It is almost end of November and I am very much late with the ‘buy organic wine’ recommendation for this month. I was not sure which one can be so amazingly good it can be put on the pedestal.
Yet quite recently I have stumbled upon a site that specialises on Spanish wines and other spirits – Vinissimus.co.uk. They now stock other regions as well: you can buy Champagne and other sparkling wines around the world, even quite rare Franciacorta – traditional method sparkling wine from Italy. I have made a big order to make the delivery charge worthwhile – they charge a proper up to £25 per order as it will come with a secure DHL or other premium delivery company from Spain. One of the bottles there was Petit Mas Sinen 2012 that produced by Burgos Porta winery in Priorat, Spain and where I had an opportunity to see the whole thing – vineyards, production cycle and taste some wines as well – last summer. Have a look at my previous report on Organic Wine Tour in Priorat for more information.
Best organic buy of the month – Petit Mas Sinen 2010 Priorat.
This wine retails at below £10, which is an astonishing value for Priorat. It is organic and made from almost all black grape varieties grown at Burgos Porta winery – Garnacha, Carignan to be the two dominant ones, but also Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot.
Petit Mas Sinen is their entry level wine, which is made of a different proportion of grapes each year to reflect climate variations year on year and how different grape varieties performed. I personally find it very exciting as it is organic and also fairly dynamic in terms of the wine’s flavours – you won’t be bored with it.
I remember talking to an owner of Burgos Porta and asking him about organic viticulture, how difficult it is for him and why they even decided to do that. His vineyards were one of the first ones to be converted to organic about 30 years ago and his answer was a humbled response of a sheer surprise ‘I haven’t imagined it any way round’. It is not a marketing message for them or branding, it is a culture and way of life – as closer to the natural state as possible and of course preserving the environment as well.
The wine is of a Crianza style, which means that there was some initial ageing and maturation in oak involved and you can see how it started to work on this one – is displays cheeky and playful vanilla and woody notes, which add an additional layer of flavours to red berry and plummy notes of Garnacha and more dark berries of Carignan. The colour is rich, fruits are very pronounced and the whole wine expresses youthful complexity- truly wonderful piece of winemaking work!
Petit Mas Sinen 2010 – organic wine verdict
Truly recommended for the lush Carignan flavours, more refreshing Garnacha and playful oak.
If you are not convinced to use Vinissimus due to their shipping charges, try Waitrose Cellar, they do stock three bottles of Priorat randing from just over £10 for Pedra Viva Priorat (check our review here), Torres Salmos at £18.5 and Coma Vella at £23.5.
For more recommendations try using our All Organic Wines search tool to find more inspiring bottles coming from Priorat or simply visit our Best Organic Wines. Buy organic wine with confidence.
Cheers!
