*tasting note at the bottom

**Part of the ‘Spanish Value Experiment

Spain, like many wine-producing, Mediterranean countries, has a quite remarkable number of indigenous grape varieties. Whilst most of the New World, and much of the old, can be dominated by the ‘noble’ French varieties, Spain is home to over 300 grapes hailing from its own shores. Tempranillo is by far the most famous, whilst Garnacha is the most travelled and Albariño has arguably seen the best recent results in export markets, redefining how the world sees Spanish white wine. One such grape with less of an international reputation is Prieto Picudo from Castilla y Leon, which makes up wine #6 of our Spanish Value Experiment: Leyanda del Paramo El Aprendiz 2014.

Prieto Picudo isn’t remarkably rare in Spain, being mostly planted in Castilla y Leon, but put in context of the overall picture and it seems miniscule (0.53% of total plantings). A little like Tempranillo it retains acidity well in warm, dry conditions, marries well with oak and has a lovely dark colour. In the right hands, it can be a seriously interesting mono-varietal wine with good examples hailing from across north-central Spain, and can add acidity and lift to blends.

Leyenda del Paramo are a recent project started in 2010 by 7 founders on a very small scale, although they appear now to have expanded considerably. The hot, dry climate close to the city of Leon is ideal for the production of Prieto Picudo and indeed, several very old vineyards have now been purchased by Leyenda del Paramo. Their entry-level red is El Aprendiz; Prieto Picudo made from their youngest vines and aged partially in American oak, and partially in older French oak. I’ve never tried a wine from this producer before, so excited to see what’s going on!

Tasting Note
100% Prieto Picudo from younger vines just south of Leon. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for 3 months in a mixture of American oak and old French oak. 13% ABV

Medium ruby in colour and not overtly aromatic; fresh black cherries, plums, stalky-freshness, damp earth and quite a bit of sweet oak. Quite an unusual combination, but due to the lack of technical information I don’t know if any whole-bunch was used, or if the ‘green’ aromas are due to unripe grapes. Creamy acidity and medium, finely grained tannins on the palate are a pleasant surprise (and confirms the grapes are ripe), although the flavour concentration is fairly muted. Not a bad bottle of Prieto Picudo by all accounts, but I’m not sure what good the American oak is doing here; it just seems to muddle the flavour profile a bit. I’d like to see this with a little less make-up as the fresh black fruit and herbal flavours are very engaging 87Pts

Purchased from Vinissimus for €8.95