2017 Bodegas Victoria Ordonez Camarolos Mountain Wines

Victoria Ordonez is no stranger to the wine world like her brother Jorge. For several years she has started very successfully with a number of beautiful wines based on very old vines from before the phylloxera onion (Grape aphid). With the disappearance of most red varieties due to phylloxera in the late 1800s, the only native variety left was the Romé grape, very scarce and traditionally used to color white wines. In the early 1990s, at the initiative of the regional government of Andalusia, new red varieties were grafted onto the original hundred-year-old plants in an effort to restore some of the reds that existed before the outbreak. of the phylloxera. The varieties were chosen based on their suitability for the different soils and microclimates: as a result, the Petit Verdot, Syrah, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon were chosen as varieties for the mountains of Montes de Málaga and Sierra de Camarolos.

The Carmolos comes from the SIERRAS DE MALAGA and is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah and 20% Tempranillo and (only) 5174 bottles were made. The grapes used in Camarolos come from two vineyards: The Cortijo de La Fresneda at 850 m above sea level in the Sierra de Camarolos Mountains, which includes 4.5 ha of vines planted 15 years ago and the Lagar de Vadillo with 3 ha of vines at 900 m above sea level, planted more than 30 years ago on the Cerro del Moro hill in Montes de Malaga. Both are rain-fed vineyards without any kind of irrigation and given the inhospitability everything is done by hand. The proximity of these vineyards to the Mediterranean Sea clearly defines the character of this wine. The altitude, the continuous winds and the poverty of the soil make healthy vineyards but with very low yields (2000-3000 kg / ha).

Each vineyard has a different geological origin and therefore a different composition:

1. MONTES DE MALAGA, CERRO DEL MORO. Extremely complex and ancient soils since their origin lie in the Malaguide unit. Phyllites (slate of clay origin), which are 600 and 500 million years old (Precambrian) originating from very deep seabeds and greywacke (sandstone rocks that are 400 to 350 million years old) predominate. But there are also schists, magma, silica, quartz, granite, warped limestone, clay and sandstone. Due to their diversity, these soils cannot be classified. These types of metamorphic soils are very poor, containing only 0.73% organic matter. The vines are grown directly on the parent rock (lithosols) and therefore have to work hard and root very deeply.

2. SIERRA DE CAMAROLOS LA FRESNEDA. Northwest of the Montes de Málaga in southern Subbetica is the Fresneda vineyard in the Sierra de Camarolos, near the source of the Guadalmedina River, which flows through the city of Málaga. The soil is of Jurassic origin (250 million years old) and consists of very pure limestone rocks with fossils of echinoderms, molluscs and algae. As is characteristic of steep slope soils, they are very poorly developed, in which the carbonate parent rock predominates, making them soils with basal reactivity. There is a sub-humid temperate Mediterranean climate. Average temperature of 13 degrees but above all the differences are extreme and vary from -12 degrees with peaks up to 38 degrees. The annual rainfall is 585 mm, with torrential rains and in winter the high slopes are even covered with snow in January and February.

The grapes were harvested by hand between 15 and 20 September in 9 kg boxes. The selected grapes underwent a cold soak, fermentation and extensive maceration - a total of 21 days with skin contact. The Camarolos is then aged for 20 months in oak barriques and then aged for another 12 months in bottle.

In the glass, the Camarolos has a bright ruby red color with aromas of red fruit, fennel and Mediterranean herbs in the nose, aromas of chocolate and violets. In the mouth, the wine is very elegant with fine tannins that give a pleasant structure. Vibrant with red berries and spicy flavors, the wine is both concentrated and fresh.
This is a very gastronomic wine like all the wines of the queen of the Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel from Málaga. This Camarolos will improve over the years and you can enjoy it for the next 10+ years without any problems. It is best to decanter so that the wine gets air. Serve in a large Burgundy glass.