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Producer Profile: Forjas del Salnes + Just In: Envinate

by Annandale Cellars

PRODUCER PROFILE: FORJAS DEL SALNES

Forjas del Salnés is the project of Rodrigo 'Rodri' Mendez - the son of Francisco Mendez who was the founder of the Rias Baixas Denominación de Origen and owner of the iconic Albariño bodega of the 1980’s and 1990’s; Do Ferreiro. Francisco was responsible for developing the textbook model of Albariño - produced in stainless steel with very short elevage and made in a fresh and fruity style. Reliable but rarely captivating wines. Rodri, on the other hand, inherited a plot of forgotten about native red varieties at a time when oaky Tempranillo was all the rage and only came to produce Albariño when his mother's side of the family offered to sell him a plot named 'Leirana'. He would later be joined by Raul Perez - one of the leading Spanish winemakers in the 2000s alongside Telmo Rodrigues and Alvaro Palacios who saw potential in single-site expressions of Albariño in the area. They helped each other out with their operations and the Spanish wine scene took note of the new incredible wines being produced here, from both white and red varieties.

Tasting a lineup of these wines is always one of our favourite tastings of the year. Their entry 'Leirana' more closely resembles what comes to mind when you think of Albariño, albeit, a very well-crafted version of that. However, the rest of the lineup (Rodri uses an unofficial Burgundian hierarchical classification) were, deliciously oxidative, concentrated, elegant with an incredible capacity to age. These wines looked more like the lovechild of Jura and Loire than a typical Albariño. All of these wines spoke to the specificity of their place and some even came from vines that are over 200 years old!

We picked the entry white and red - the '24 'Leirana Albarino' and the '22 'Goliardo Tinto del Mar' which are always excellent bang-for-buck and we always try and keep them on our shelves. The '22 'O Pradino Albarinho' comes from a site of decomposed gneiss solids with a very fine sandy texture. and is fermented and matured in a 600L barrel. Oak and Albariño is not something you would generally associate with each other, but here it works. Only a tiny quantity of this produced. Finally, the '22 'Finca Genoveva Caino Tinto' is probably the best red wine of the region showing detailed red fruits and layers of spice with a light body and fine tannin. These are some truly exceptional and unique wines, check out the hype for yourself!

 

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DISCOVERY POUR: ORI MARANI SAPERAVI

 

Georgian wines have been extremely popular recently, most of it selling out as soon as we put it on the website. Despite being best known for their fun and funky orange wine, Georgia produces interesting reds as well, in this case, from the indigenous Saperavi grape. Saperavi often produces some of the fullest-bodied and darkest fruited wines in the world; however, this expression clocks in at only 12.5% ABV showcasing a much more restrained and elegant side of Saperavi. Without lossing those distinct dark varietal notes, this wine manages to be fresh and vibrant. There's more to Georgia than orange wine, start exploring the rest with this succulent Saperavi!

 

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JUST IN: ENVINATE

 

Envinate (which literally translates to "wine yourself") have firmly cemented themselves as the flagship producer of the Canary Islands, crafting sensational wines from volcanic terroir. This project started when 4 young students studying oenology in Alicante in 2005 decided to work together and explore the Atlantic influenced terroirs or western Spain, eventually buying some vineyards in 2008, primarily in Tenerife of the Canary Islands and the rest is history.

Envinate is an attempt to express a place and a time through wine and they pride themselves on their work on the vines - it is better to think of them as a group of viticulturalists rather than winemakers. In the winery, concrete and/or old oak barrels are used for both fermentation and ageing and sulphur is used only at bottling in tiny proportions to keep the wines sharp and fresh. These wines keep getting better and better each year, pick up yours now!

 

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Saturday 15th

3pm - 6pm

Annandale Cellars

Join us this Saturday as we taste through the excellent wines of Mornington Peninsula's Moorooduc!

Moorooduc was established by Dr. Richard McIntyre who is joined by his daughter and Master of Wine Kate McIntrye who were among the first to plant in the region in 1982. They have a 12 acre vineyard and make small-batch wines with native yeasts and relatively hands-off winemaking. These wines are light, detailed and perhaps the most representative of the region of Mornington Peninsula. These are the wines that we'll be pouring on the day: Estate Chardonnay, Robinson Chardonnay, Estate Pinot Gris, Gris on Skins and the Estate Pinot Noir.

Check out these Mornington Peninsula icons!

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