Bodegas Vinessens El Vivero de Usaldón Alicante DOP, Spain

Bodegas Vinessens El Vivero de Usaldón
Alicante DOP, Spain

Amphora aged Natural Wine

We first had the pleasure of tasting this wine earlier in the year during our dinner with importer friends Craig Baker and Ignacio Alonso. The freshness and lift of this “Natural Wine” completely floored us and I ordered 30 cases on the spot. We’ve been counting the days for this to arrive and I’m happy to report that it’s here!

Natural wine is a tricky thing — and can quickly turn into a natural disaster; in both the bottle and the glass. When properly made, transported, and stored, natural wine can be magnificent — El Vivero de Usaldón Garnacha from Bodegas Vinessens is a perfect example.

Alicante

Bodega Vinessens

Bodega Vinessens is a small family-run winery established in 2007 by Andrés Carrull, the current director of viticulture, and his wife, head oenologist Marta Ribera. Although it’s a young winery, their wines are made from superb old vines, some of which are over 100 years old.

I love the way the family expresses their grape growing and winemaking philosophy: “At Bodega Vinessens, we are always in search of what we call ‘Vinos de Autor’ (Author Wines). These are wines that reflect our personalities produced using almost entirely artisan techniques. We are a true reflection of what has become known as a ‘Garage Winery’, a new style of winery with new exciting, and cutting-edge interpretations of winemaking.”

Tradition meets Cutting Edge

Bodega Vinessens is located 600 meters above sea level in the sleepy, rural town of Villena, Alicante. Etched into the Sierra Salinas hillside are 11 hectares (27 acres) of old bush vines amidst a rugged outcrop of predominantly sandy, limestone soil. All grapes are sourced from the family’s vineyard holdings, and they focus entirely on organic and biodynamic production.

From the Wine Advocate review:

“The new 2018 Colección Origen El Vivero de Usaldón is an homage to the old Usaldón vineyard that Bernabé used to work that was ripped out and replaced by almonds. It contained Rojal, Garnacha Peluda, and Forcallá del Arco that were used to plant one hectare of mixed varieties, which were used for this wine. It’s a five-year-old vineyard in Finca Casa Balaguer, and they used 30% full clusters and the rest uncrushed grapes to ferment in tinajas with natural yeasts, pressed after it finished fermenting and put back in the tinajas for four months. It’s clean, precise and quite fruit driven but not banal, with an earthy touch. The palate is medium-bodied and revealed fine tannins and good freshness. It’s 13% alcohol and feels just perfect and very balanced.”

Drink 2019 through 2022

92 Points Luis Gutiérrez

In the glass, you’re treated to aromas of red berries, crushed herbs, and floral notes leading to a medium-bodied palate packed with red fruits, floral notes, and a touch of balsamic. I adore the structure of this wine — the lifted freshness of the fruit blends perfectly with pleasingly bright acidity and smooth and ripe tannins — all making this a super versatile food wine. Pair this with grilled chicken, pork, lamb, and beef.

Insider Note:

If you’re looking to try a Natural Wine, or have tried one and were disappointed, I heartily recommend you try this one.

$14.99

$ 12

In a mixed or solid case

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