Onze meest mysterieuze wijnmaker…
Zijn domein is in Monterrei, een kleine appellatie in het zuiden van Galicia, net boven Portugal. Nauwelijks 700 ha wijngaard in de hele appellatie.
Het is bovendien één van de kleinste domeinen in onze portfolio.
Over wie gaat het? Quinta da Muradella van José Luis Mateo. Hij steekt in Monterrei met kop en schouders boven de rest uit!
Lees wat er door Parker over wordt gezegd:
“Monterrei is not only the smallest DO but there’s also no other appellation where the top of the hierarchy is so clearly dominated by one single producer: Quinta da Muradella. The explanation comes twofold: There are few quality producers in the region, and Quinta da Muradella is soooooo good that they seem to be light-years ahead of the others. If you talk to other producers in Galicia and you ask them who they think is the best vigneron in the region, more often than not, the answer is José Luis Mateo from Quinta da Muradella.”
José Luis, als één van Galicia’s beste wijnmakers, heeft echter één groot nadeel: hij is te bescheiden, zeer introvert en spreekt nauwelijks over zijn wijnen. In zijn garage in Verín werkt hij naarstig om elk jaar toppers te bottelen. En als je een vraag stelt, het antwoord ligt altijd in het glas…
“José Luis Mateo, considered by many to be the best vigneron in Galicia. His wines are like him, discrete, sincere and authentic. They transcend the Monterrei region, where he's well ahead of the rest—vintage, grape and everything—and the wines are usually marked by the soils, the place where the grapes grow.”
Toevallig deed ik vorige week één van zijn topwijnen open bij mij thuis: de Gorvía tinto 2006. Mijn gezelschap, nochtans ervaren proevers, noteerden “een erg mooie evolutie, waarschijnlijk gemaakt in 2018”. Het bleek dus 2006 te zijn… Een verbluffend glas! Sappig, fruitig en bijna etherisch. Erg gelaagd, mineralig en verfijnd. Helemaal wat wij graag drinken dus.
En kijk, sinds deze lente hebben wij een goeie 90 flessen binnen van deze nectar. Door niemand gekend, door niemand gekocht…
Volledig ten onrechte dus!
Kijk maar wat er gezegd wordt over de nieuwste Gorvia tinto 2019:
R. Parker: 94/100
"Tasting the current releases from Quinta da Muradella in Monterrei is always an exciting moment because of the quality and diversity of the wines. It's a little like what Forrest Gump said: it's like opening a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get! The whites are always superb, and I found the reds quite extraordinary too.
The single-vineyard red 2019 Gorvia comes from the same vineyard as the white of the same name, a south-facing slate slope in the surroundings of the Monterrei Castle, mostly Mencía with some 5% Bastardo and Caíño Redondo. It fermented in an open stainless steel vat with destemmed grapes, was kept there for nine months, then put in used 500- and 700-liter casks and assembled in stainless steel until bottling. It has a transparent color and also an ethereal nose and palate, with only 12.5% alcohol, purity of flavors and strong personality. 2,505 numbered bottles.
José Luis Mateo is the name behind Quinta da Muradella, the quality leader of Monterrei in Galicia. He's constantly trying to find ways to improve, studying his soils, even reducing the surface of vineyards he works (some 15 hectares, all owned by him, all worked organically and certified organic since 2005, despite the fact that the wines do not carry certifications) and restructuring his range to achieve more reflection of the terroir in his wines. They are amazingly fresh and focused, especially the whites, quite a challenge in a warm region. The future of his range will be regional wines (Alanda), single-vineyard ones (Gorvia, Quinta da Muradella and El Pliegue) and varietal, experimental and one-off wines. His production averages 35,000 bottles per vintage.
Highly recommended."
Leg hiervan 6 flessen in uw kelder en
geniet er de komende 25 jaar van!