WTN: Brief notes from the road

Diane and I arrived at our place in the mountains of western NC yesterday to 60 degree temps., a light rain and we took our first lunch out on the porch. It’s so quiet here . . . nice to be back.
We stopped at several friends houses along the way and had the following wines:

2006 Ravelli, Soave Classico:
Light, fresh and plenty of zip; a good accompaniment to renewing old acquaintances and some fish chowder. About $7 and worth it.

2006 Con Class, Verdejo:
Lots of peach tones and a bit more body than the Soave; good varietal character and good with pasta. About $11; I’d buy it again.

2005 Philppe Faury, St. Joseph:
A full-flavored and terroir nuanced Northern Rhone that couldn’t get much better; complex, deep, just slightly rustic and showing real class. About $25 and definitely worth it.

2005 Ravelli, Montepulciano d’Abruzo:
Medium weight, easy drinking but good character; a very balanced and charming wine. About $6; more than worth it.

2006 Espelt Vailet, Blanc:
Mostly grenache blanc, I think, this was light, airy, citric and pleasant. About $9; I’d buy it again.

2006 Ercavio, Blanc:
100% airen; very easy to drink; slightly citric and a little pineapple, nice mineral accents and longer than expected. Pretty good for a grape I never heard of before. About $8; I’d buy it again.

2005 Fessardiere, Muscadet:
Textbook Muscadet with sea air, lemon smells and flavors, cleansing acidity and lovely balance. Good stuff. About $11; I’d buy it again.

2006 Du Pouy, Blanc:
A little musky with white fruit and mineral elements, medium weight and length. Okay, but not as bright or charming as some of the other whites in this note. About $7; probably not again.

Best, Jim

Pretty good for a grape I never heard of before.

Well, you now have, Jim. Oh... and it's 'only' the world's most widely planted grape variety, with (still, after much uprooting) about 950,000 acres!

Why is it unknown? Obviously, because it has no reputation at all for producing good wine. It's widely planted in the world's largest vineyard region, Spain's Castile-La Mancha, for one basic reason: it's about the world's hardiest grape, and it can withstand the ferocious droughts and scorching heat of the high plateaus in Spain's southern half. It has very little aroma of its own and is reputed to taste very neutral. A huge majority of the production is distilled into brandy or industrial alcohol. A tiny portion ever sees the inside of a bottle.

So, how come this wine is pretty good? There are some very specific reasons. Ercavio is owned and run by a very competent trio of professional winemakers - Gonzalo Rodríguez, Mai Madrigal (his wife) and Austrian-born Alexandra Schmiedes. (They make, in particular, La Plazuela, which I consider the best tempranillo blend made anywhere south of Madrid.) Gonzalo, who's from the Toledo town where this winery is located, knows airén well and was determined to do something decent. First, he located a 50 year-old plot with ridiculously low yields of - as he's told me - grapes that show much better fruit and character than average airén. But even that wasn't sufficient: the secret is that Ercavio Blanco is only 95% airén, with a tiny dollop of young-vines sauvignon blanc to give it some more freshness and a slight, but noticeable aromatic touch.

I too found the results pretty pleasing. Shows once more that one can get some pleasurable wine from even the most modest grape varieties!

I appreciate the background.
Do you know of other producers of this variety that are imported to the states? 'Might be nice to try them against each other.
Best, Jim

Something may turn up, but I don't know for sure. Protocolo is a macabeo/airén blend, benefitting from macabao (viura) being more aromatic. Córcovo makes a pleasant airén, but I've only seen it in the UK, not in the US.