August 2024 Blanco Y Tinto
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Marco Abella Loidana Blanc 2020Regular Price: $38.99
Club Price: $33.14
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One of the best parts of diving into wines at the Spanish Table is uncovering the unique stories that come with each bottle. Take Marco Abella Wines, for instance—besides being one of the oldest winemakers in Priorat, they’ve got an interesting local link to the Bay Area. I appreciate finding those little connections and feeling that small-world magic.
The Marco Abella family's winemaking legacy goes back to the fifteenth century. They were listed in Europe's first census in 1497 in Porrera. It was Ramón Marco Abella, born in 1898, who decided to revive one of the region's best vineyards. His legacy was carried on by his son, Joaquín Marco Revilla, a renowned poet with a deep love for Porrera and viticulture. Along with his wife, Clotilde Moliner, they passed on a passion for the land and its vines to their children. This passion came to fruition when Ramón's grandson, David, and his wife, Olivia, left their careers in engineering and law, respectively, to build a modern winery in 2005 and recuperate some vines they had, breathing new life into the estate.
Porrera’s high elevation and proximity to the sea give Marco Abella wines a unique freshness and finesse, balancing Priorat’s famed minerality with optimal acidity. This distinctiveness caught the eye of Napa-based wine consultant Jean Hoefliger, who discovered Priorat through his sister Jenny, who married a Spaniard from Barcelona. Jean was captivated by the region’s dramatic landscapes and unique slate soils. He believes the biggest threat to wine quality in the region is the heat, which can cause over-ripeness and a loss of structure and soul in the wines.
Before meeting David and Olivia, Jean had collaborated with wineries worldwide and saw an opportunity to craft even more elegant wines in Priorat. Through his partnership with David and Olivia, he helps maximize the vineyards' potential and influences the winemaking process. Now, these extraordinary wines from some of Priorat’s oldest vines are available to a wider audience, including at the Spanish Table.
You might also notice the striking artwork on the label. Here's a bit of background on that: Josep Guinovart (Barcelona 1927-2007) was one of the most internationally renowned Spanish painters. His abstract, informalist art made him a standout in the Barcelona avant-garde scene. He was a close friend of the Marco family, Guinovart created paintings that inspired the wine labels, expressing the winery’s connection to the terroir and its modern spirit. As payment he only asked for a case of wine now and then. His works are featured in various museums and public collections worldwide, including in New York, Mexico City, Caracas, Germany, Barcelona, and Madrid.
Loidana Blanc 2022 This wine is really special, with an expressiveness that comes from Marco Abella's unique terroirs. The name "Loidana" is actually an old medieval name from the Marco family's history. Loidana Blanc is a versatile and cheerful wine. It's made from grapes grown in the “Masos d’en Ferran” and “La Creu” plots, located in Porrera at an altitude between 500 and 600 meters. This gives the wine its intensity and freshness. Made from 35% Picapo l , 30% White Grenache, 20% Macabeu, 15% Viognier, It’s super fresh, with a mineral complexity. You get notes of tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, along with white fruits like apple and pear. There are hints of white flowers, lively acidity, and a bright finish.
93 points-Peñin
90 points-Decanter
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Cume do Avia
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Do you ever find yourself spending an embarrassing amount of time on Google Street View? Well, maybe I’m alone in this but I have a pastime of dragging and dropping the little orange figure dude🧍onto a street in some far off distance land. When I tasted this month's club wine I wasn’t super familiar with the D.O. of Ribeiro in Galicia Spain, so I found myself “walking” along the vineyards of Cume Do Avia to discover what it's all about.
There I was, virtually exploring the vineyard architecture, soils, and surrounding flora – it became clear that this is one of those unique and underrated wine growing regions in northwestern Spain. The terroir here is ideal for the three indigenous red Galician grape varietals (40% Caiño Longo, 34% Sousón, 26% Brancellao) that go into this field blend. The Ribeiro D.O., and more specifically Cume Do Avia’s vineyards, is composed of diverse bedrock alternating from igneous rocks to metamorphic. From some Google Street Views you can see rows of saturated orange hued top soils as well as dusty white and brown soils, showing us this back and forth between sand and clay. This is a great example of extremely complex terroir within only nine hectares (twenty-two acres). Climatic factors here are influenced by the Atlantic. The constant fierce winds help keep the vines dry and relatively pest free. Without the use of fertilizers or soil amendments, Cume Do Avia is not only producing certified organic wines but also low ABV and low sulfur wines.
While Colleita 9 isn’t technically a “natural wine,” I would categorize it as such. On the nose this wine is very earthy and wild, very reminiscent of our bestselling Nat’Cool Tinto Dão. With an initial hint of funk and clay pot, I found this to quickly blow off leading to aromas of dried flowers and herbs, spice box and olallieberries. This is a fairly pale violet/ ruby in color considering it's comprised of the dark-inky Sousón grape. Caiño Longo provides aromatics and complexity while Sousón and Brancellao provide structure and body. Interestingly, the grapes are co-fermented together naturally with 40% whole-cluster in restored ancient chestnut foudre. This is one of those reds that drinks more like a rosé with low tannins, body and alcohol. The medium plus acidity helps retain a sense of freshness and minerality on the palate. I would pair this with an assortment of cheeses ranging from smoked to creamy. Drink now with a slight chill for maximum enjoyment. And if you find yourself doom-scrolling on TikTok tonight, I suggest clicking on the link here and pretend you're in a game of The Sims: Viticulture Edition. Saúde–AP
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