salt on the nose. Extremely charming, yet slightly peppery and spicy on the palate. Garrigue spice, undergrowth, reflecting some wild Provence or southern Rhone, again salt and orange zest, some passion fruit and light citrus spiciness. Dried flowers, long, salty and spicy finish on wild raspberry and strawberry, light cherry and limestone powder. Very exciting and at the same time animating, old Bonneau style in Chateauneuf, Tardieu's Cuvee Speciale also comes as an association."
- Heiner Lobenberg
Traditionally the top wine of Norrel’s stable El Cismático is only produced in vintages with the correct conditions to make an Old Vine Garnacha with the capacity to age gracefully for years in bottle, gaining complexity along the way. The 2020 vintage is the first vintage where this wine has come solely from the Armantes vineyards: contiguous parcels planted between 1937 and 1942 situated at around 800m above sea level. Yielding a miniscule 1.1 tonnes per hectare Garnacha on these marl and limestone soils gives more exotic & ethereal elements and impart a precise and floral profile to the Garnacha grape with marked acidity and a low pH. Austere during fermentation and ageing but very rewarding with age. Despite being North-East facing, the parcels are normally harvested first. The grapes were harvested into 20kg cases and were stored between 0 and 1 degrees in a cool room with controlled humidity. Fermented together in an open top fermenter with 20% whole bunches included in a layer cake fashion. Gentle punching down was applied once or twice a day during a long, slow, gentle fermentation after the grapes warmed up from their cold soak. Afterwards we carried out a long maceration and malolactic fermentation took place on skins. After pressing the wine remained sur lie in second use 500 litre, fine-grained French oak barrels for 13 months.
