This month we’ve got a super interesting Spanish white and a delicious red from Oregon.
And if you’d like to join our Wine Club in time for next month, click here for more information and a link to sign up.
Alejairen Crianza, Bodegas El Vínculo, 2022
Region: La Mancha, Spain
Variety: Airén
Tasting note
Intensely tropical on the nose, backed by seductive toasty, oaky aromas and an almost sherry-like nuttiness. The palate is incredibly vibrant with ripe pear, pineapple and vanilla alongside candied citrus and salt. This is quite a powerful wine, rich and mineral, with a long finish that lingers with a suggestion of marzipan.
About the producer
Bodegas El Vínculo was founded in 1999 as a challenge: to make high-quality, ambitious wines in La Mancha, a region better known for volume production than fine wine. The project was the work of legendary winemaker Alejandro Fernández, known as the ‘King of Tempranillo’ for his pioneering work in Ribera del Duero, together with his wife, Esperanza Rivera.
The family had already made its name with Tinto Pesquera, producing their first wines in the 1970s. Their work helped put the region firmly on the map, contributing to the recognition of the Ribera del Duero Designation of Origin in 1982.
El Vínculo later took an unexpected
turn with the release of its first white wine in 2007 – Alejairén, made from the indigenous Airén grape. It was a chance to show that this often-overlooked variety could produce something with real character and ambition.
Why we chose it
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Of course, selecting wine is all about taste, but in a retail environment the appearance also really matters, and whilst
this isn’t the worst wine label we’ve seen (by quite some margin), we admit we were unconvinced . . . until we tasted it. The perfect wine for the curious members of our Wine Club.
The winemakers were visiting us from their home in Ribera del Duero to show us some of their red wines, of which we’ve long been fans, and included in the line-up was this bottle of Airén from their sister project in La Mancha. Airén has often been thought of as a
workhorse grape, thanks to its ability to flourish in the dry, rugged vineyards of central Spain, and is traditionally used for fresh, easy drinking wines. But its neutrality isn’t a flaw – it’s a canvas. In the right hands, it gives the winemaker plenty of room to show what the vineyard and the grape can do, and this bottle is a great example of that.
About the wine
It’s produced from 90-year-old vines that have learned to thrive in a landscape of extremes. The vineyards sit between 650 and 750 metres above sea level, surrounded by mountains that offer protection from heavy rainfall, while the vines themselves face freezing winters, scorching summers and very little rain. These demanding conditions produce fruit with plenty of character and concentration.
The wine spends at least 14 months in French oak, developing depth and complexity while retaining the character of this remarkable high altitude vineyard.
Bottle price in the shop: £28.50
Pairing suggestions
Naturally, this wine would be a great match for its local cheese neighbour, Manchego. It would also work wonderfully with gambas al ajillo, buttery baked scallops or roasted chicken dishes.
If you liked this, try:
Chardonnay, Cristom, 2020 – a high-altitude Chardonnay from Willamette Valley, Oregon. Aged in French oak for 5 months, it retains a bright minerality but is perfumed with pineapple and coconut. It’s smooth and textured with plenty of citrus zest and a long saline finish.
Bottle price in shop: £45.00
Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir, Salem Wine Company, 2024
Region: Oregon, USA
Variety: Pinot Noir (90%), Gamay (10%)
Tasting note
Energetic and vibrant, this is an exquisitely fresh expression of Pinot Noir. Lifted aromas of black cherry, hibiscus and blood orange lead into a bright, juicy palate of fresh raspberry and orange pith, with a subtle hint of spice. Light on its feet but full of flavour, with a lovely freshness that makes it incredibly easy to drink.
About the producer
An hour southwest of Portland, the Eola-Amity Hills is a distinctive corner of the Willamette Valley, where cool coastal influences, varied soils and unique geology shape the character of its wines.
Here, Evening Land Vineyards is highly regarded and known for its site-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Founded in the mid-2000s, the winery is centred on the historic Seven Springs Vineyard, first planted in the 1980s and now considered one of the region’s most significant vineyard sites.
Salem Wine Company sources its
grapes from this historic vineyard,
where vineyard manager Netanya Welch oversees the vines. Winemaker John Faulkner then brings the fruit to life in the cellar. Together, the pair make just two wines, this Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay, keeping their focus firmly on the vineyard and the fruit.
Their philosophy, they say, is simple: “we are farmers, and therefore very hands-on in the vineyard, which allows us to remain relatively hands-off in the cellar”.
Why we chose it
If this month’s white risked not being chosen on the basis of its label, the eye-catching Hokusai art on this bottle could have over-promised the creation within. Thankfully not! We did already have a great Oregon Pinot Noir on the shelves, so we weren’t convinced we needed another – until we tried this one from the cool, wind-swept slopes of the Eola-Amity Hills.
What really won us over was the incredibly gentle approach to winemaking. The winery team describes their process as being more like “steeping tea”, focusing on time and temperature rather than
mechanical extraction. The result is a beautifully light and elegant Pinot Noir.
About the wine
This wine is all about freshness and letting the fruit speak for itself. Fermentation occurs naturally with wild yeasts before the wine spends nine months in neutral French oak, giving the wine time to settle without masking its character and vibrancy. It is bottled unfiltered.
Bottle price in the shop: £32.50
Pairing suggestions
The tart, red berry notes of the wine would pair wonderfully with the creaminess of a Tomme de Chèvre. The lightness and acidity of the wine would make it an interesting match for rich fish dishes like grilled salmon.
If you liked this, try:
D’Altri Tempi, Agricola VinB, 2024 – this lively Sicilian blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato is light, bright and bursting with flavours of blood orange and red berries. It has a slight herbal note and a long saline-laced finish.
Bottle price in shop: £33.00
