R. Parker (94/100)
I loved the 2017 Lumière, a white Palomino from old vines in the La Platera vineyard in Pago Miraflores that somehow made me think of the white topped-up wines from Jean-François Ganevat in the Jura. It was aromatic and open, very expressive and a bit funky, with faint spices and a touch of clove, but with a superb palate, round and balanced. It felt very harmonious and complex, with ever-changing notes of quince, decayed white flowers, white pepper and some sea breeze. The mouthfeel and texture were dry and chalky, and the finish was long and extremely tasty. This was vinified in well-seasoned Bordeaux barrels, yet it had no aromas or flavors of oak.
Muchada-Léclapart is one of the most talked-about new projects in the Jerez region, as it gets together Spaniard Alejandro Muchada—who, together with the guys from Mahara and Fernando Angulo, was part of Alba Viticultores in Jerez, one of the seminal projects in the zone—and Champagne superstar David Léclapart. Even though Alba and, of course, Léclapart are known for their sparkling wines, they are producing only still white wines, at least for now.
You might see a sparkling wine called Fugaz in the market, but it was really from Muchada on his own. The 2016s are also somehow experimental, and the first true vintage was 2017. The wines are very different. The 2016s hit the market in Spain and some are a bit disappointing, or at least what you’d expect based on what some merchants were saying about the wines. I think this is only the beginning of the project and potential is high, but they are still learning about their vineyards, and the wines should get better in the following years. There was already a big change between 2016 and 2017.
Focus is very much on viticulture. They have three hectares of vineyards that they have worked biodynamically from the first day. They only vinify grapes from their own vineyards. They work the soils and plow, mainly with the help of animals, and they use cover crops and work toward bringing the soils back to life and reducing yields. They use natural products, like silica, clay powder and kaolin, and plants, such as horsetail, yarrow or nettle.
The work in the winery is similar for all the wines: They tend to harvest one week before the rest of the Sanlúcar harvest (where their vineyards are), and the full clusters are pressed immediately in a vertical press, then the juice is let to settle overnight and ferments the day after with indigenous yeasts. The wines are kept with lees for some nine months, after which they are bottled unfiltered and unfined, but they already plan on some small adjustments/experiments with the fining for the bottling of the 2018.
This is pretty much a work in progress in a style of wine that should soon be included in the Jerez appellation as unfortified white wine.