UNFILTERED Archives: Spain

Spanish Single Vineyards: Ready to Mingle

Spanish Single Vineyards: Ready to Mingle
In a world where Jurassic limestone is no longer sufficient to distinguish the climats of Burgundy (Bajocian or Bathonian, please?); in a world where German aficionados speak in hushed reverence of cadasters and Prussian taxes; in a world where the...

Checking in with Raventós i Blanc

Checking in with Raventós i Blanc
It’s been a while since we trained our eye on one of the very nearest and dearest of all estates to the collective Skurnik heart: Raventós i Blanc (aside, of course, from the adorable periodic cavorting of their farm animals...

O Ribeiro: an Ode to the Forgotten Bank

O Ribeiro: an Ode to the Forgotten Bank
The Ribeiro: would this rose by any other word smell as sweet– or even sweeter? I’m half convinced that a jazzier name alone could have worked wonders for this underappreciated denominación.  As it stands, this fairly generic “Riverbank” (the literal...

Finca Torremilanos: A Gem Hidden In Plain Sight

Finca Torremilanos: A Gem Hidden In Plain Sight
So rapid has been the rise of the Ribera del Duero’s star, so commanding its market presence of late, that it’s easy to forget its short life as a government-ratified denominación dates only to 1982. It’s not, of course, that...

Avant-Garde Alavesa: Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi

Avant-Garde Alavesa: Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi
The holm oak, Quercus ilex, is an evergreen oak species native to southern Europe. Part of the unique botanical patrimony of the Mediterranean, its acorns have fattened the hogs destined for the choicest hams since at least Roman times, and...

Introducing Astarbe Sagardotegia!

Introducing Astarbe Sagardotegia!
Cider has been produced at the Mendiola farmhouse in Astigarraga by members of the Astarbe family for close to five centuries. The oldest surviving document that references cider production at this address dates back to May 20th, 1563. To put...