XOREX WINE 1 - VINO NOVO
VINTAGE OF 2022
FIELD BLEND FROM PENADOSO:
Mostly Mencia and a bit of Jerez
QUANTITY:
30 LITRES APROX / 15 BOTTLES
Our first vintage is a dream come true. Celebrating with family and friends home and abroad, our own wine, has been the most rewarding feeling ever.
I harvested on my own on the 2nd of September 2022, as I only had the first plot I bought from Toño. During the second year of vine recovery, I was able to harvest barely three "Tinas."
The grapes looked beautiful, and I made sure they were all clean and flawless. Anything that didn't look perfect, I removed.
It was a cold and windy day in Galicia. With no other day available before my departure and knowing I wouldn't return until Chuchi's vintage, I felt it was the right moment to proceed.
We took the Tinas to Chuchi's house and I personally squeezed them by hand.
Stepping on them with my feet was out of the question; and I liked the idea of squeezing them a mano.
I bottled the first five bottles on October 9th, 2022, even though they had only been aging for a month.
I questioned my methods, thinking that it might not be the proper way, but the wine tasted fantastic, and I wanted to share it with my loved ones.
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Here, people start drinking wine as soon as fermentation is complete, especially when they prefer it young, known as "vino novo." They often consume it straight from the tank, pouring it into plastic containers to bring along to their gatherings. That's exactly what happened with most of my 30-liter wine. Chuchi mentioned that he had added some of his wine from el Palomar to my tank to kickstart fermentation since the quantity was so small it wouldn't ferment on its own. So I had no choice but to use some of our wine for our vino novo season with Chuchi.
I then came back on the 19th of November 2022 and bottled another 10 with Ivan in clear glass bottles this time, the rest we poured into recycled water bottles and finished it all pretty fast, everybody liked it.
The wine had a unique personality, featuring hints of green kiwi and a distinct terroir character. I felt immense pride having people around me taste it. I introduced it as it was, a vino novo. I remember sharing with everyone that it was the first wine of 2022 they were trying, an experience unlike any other. I'm curious to see if this flavor profile will be a consistent characteristic of our field blend in future vintages or simply a beautiful coincidence.
