Alemany I Corrió, Sot Lefriec, DO Penedès, Spain, 2018

Producer Profile

In the little town of Vilafranca del Penedès in Cataluña, Irene and Laurent are challenging the traditional perception of DO Penedès wine.

Converting their vineyards from the typical Penedès high yields and abandoning all forms of chemical treatment and fertilisers, they follow basic organic practices. Much of the construction and equipping of their cellar was modest and homemade, including building their own tanks. Production remains small, yet as they identify further small vineyard sites their range has extended to include distinctive wines from the indigenous varietal Xarel-lo, which they choose to do extended fermentation with, using indigenous yeast and it is then left on its lees to increase the richness and compexity.

Viticulture

Trained gobelet and on wire, approximately vineyards between 35 and 70 years old, clay and limestone soils, approximately 3000 kg / Ha, viticulture: lutte raisonnée.

Winemaking

Alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks with a long cold sulphitic prefermentative maceration with wild yeast. Malolactic fermentation with wild bacterias in 228l French oak barrels.

Oak Ageing

Time: 26 Months
Type: French
% wine oaked: 100
% new oak: 50

Tasting Note

Aromas of smoky oak, blackcurrant and cherry with a hint of herbs. Dry with soft acidity. Dense but concentrated, with blackcurrant and cherry alongside the integrated toasty oak. Wonderfully deep with hints of dark chocolate and minerals. Very long with a touch of camphor-like herbs in the finish.

Food Matching

Rich dark meat lile venison stew, wild boar and lamb.

Awards

Robert Parkers The Wine Advocate 95 Points
The long-distance runner 2018 Sot Lefriec is now released earlier than in the past, but the wine still needs some time in bottle to show its true colors. Each year they try to produce the best wine possible from their vineyard in Lavern, and as such, the blend changes. In the cooler 2018 vintage, the wine is a blend of 50% Cariñena, 35% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon with 13.8% alcohol, a pH of 3.4 and 6.3 grams of acidity. It matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 23 months. It's a serious (think Bordeaux rather than Burgundy), structured and powerful red with sweet spices, smoke and traces of oak that are intermixed with floral notes, aromatic herbs and wild berries. It has a lively palate with sharp tannins and very good acidity, coming through as fresh and citrusy. It should age nicely in bottle. This is one of the finest Sot Lefriecs of recent years. 1,300 bottles and 20 magnums were filled in February 2021. 95 Points, LG, September 2022.