Decanter Regional Trophy 2011

No. 3 Viñas Viejas 2006
Bodegas Jorge Ordóñez
DO Málaga

Decanter Regional Trophy for “Sweet Spain over £10”

The bodega buys in grapes from local growers but also has some of its own vineyards in Almáchar, about 15 km from the winery, on a slope too steep for any kind of mechanisation, which is farmed by hand and without irrigation in the traditional Málaga style. The grape is the Moscatel de Alejandria, from old, free-standing vines in slate and limestone soils. No. 3 Viñas Viejas is made with grapes from vines which are between 80 and 100 years old, picked in several stages for maximum ripeness, and then hand-sorted at the winery.

The resulting must is fermented in French oak and the fermentation is stopped by chilling rather than fortification, when Gerhard decides that it’s at its optimum – in this case 13.5% abv.

Foster & Dobbs

Last Sunday I was visited by cheese connoisseurs Luan Schooler and Tim Wilson of Foster & Dobbs Authentic Foods in Portland, Oregon. They were particularly interested in our wines because of how well they pair with different cheeses. First we had a special tasting of Botani, Selección Especial and Victoria 2010 from the tanks at the bodega. Botani 2010 is now finished but we tasted the sweet wines (which won’t be finished until June or July) to detect any flaws and inform the winemaker.

After the tasting we drove up to the vineyards. As you can see in the photo below, it was a spectacular day. We also went to the Raisin Museum in Almachar. One of the growers gave us a box of raisins in clusters and Luan and Tim said they had never tasted anything like it before. Then we had lunch on the beach – in February! – at Maricuchi in Málaga, and enjoyed some amazing seafood with a bottle of newly released Botani 2010. With our dessert we sampled Selección Especial nº1 2008, Victoria nº2 2008 and Viejas Viñas nº3 2007.

All in all, a very pleasant Sunday in very pleasant company.

 

Sombras Nada Más

Further to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Vélez-Málaga artist Eugenio Chicano, I’d like to share this anecdote with you that shows both his wit and generosity.

The first bottles of Málaga Conarte were about to hit the market for Christmas 2008, but there was a problem – the boxes didn’t arrive on time! The other bodegas, which had bottles the same size as Conarte, solved the problem by simply using their own boxes even though they didn’t have the Conarte brand on them.

But as we only use half bottles for our Jorge Ordoñez & Co sweet wines, and “una borgona” for Botani, that is shorter than the Conarte, our boxes wouldn’t work for the new wine. I was getting desperate as the Christmas campaign was coming up and we wouldn’t be able to fill our orders without any boxes. I spoke to the regulatory council but they couldn’t do anything, though they finally sent me some unmarked boxes. It seemed to me that the Victoria Conarte was too good a wine (rated 95 in the Peñin Guide) to put in a plain cardboard box. And now comes the good part.

It occurred to me to call Eugenio Chicano and explain what happened to him, and his response was “Bring the boxes to my studio and I’ll paint them myself!” We ended up with almost 200 boxes, hand-painted one by one and bearing his signature, after various sessions in his studio in which I assisted by drying the painted boxes with a hair dryer. He would not even accept a gift of wine as he has been teetotal for many years. But I had a chance to meet and spend time with a great conversationalist who, like me, is also a music lover. We were listening to boleros and this year I hope to fulfill the promise I made to sing his favourite bolero to him – Sombras nada más.

[La versión en español abajo]

Eugenio Chicano

Last week I attended the opening of the Visitación al Bodegón Clásico exhibit celebrating the 75th anniversary of Vélez-Málaga artist Eugenio Chicano.  Born in Málaga on Christmas Eve in 1935, Eugenio Chicano is a painter and engraver with a very direct and simple style, characterised by the use of large patches of flat colour and a simple and strong palette. This can especially be seen in his wonderful pop art pieces.

He usually works in acrylic on canvas, and in his portraits particularily, he creates very colourful effects by stripping the physical traits of the characters and leaving them in a basic form, without losing their identities. Technically this is a simple process but it requires the use of mechanical means, such as projectors. This technique has been used by many other artists since.

In his early years, he attended the “Escuela de Artes y Oficios” and from 1955 to 1958 he was scenographer of the group “Amigos des Teatro” which was directed by D. Andrés Oliva.

He later enrolled in an engraving course at the Fine Arts School of Rome, during which time he met Italian painter Guttuso, Spanish artist Berrocal, Spanish writer Ortega, surrealist Italian painter De Chirico and Spanish poet Rafael Alberti.

Upon returning to Spain, Eugenio Chicano held exhibits throughout Europe including Málaga, London, Barcelona, Paris, Warsaw and Venice. In 1969 he made his second journey to Rome, where he now resides, and published a book of six etchings titled “el Amor, el Testimonio, la Contestacion”.

The label for Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Victoria CONARTE 2007 is a reproduction of the painting called Victoria Moscatel, which Chicana created while thinking of this emblematic wine of the Axarquía. Since meeting Eugenio during this commission we have become friends. He is very charismatic and has always held a great appeal for women, which he still possesses.

Sala de Exposiciones
Plaza San Franscisco
Vélez-Málaga
20 January – 14 March 2011

 

You can see the PDF of the exhibition catalogue here:
Eugenio Chicano Visitación al Bodegón Clásico

[information on Eugenio Chicano found in Wikipedia and Marbella Guide]

The E-Team

Gerhard Kracher, Alistair Gardner, Victoria Ordoñez, Jorge Ordoñez

It’s hard to believe that a month has already passed since we had this photo taken. It was December 17th and all the members of our creative E-team (equipo enológico) met at the bodega for the all-important coupage, or blending, of Botani. We sampled each barrel one by one looking for defects and were very pleased with the results.

It was also the only time all four of us had been together at the same time, so we arranged to have this occasion captured for posterity, and had photographer Wayne Chasen do the honours. He’d wanted to take the photos without our jackets on, but when we went up the mountain for the shoot it was clear that  mid-December is not a time for shirtsleeves in the Axarquía.

Looking forward to Botani 2010!

La Vendimia 2010 (part 2)

Believe it or not we started harvesting mid-August and we haven’t finished yet. It’s the same every year – this really has to be the longest vendimia in Spain. While everyone else is on holiday in August we begin with Botani (early harvest) and finish with Selection Especial (last harvest) mid-October.

My friend Alistair Gardener who makes the gorgeous Avanthia Godello told me that the harvest took one week – how I envy him! By the way my favourite white wine, besides moscatel of course, is made from godello and garnacha blanca.

I’m happy to report that the vendimia this year has been excellent because we had very good weather and we also had rainfall when we needed it. But some very old vines, more than 100 years old, gave a lower yield in spite of higher moisture levels. The vintner said that curisously this viñero gives fewer grapes during rainy times than in drought.

I’ve also had a lot of visitors during the harvest. I know that many wineries don’t accept visitors during their vendimia but I like to welcome them at this time because this way they can see the process and the care that is taken, how everything is done by hand, and how tenderly the grapes are treated. And of course the landscape is breathtaking. Then back at the bodega they can taste the “must” of Botani and Victoria nº2 2010.

Among the visitors were José Ramón Lizarrague from Madrid, a lover of wines from Axarquía, who took about 300 photos and enjoyed talking with the vinters. Our UK distributor, José Belo Rego from C&D Wines, not only visited but helped in the harvest, including leading the mule (or the mule leading him?). Jordi from TAPS in Barcelona and Shawn from Sevilla Tapas also stopped by.

In general we are very tired but satisfied with the results for now. We have one more harvest and then we are done. Looking forward to an excellent vintage!

The Soil in Almachar

I’ve talked here before about the poor rocky soil here in the Axarquía, which is mostly slate intermingled with limestone clay, but people are always surprised when they see it – and touch it – for themselves. This is my Danish wine distributor, Jannich Peterson, taking a first hand look at the soil conditions and telling us how it is.

La Fiesta del Ajoblanco, Almáchar

On the first Saturday of every September the village of Almáchar, Málaga, celebrates the Fiesta del Ajoblanco, which features the typical products of the area: muscat grapes, wine and raisins. Visitors can sample ajoblanco, a cold garlic and almond soup that has been prepared in this region for hundreds of years, as well as other culinary delights, all free of charge. This year is the 42nd anniversary.

A busy schedule of events begins in the afternoon with visits to open-air museums set up in the streets, displaying relics of historical interest such as agricultural tools, household furnishings, local ceramics and the process of collecting and processing raisins. There are tasting stations throughout the village where people can stop for refreshments.

At 9 pm there is a flamenco concert in the Plaza de España, followed by various other concerts along with (more) ajoblanco, tapas and sangria. After midnight the Noche de las Candelas begins and lasts until dawn. It’s truly a unique and enjoyable fiesta and well worth a visit.

If you have never tried ajoblanco here is a very simple recipe taken from the official website of the Denominación de Origen Antequera.

250 gr. raw almonds
2 cloves garlic, peeled
150 gr. bread crumbs
500 gr. Muscat grapes
1 L. cold water
150 ml. olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Blanch the almonds in boiling water 2 minutes to soften the skin. Drain and rub skin off with a clean cloth. Peel the grapes and remove any seeds. Crush the almonds, garlic, bread crumbs and salt with a mortar & pestle (or in a blender), slowly adding oil until thickened. Add the vinegar, continue blending a little more and then add the cold water.

Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. Before serving adjust the salt and vinegar (if necessary), add grapes and serve very cold.
* makes 4 servings

La Fiesta del Ajoblanco
Almáchar, Málaga
September 4, 2010

Our vineyards lie just outside the village of Almáchar in the Axarquía.