Steve Rura

9.0

Intriguing sake. Never had anything like this before. Traditional Mizumoto method, fermented with no temperature control and little intervention. Savory and quite acidic, notes of tamari. Serve very chilled. 18% abv. — 7 months ago

Chance Miller

8.9

Will try Macedonian wine again… lemony, earthy, natural — 4 years ago

barak heller hayun

8.9

a bit of funk. a lot of fruit.
classic bio natural red. — 4 years ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

8.9

La Vie del Colle ‘Ultra’ Bianco Forli IGT 2020: Fresh. Fruity. Fun. Loved this organic, non-filtered, natural Albana wine from the Forlì/Cesena area of Emilia-Romagna. Hand-picked during 3 different times of ripeness with 8 months of maceration in terracotta amphoras, this wine displayed nice structure & balance with clean sapid peach notes. A perfect lunchtime selection to pair with a mozzarella, pomodoro, salsiccia e funghi cassoni. Yum to both! Cheers 😋🍷 — 4 years ago

Seth Masterson

9.0

Opens on the nose with the smell of lees, underneath are early summer red 🍒 and a touch of balsamic and a touch of wood- maybe slovanian oak?
Tart, nice balance, refreshing and very drinkable. I was nervous to order it because it was listed under the 'Natural' wine selection but turns out that it's only organic and not bottle of kombucha. Excited to see that I might be able to find this for under $25.
Paid $54 at Commune in Columbus. — 4 years ago

Sarah Norman

9.0

Selection natural. So good!! Summer wine — 4 years ago

Hilary McCown

9.4

Special barrel selection for Market of Choice stores - Cuvée Etienne

Aromas of orange pekoe tea, amaro, light funky earth, and pipe tobacco
On the palate, there's a touch of graham, "natural" but clean, dark dusty cherry, light menthol. Finishes a bit short, but it's still a baby. Let's revisit in 5(?) years. — 5 years ago

Aschwin de Wolf

9.3

Got this a year ago as part of a natural wine club selection and am revisiting this gem. Pale red. Maraschino cherries and black pepper aroma. Natural but not too funky. Juicy red fruit and tart cherry. Light with well-integrated tannins, and SO drinkable. Amazing deal. — 6 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.2

Perfecto!
An old, Chinchona infused vermouth that’s date, anise, bitter luscious.
Based on 20 yr. Oloroso.
W some soda on a hot day, pow!

@Delectable Wine : This is Valdespino Quina.




HISTORY

The history of the aperitif dates back to the 5th century B.C. when Hippocrates concocted a wine-based beverage macerated with wormwood flower and other herbs, which was traditionally used as a restorative and an appetite stimulant. In the late 1700s, in Italy, a flavored wine called "vermouth" was introduced as an appetite booster before meals. This tradition later spread to France and Spain.

In Spain, the aperitif and the "tapa" have together contributed to create a unique "social occasion" which has gradually become a key attraction for the general public and tourists worldwide; that is, the longstanding association of social gatherings with Spanish gastronomy.

The main difference between Spanish aperitifs (Vermouth and "Quina" or Tonic Wine, in particular) and their French and Italian counterparts lies in the quality of the aromatic flavors and the botanicals and fruits employed. Spanish aperitifs are somewhat sweeter and lighter, whereas Italian aperitifs are distinctive for their bitter flavor, while their French counterparts tend to be drier.

VALDESPINO AND
THE ORIGIN OF THE APERITIF

The connection between the Valdespino family and the aperitif dates back to the end of the 19th century and became especially relevant in the first quarter of the 20th century, at the height of the sherry wine boom.

By 1920 the House of Valdespino was already producing several wines macerated with root extracts and botanicals. They were called "tonics" and "quinados" and were recommended as "tonic – aperitifs" or "fortifiers", as shown on the labels of the time.

From 1930 until the second half of the 20th century, The House of Valdespino was particularly active in the production of beverages macerated with different botanicals, fruits and bitter root extracts (cinchona bark and vermouth). The company marketed several wines with considerable success, mainly on the domestic market but also in countries like the USA, where, in the 60s, Valdespino, together with their associate Jack Poust, launched a vermouth with orange called "Tomboe", designed mainly for the younger clientele.

Thanks to the boost provided at the time by the export of sherry wines to England and its overseas provinces, there was a boom in the production of wines made, or rather, macerated with the root of Cinchona Calisaya, whose bark, popularly called "quina", was the basis of quinine, an extract that contributed effectively to malaria prevention.

Since then, Valdespino has been macerating and bottling blends of different varieties of their own sherries.

THE ORIGIN OF
THE "JEREZ APERITIF"

The Estévez family, owners of Bodegas Valdespino since 1999, carried on with this tradition, and continued to macerate old wines from the different Valdespino soleras with various botanicals, natural extracts and fruits. These were small productions and batches, bottled for their own consumption, elaborated experimentally and in advance of what has now become the family's new collection.

The launching in 2021 of "Valdespino Aperitifs" represents an important milestone for the company, since it is a unique range in the Valdespino catalogue.

Valdespino's original "Tonic for the Sick" label, dating back over a century, has been selected in an attempt to recover some of the iconic designs from the family labels museum. The image, somewhere between Art Deco and vintage, has inspired the design, which is intended as a benchmark for today's aperitif ranges.

This is the first time that a Jerez winery has developed a collection of aperitifs by recovering old recipes and original labels from the early 20th century, using Very Old Oloroso Wines from the founding soleras of the Jerez firm, which today constitute our prized "VOS" and "VORS" (Sherry Wines of an average of over twenty and thirty years of age, respectively).


VERMOUTH

A coupage of Very Old Oloroso Sherry Wine (aged for 15 years) and Moscatel, which provides a stylish citrus note. After undergoing a hydro-alcoholic maceration process with bitter extracts of mugwort, coriander, elderberry and gentian, together with chamomile flowers, aromatic cloves, cinnamon, dried Seville oranges and juniper berries, the final blend is then aged in barrels which have previously contained Valdespino Oloroso Wines, all these coming together to make an intense and complex vermouth with a sumptuous balance of aromas.

This vermouth is a signature aperitif with an unmistakable identity characterized by the prominence of the Old Oloroso from Jerez, alongside an elegant dash of bitterness, which is offset by the sweetness of the Moscatel. The result is a subtly balanced taste with unique spicy and citrus notes provided by the botanicals and fruits.

Bright mahogany color with coppery tones.
Intense spicy aromas with hints of Oloroso Sherry.
Citrus notes from oranges, with a lovely, spiced blend of clove and gentian. An elegant, enveloping bitterness resulting in a complex yet smooth palate. Warm and welcoming, faintly sweet aftertaste.
Serve in a tumbler glass, with ice and a slice of grapefruit or orange. Ideal as an aperitif, accompanied by nuts, olives and pickles, it also combines superbly with canned fish tapas such as anchovies, pickled tuna and the like.

QUINA

This aperitif is the result of the coupage of 20-year-old Oloroso Wines with Pedro Ximenez from the soleras of our iconic PX "EL Candado". The procedure involves a hydro-alcoholic maceration process of Cinchona bark (Quina) with gentian root, natural licorice extract and nutmeg, along with a selection of dried citrus fruits, such as grapefruit and Seville oranges.

The result is a stylish, complex, one-of-a-kind aperitif with a bitter refreshing note. The Pedro Ximenez also provides a characteristic nuance of dried fruit (sultanas, dried figs, dates) that makes this tonic wine ever more unique.

A fresh and sweet palate with citrus and slightly tart notes, all wrapped up in a spicy combination of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla … leaning into the sweet reminders of the Oloroso Sherry barrels where it is aged.

Dark mahogany color with coppery tones.
Spicy aromas with vegetal notes from the botanicals and Oloroso Sherry.
Slightly bitter notes of Cinchona, combining well with the botanicals (licorice, nutmeg) and hints of dried fruits (dates, sultanas). A stylish citrus touch and the quinine bitterness bring about a warm, lingering aftertaste.
Ideal as a complement in cocktails (Rum Old Fashioned, Negroni, Mahattan, etc), it also makes for a perfect aperitif in a tumbler glass, on the rocks, with a cinnamon stick and a twist of orange.Serve with crisps, olives and pickles.


BODEGAS VALDESPINO
CTRA. N-IV, KM. 640 - 11408 - JEREZ, SPAIN
Bodegas Valdespino - All rights reserved 2021 — 3 years ago

Phil Kessling

9.1

Another great bottle from Selection Massale. Smooth, refined, biodynamic, all natural Lagrein made in a medieval castle. What more could you ask for.
Not as rustic or as harsh as a lot of Lagrein. Only had one case and customers loved it. — 5 years ago

Devin Bostick

9.1

Raspberry, sorrel, ruby red, sorrel, thick raspberry jam, sorrel, acidic wet bite, light tannin — 6 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.2

Outstanding white Pinot Beurot by Bize (!) skin contact gives it its color. This is the kind of “natural” wine that I like. I’ll skip the hipster wines, thank you. Alice Feiring club selection. — 6 years ago

Daniel Bello

9.6

very nice wine, tastes like a natural wine should, mountainous cloudy tone. If/when you see this wine…buy/try it and thank me later 😊 — 4 years ago

John Tan

9.2

Xmas day 2022. Opened for grandma. Perfumed nose w rose petals, sweet berries, orange rind.

100% Pinot Fin, extremely rare massale selection from 1964. From the walled vineyard (Clos) of six hectares, 2 ha of this comprises the Pinot Noir for the Cuvée Auguste. It is blessed with a hard limestone soil with pearl slabs called aragonitic limestone. Yield is a scant 20 hl/ha. Semi-carbonic whole-cluster fermentation with cold pre-fermentation, natural yeasts, no SO2, no chaptalisation or enzymes. Matured in barrels, no racking. Assembled in a large vat 40 days before bottling. Bottled using nitrogen, no filtration.
“Bursting with aromas of peonies, orange rind, sweet berries, plums and rose petals, the 2019 Bourgogne Rouge Cuvée Auguste is medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with lively acids and a perfumed core of fruit that's framed by melting tannins. While this cuvée sometimes behaves erratically in the cellar, Guillot assures me that more attention to detail when racking and the use of a new, in-house bottling line will help to improve consistency. Today, this is certainly a beautiful wine, the most delicious Cuvée Auguste I've tasted.” William Kelley, WA 91 — 4 years ago

Andrew Holod

National Sales Grapes of Spain

9.0

Best Merlot was never ripped out, so natural selection of best sites.
Fleshy red fruits with balsamic retronasal.
Fine tea like tannin — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

Bought as part of the 7 bottle selection from a good wine shop in Barcelona and drunk last week in Spain. This wine was made from 100% Albariño and in a natural style to my palate - with skin contact I thought. Had that luscious mouth filling texture that so many Mediterranean whites have. Only 400 to 500 bottles made per year. — 4 years ago

Sarah Norman

9.7

Selection natural. I want a case — 4 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.0

Natural style, nice funk, reasonable 14% ABV, Alice Feiring club selection. FYI the côt varietal is Malbec … name comes from Cahors in SW France where it originated — 5 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.4

The 2017 Sassicaia shows the natural richness and intensity of the year while retaining its mid-weight sense of balance and overall poise. A burst of super-ripe red cherry/plum fruit makes a strong opening statement. Mocha, cinnamon, leather and dried herbs appear later, adding aromatic lift. The 2017 is a fairly immediate Sassicaia. Even so, it has enough energy to drink well for a number of years. Production is down 35%, a combination of naturally low yields, dehydration on the vine and then selection in the cellar. Most of the fruit comes from the estate’ hillside vineyards, older parcels that resisted the conditions better. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2021)
— 6 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.2

“No sulfites”, 12.5% abv. Rose color due to skin contact. Non-hipster(tm!) natural wine. Alice Feiring wine club selection, excellent. — 6 years ago