Release of 2022 Aalto and 2023 Blanco
I normally release Aato in January, but this year somehow run away from me, so it got pushed aside till now. Still, better late than never and since Aalto ages very gracefully (and most of you keep it for few years), the release date should not make much difference. We have had quite a few new subscribers and for their benefit, I have included a brief history of Aalto project at the bottom of this mail.
Before I get to the wines, just a few words about the vintages.
The end of 2021 and early 2022 were characterised with low rainfall and mild temperatures. The first frosts came in mid January and lurked about for about 5 weeks which gave the plants a chance to have good winter rest. Low temperatures extended well into March and the budbreak was delayed by few week which helped to avoid late spring frosts. March and April also brought some well needed rain which was followed by increase in temperatures in May. The flowering happened in almost perfect conditions with even fruit set. Summer was hot and dry resulting in fully ripe, but much smaller berries than usual. This provided the opportunity to create complex and long lasting wines with soft, fine polished tannins. All in all, the reds were joy to taste from the barrel as well as once bottled. I have tasted all the wines 3 times in the barrel at the winery as well as 4 times from the bottle since they were released in late November - all with consistent notes.
Major critics have not released the notes yet, so you will have to rely on mine (however subjective they might be). But with the wines like Aalto the consistency of high quality is guaranteed. Tasting is there purely to understand the style of the vintage. Whilst the 2021 was classic and powerful, built for a long haul, the 2022 is rich, silky and hedonistic which will give joy as soon as shipped.
You are in for a treat with 2022 and the best news is that the winery did not increase the prices, so let's share some good cheer.
Aalto, Blanco de Parcela 2023, Fuente de las Hontanillas - £ 180.00 per 6 bott under bond ZR 18; Vinous - N/A; Wine Advocate - N/A;
I have to admit that I am in love with this wine. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I was there when the first vines were planted on the hill next to the winery, or that they are manging to create something very unique out of indigenous. Spanish varieties on this tiny, 850 m high plot. Needless to say, the vine growing team at Aalto is second to none and this vineyard, next to their front door, is their pride and joy. The juice is then treated to the best of Burgundian white wine making techniques and the result is quite special. 2023 incarnation is again based on Verdello grape with about 15 % of Albillo and Godello and is for me best to date (bottled at 12.5% alc). There is increased complexity and weight now which I believe is due to increased maturity of Albillo and Godello plants. I have recently followed a bottle over 2 days and it went from mineral and precise crisp white summer fruit in the first few hours to more complex spiced Granny Smith apples by the end of the day, moving on to richer and creamier apple strudel and cinnamon on the 2nd day. There is mesmerising precision and intensity here and the wines are getting more and more complex every year as the vineyards get older. So, if you would like an occasional alternative to a very high quality 1er Cru Chablis to enjoy over the next year or 2, this should do a very good job indeed; if you prefer a Chassagne Montrachet or a Meursault style, keep it for 2- 5 years. In any case, I find it exceptional and quite a bargain considering the quality and uniqueness. You will not get many wines like this. The production is tiny - 16 barrels in total for the 2023 made in 2 refrigerated containers - you can see one fo them on the attached picture - the serious guy on the picture is Antonio Moral, inhouse winemaker, drawing a barrel sample of Verdello at my last visit.
Aalto 2022 - £ 190.00 per 6 bottles under bond
ZR 17+ ; Vinous - N/A; Wine Advocate - N/A; JR - N/A
Aalto 2022 spent "only" 16 months in a mixture of French and American (mostly used) barrels due to very fine and soft tannins. Idea was to retain as much of the opulence that the juice was showing. As one would expect from Aalto team, the result is superb. The wine is bright inky purple, shining out of the glass with full, ripe red and black summer berries on the nose. There is only a tiny hint of spice in the background, which I expect would harmonise over the next 12- 24 months and add a layer of finesse to the wine. It coats the palate with soft creamy summer fruit confit, almost like thick blackberry yogurt. Words "hedonistic" and "Pomerol like" seems to appear in every note I have. This is pure joy; a wine that immediately brings a smile to your face. Tannis are so finely polished that it is very difficult to resist opening anther bottle. Still, there is fine acidity in the back of it which will allow it to evolve for at least 3 more years and drink for another 5 ( if you can resist). An excellent effort
Aalto PS 2022 - £ 420.00per 6 bott under bond
ZR 18+; Vinous - N/A; Wine Advocate - N/A; JR - N/A
Critics are normally not very generous to Aalto PS, which in a way, works out in our favour. If they were regularly granting scores close to 100, the demand and the price would be much higher. This way, we get to enjoy something very special at what has to be the greatest bargain in the whole fine wine world. The secret is to treat it like top end Bordeaux and keep for at last 5 - 8 years once shipped. I was recently privileged to host a blind tasting where we showed 4 wines from 2015 vintage: Aalto PS next to Ducru Beaucaillou, Ornellaia and Spottswoode - last 3 being more than twice the price of the PS. Not only that the PS was standing up to the "big boys", but more than 50 % of the 40 people tasting picked PS as they favourite. And the best thing is that it kept evolving well into the evening. But, on to the 2022 vintage. As with Aalto, the style is rich and hedonistic, but the juice for PS comes from very old vineyards in La Horra and Aguillera (arguably the best and most powerful villages in Ribera). It spends 20 months in new French Oak - pretty much the treatment that 1st and the best of 2nd growths get in Bordeaux. The resulting wine is rich and polished, but powerful at the same time. The juice from these old vineyards seem to need a bit of wood to keep the intensity under control until it has had the time to gel together. There is much more back fruit in PS and much more depth, especially at finish, which evolves into small concentrated black cherries with spice mix and dark chocolate in the background - it will need 5-8 years in the bottle to start showing of "all the colours of the rainbow". A classic "iron bar wrapped in velvet" kind of wine. My advice would be to keep this for at least 5-6 y after shipment, but those of you who do not have patience, I would suggest double decanting at least a day in advance if not 2. Very hedonistic, but seriously fine drop of vino and bargain to boot.
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 www.aalto.es 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). Some 20 years on, the wines have grown in stature and international recognition. They are now 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. 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 drinking 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 have recently had 2004 and 2006 PS in some very high quality company (Montebello, Grange, Unico etc) and it was standing 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
Zoran
City Wine Collection Ltd