AALTO 2023 and AALTO PS 2023
Spring seems to be in the air, so a perfect day to release wines from one of my favourite wineries - Bodegas y Vinedos Aalto
Most of you are familiar with the estate and aware of my love affair with Aalto which goes way back to 2004 vintage. Briefly, Aalto was established in 1999 by Javier Zaccagnini and Mariano Garcia (ex technical director of Vega Sicilia). Some 20 years on, these wines, made from 100 % old wines Tempranillo, have grown in stature and international recognition. They are distributed in more than 50 countries, served in some of the greatest restaurants in the world and have a cult status in number of countries. I have included more detailed information at the bottom of this mail but now, let’s move on to the release.
2023 was another classic vintage in Ribera. There was plenty of winter rain which filled water reserves for the summer. Winter was long and cold, so the vines had time to have a proper sleep and be ready for the next season. Spring was mostly dry with occasional frost, but without any serious damage to the shoots and the flowering occurred in fine weather with no issues with fruit set. Although there were occasional storms through summer, it stayed mostly hot and dry, with cool nights, especially in September – fine conditions for final fruit ripening. Overall, very high-quality fruit was brought to the winery in early – mid September. To me the wines feel like a hypothetical blend of 2013 and 2018 – the wines which one can enjoy within first couple of years from shipment and will be drinking for further 10 or so.
We have had no reviews from any of the mayor critics, so you will have to rely on my notes - based on 4 winery visits whilst the wine was in barrel + couple trade tasting over the last 3 month. In any case, with the wines like Aalto the consistency of high quality is guaranteed. Tasting is there purely to understand the style of the vintage. The best news is that the winery did not increase the prices, so at these release prices both Aalto and PS are about 20%+ below any physical vintage on the market.
You are in for a treat - Enjoy
Full notes below:
Aalto, Blanco de Parcela 2024, Fuente de las Hontanillas - ZR 18;
I was there when the first vines were planted on a chalk hill next to the winery some 12 years ago. The hill was not good for the reds, so Javier decided plant some white purely as a part of the garden around the winery and not expecting anything great. However, the nature had been very kind and this tiny, 850 m high plot of land which is now delivering exceptional quality fruit. The vine growing team at Aalto is second to none and this vineyard, next to their front door, gets highest level of care and attention by Antonio Moral – the head of vine growing and winemaker – pictured above. The juice is then treated to the best of Burgundian white wine making techniques and the result is quite special. 2024 incarnation is based on Verdejo grape with small percentage of Albillo and Godello and the quality seem to get higher and higher with every year as the vineyard gets older. Slightly richer than previous vintage, this was bottled at 13% alcohol and shows more complexity and texture while retaining real uplift and freshness thanks to the high altitude. Summer stone fruit dominates the palate with finely balanced Mediterranean spices and soft wood in the background. For those of you who have not tasted it yet but are familiar with fine white Burgundy, the closest I could describe it would like this - in the first 2- 4 years, it would be a great alternative to a very high quality 1er Cru Chablis. Given further year or two in the bottle, this will sit comfortably next to some of the best that Chassagne Montrachet or Meursault have to offer. In any case, I find it exceptional and quite a bargain considering the quality and uniqueness. You will not get many wines like this.
Aalto 2023 – ZR 17+;
2023 displayed deep, ink black colour even at the first tasting from the barrel. It is still shiny and bright even after 17 months in barrel and 6 months in the bottle - my kind of vino! Straight out of the bottle, the wine is intense and focused and a bit of a show of. It presents dark, soft autumn berries with aromatic spice mix in the background. Given 12 hours, the nose grows in intensity releasing aromas of soft, juicy, dark fruit (Pomerol like) with softer vanilla spice in the background and morello cherry showing on the palate. 24 h later, both nose and palate are more homogenised. Oak is now fully integrated with just a hint of smoke in the background but fine ripe blackberry jam on the palate, all lifted by fresh acidity – those cool nights in September have paid off. It will drink well from next autumn (given few hours in a decanter) and continue to develop for further 4 - 5 years. Will sit at the top of the drinking table till at least 2035.
Aalto PS 2023 – ZR – 19
The PS displays the next level of intensity and power as it is designed to be. It is a super-charged, more powerful version of Aalto. The wood is more evident in the background at this point, but without any loss of finesse. Kind of structure you would find in a freshly bottled serious Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux. The tannins are very fine with more depth, precision and complexity than in Aalto. It seems to grow in stature every hour and yes, it will need about 4-5 more years in the bottle to start showing of, but it would be worth a wait. Right now, it is focused and concentrated with hints of black cherries, dark chocolate and sweet smoke - more of a feeling of something fine to come than any identifiable aspect of it. The palate coating goes on forever. It’s a proper grown up wine with great complexity and intensity - feels very much like modern day Ch. Montrose. I might be biased, but I feel that I am being conservative by giving it 19. At this price, a serious bargain for this style and quality.
As promised, here are few details about the Aalto project for those of you who are new to my reviews (you can find more details on their web site https://aalto.es/en/
Aalto was established in 1999 by Javier Zaccagnini (ex head of Ribera Consejo) and Mariano Garcia (ex technical director of Vega Sicilia, owner of Mauro, San Roman and generally considered to be one of the greatest living winemakers in Spain). The wines are made exclusively from old vines Tempranillo grapes sourced from 9 villages and over 200 different parcels. This variety of terroirs gives Mariano and the team great resource for blending and capacity to deliver complexity and consistent high quality. Two red wines are made: Aalto (the main wine) and Aalto PS ( Pagos Selecionados) - a "supercharged" version of Aalto from selected parcels. PS is not made every year and the production volume varies from 0% to about 12% of the total production depending on the vintage. The focus here is to make sure that the Aalto is of a high and consistent quality and the PS is made only if there is spare capacity to make something special - a "cherry on the cake" if you please. Still, the emphasis is to make sure that the "cake" is of a highest possible quality; the "cherry" is produced only once the quality of Aalto is high. Depending on the style of the vintage Aalto is aged for around 16 - 20 months in a mix of new and old barrels (French and American) whilst PS spends 20 - 24 months in new barrels. The real beauty of these wines is that although they are providing a lot of pleasure immediately after bottling, they age extremely well. To me Aalto hits it's best drinking age at around 5 y and drinks well for further 5 - 10, whilst PS need about 7-8 years in the bottle and drinks for further 10 - 20. I regularly open PS in company of very high quality wines from around the world (Montebello, Grange, Unico etc) and it regularly stands shoulder to shoulder with those superstars. Any of you who has 2004, 2005 and 2006, should start opening those as they are just superb. Also, any Aalto older than 2012 is now fully ready to drink, so dig in - no time like present.
Wishing you all the best and Happy February!
Zoran
City Wine Collection Ltd