Familia Nin Ortiz | Catalonia | Terra Vermella de Nin | 2017 | 750ml

Description

Product description for Familia Nin Ortiz Terra Vermella de Nin 2017

Christoph Raffelt: On the palate, the Terra Vermella is more open and somewhat fleshier than the nose would suggest. The fruit, in particular, which continues to range in colour from light yellow to green and is underscored by salty notes, is juicy and fresh. The slightly reductive component remains, with plenty of stone, along with zest and tart herbal notes, white and yellow blossoms, and pollen. Is there wild fennel here? And perhaps a hint of ginger? In any case, this rare grape variety presents itself in impressive condition with plenty of fresh acidity and tension, as well as pure energy!

Information about the Wine

Parellada is often referred to as the workhorse of Cava varieties. It is far less well known than Macabeo—also known as Viura—or Xarel.lo, which has also been used to produce remarkable still wines for some time. However, the Parellada, with its high acidity and moderate alcohol content, is of great importance for Cava. It is hardly known that there are different versions of Parellada. But Ester and Carles have become specialists in this little-known Catalan variety. They have even revived the extremely rare Carignan Blanc. This is the Parellada Montonegra, a pink mutation of the Parellada, which the two discovered in a one-hectare vineyard at an altitude of 550 meters – the same place where Selma is grown, in the Alt Penedès in the Pla de Manlleu. The vineyard is now 37 years old and is cultivated by its owner, Jaume Nin Llort – Nin… Ester’s family. The wine is named after the red (vermella) clay soil (terra). The wine was essentially matured in the same way as the other whites: crushing, letting it stand for 24 hours, then slowly pressing, spontaneous fermentation in a 300-liter barrel, and then maturing in that same barrel. Despite the quite warm vintage, the result is a wine with just 12% ABV and 6.5 g of acidity at 2.8 pH. And despite the mutated colour of the grape skins and the standing time, this is a light wine.

Colour

Light to medium straw yellow

Nose

Similar to the Selma, the Terra Vermella opens with a reductive note of firecrackers, matches, and petrol, reminiscent of certain wines from Coche-Dury and some Nahe wineries. However, one wouldn’t locate the wine in the Nahe or Burgundy; it is too unique for that. The wine needs plenty of air and time at its current stage. But then it opens up at some point, and notes of salted lemons and limequats, tahini and lemongrass, petrichor and stone emerge.

Palate

On the palate, the Terra Vermella is more open and somewhat fleshier than the nose would suggest. The fruit in particular, which continues to range in colour from light yellow to green and is underscored by salty notes, is juicy and fresh. The slightly reductive component always remains, with plenty of stone, along with zest and tart herbal notes, white and yellow blossoms and pollen. Is there wild fennel here? And perhaps a hint of ginger? In any case, this rare grape variety presents itself in impressive condition with plenty of fresh acidity and tension, as well as pure energy!

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Keywords: Familia Nin Ortiz Terra Vermella de Nin 2017 Catalonia Spain

Wine Advocate

Score: 94

A pure Parellada Montonega, the 2017 Terra Vermella de Nin is a wine they think can age for a very long time given its extraordinary acidity (a pH of 2.8 and 6.5 grams of tartaric acid). The alcohol is a moderate 12% even if the grapes were picked later (the 13th to 19th of September) in the warm 2017 vintage. It comes from a 37-year-old organically (certified) and biodynamically farmed vineyard on red clay soils, hence the name, Terra Vermella, which means “red soils” in Catalan. The modus operandi was the same as with the other whites—pressing the bunches that are left to macerate in the press for 24 hours and the juice put to ferment in 300-liter oak barrels after letting it settle for one day. All of the wines ferment with their natural yeasts; in this case, the wine completed almost one year in barrel before bottling, and the bottles are kept for two to three years before they are sold. This is also from the Pla de Manlleu zone of Penedès but is sold without appellation of origin. It has a slightly closed and faintly reductive personality with notes of toasted sesame seeds, gunpowder, smoke and flint a little à la Coche-Dury/Leflaive or some German Rieslings, with some diesel-like, mineral hints. It has tasty flavors, as the grapes ripened well in a warm year like 2017. It has pungent and deep flavors and very good balance between moderate alcohol and very good acidity, which makes it come through as fresh and balanced. 2,420 bottles were filled in August 2018.
Luis Gutiérrez

Producer website: https://familianinortiz.com/