Description
Long-term amigos and now business partners, Telmo Rodriguez and Pablo Eguzkiza have been kicking wine goals together for nearly 30 years. No doubt at the forefront of Espana’s finest new wave viticulturists and winemakers. They started working together in the late 1980s at Telmo’s family Rioja estate, Remelluri, and went on to become leaders in changing conceptions of Spanish wine during the post-Franco era (one of significant recovery and re-imagining).
Trained as winemakers at University of Bordeaux, with formative experience working for some of France’s finest (Clape, Chave and co..), Telmo and Pablo are among the most thoughtful of Spain’s post-industrial organic producers, deeply committed to authenticity. Since the early 90s, they have attempted to move beyond the limits of 20th century practice; increasingly this involves deeply historical revisions. It would be a poor mistake to tag such cultural historians with any label such as ‘modern’.
La Compania started in 1992 with a modest Navarra Garnacha. That same year they bought their first parcel of land (the Falcoeira vineyard in Valdeorras) and set about exploring Spain with the intention to re-discover, re-interpret and re-invent Spain’s lost /degraded wine history. Over time, they found parcels to work all over Spain. Initially, they worked in old vineyards guarding the (often endangered) genetic identity of these different regions. Nowadays, they are also doing much new planting, re-asserting the historical match of locally evolved cultivars (often as field blends) to best sites and historical practices.
Falcoeira is an ancient vineyard of steep terraces establised by the Romans 2000 years ago, abandoned entirely until purchased by Telmo in 1992. Super steep, south-facing, slope and is extremely warm in summer (although it’s a cool climate site). There are 2.4 hectares, of which 1.9 are planted to vines. Nowadays, it’s a predominately red grape vineyard planted to a mix of 70% Mencia, with Merenzao, Garnacha, Caiño Tinto, Souson and others. However, Telmo and Pablo first planted it to Godello, and grafted over to red in 2009. Falcoeira is worked by horse and has virtually no soil: a crew of 5 workers can only plant 500 vines/year by hand in the stone (granite, with quartz and clay). The vineyard is super-steep, with 14,000 plants across 3 acres, and can only be pruned at a rate of 150 vines per worker per day.
Mencia’s ‘beefstock and bright red florals studded with herb’ gig rings loud here. Umani-savoury and utterly fluid, with an amazing mineral-granite line and sense of damp brown earth. Tannin is a structural thread emanating from the rock and earth of the place. More sumptuous,power, meaty and spiced, it plays King to the purity of the Caborcan Queen.
Falcoiera is a tribute to restorative viticulture.. More power, darker , tightly coiled.. This is the King to the Caborcas Queen.
RRP $170 Rare and extremely limited!
