That southern bump in Alicante
Year 14, No. 09
There are admirable souls who believe the official start of summer to be the 20th of June. Apparently it’s something to do with “science” and planetary orbits. Fine. Yay science.
For anyone who lives in a the rural-y parts of Spain, you’ll know very well that “summer” is when “water problems” begin.
I’m admittedly still recuperating a bit after flinging myself from Galicia to Moldova over the last two weeks. Thus, while sipping my pre-tea coffee on Monday, the app we use for village announcements bleeped and alerted me to a new pregó. Apparently due to high turbidity of the water, it isn’t fit to drink, as if the cloudy substance that comes out of the tap didn’t already drive that point home.
This happened last year as well, albeit much later in the season as it’s an issue with the municipal well runnings low on water. In a “could be worse” scenario, three villages over, they’ve had to have potable water trucked in since spring of last year due to issues with their reservoir and it’s clear that won’t be changing anytime soon.
The rain in Spain just ain’t the same… As for the vines, well, they’re holding up more or less. Some have died in regions like Penedès, but in drier place like Priorat, they keep going, although I can’t see how there won’t be less of a crop this year.
These water issues are a very distinct situation of España vacía, the empty Spain, or essentially, anywhere that isn’t on the coast of the Iberian Peninsula where at least 60% of the permanent population lives. I’m of the opinion a nuclear winter could be setting in and the authorities would still somehow find enough water for the tourism season in Barcelona.
The same is true for a smaller, yet bustling coastal city like Alicante which I had the pleasure of visiting recently in order to write up this new report on the wines. Out of tourism season, it was a wonderfully charming locale, tucked away deep in the south of Valencia. I ate well and tasted a wealth of fine wines, some of which, such as Fondillón are sadly hard to find these days despite its depth, excellence, and historical foundation.
And, in case you missed it, Cul de Cuvée has declared that the Drink of the Summer is non-alcoholic wine. (*)
To wineries in DOQ Priorat & DO Montsant, the call for samples is now open for this year’s report. Please contact me directly if you’ve not received it. DO Terra Alta will follow shortly.
To readers, yes, this means that new reports will be arriving in the coming weeks for these regions, so keep your membership subscriptions up to date!
Drink well, be well.
-Miquel
(*) Free to read
The Featured Report
Alicante 2024
While production is largely based upon the red grape, Monastrell, Alicante really has a lot to offer in terms of variation and some historical wines that are, sadly, produced in smaller numbers despite their absolute beauty. You’ll want to learn a great deal more about everything going on here.
Food Through Wine
It’s long-past time to have a look at la Cooperativa in the village of Porrera, Priorat. Great food and a great wine list make it a go-to destination in the region. This shouldn’t be a secret for anyone who’s been to Priorat, but for those who haven’t do have a read.
The Featured Wine
Estévez – Versos de Valtuille – La Vitoriana 2021
It’s amazing the difference you can discover just be changing the make up an entity. Here we see a Mencía wine from my recent trip to Bierzo that went from “okay” to “excellent” very quickly solely by changing the approach to the winemaking and now scores an excellent 95pts.