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2022 Celler del Roure "Cullerot" Blanco Valencia

2022 Celler del Roure "Cullerot" Blanco Valencia

93RP
$19.99

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93

Wine Advocate

Reviewed January 2024
In 2022 they got very good balance in their wines, with a little more ripeness but also higher acidities, and the 2022 Cullerot has more intensity and structure and a dominance of old vines and white soils. It's 50% Macabeo, 15% Verdil, 15% Malvasía, 10% Pedro Ximénez and 10% other varieties, with 13% alcohol. It's more serious, balsamic, with notes of herbal tea, flowers and fennel, deep and balanced, with a little more complexity and length. It matured in 2,600-liter clay tinaja for six months. There seems to be more influence from a large plot of old Macabeo that was introduced in the wine. The quality transcends the price. 60,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in January 2023. (LG)

Staff Reviews

KW
Kirk Walker

Kirk Walker

Review Date: 11/2024
I wish I could include a photo here. This wine is made in a very old winery. Now, you can rightly say that there are a lot of wines made in really old wineries. Some even centuries so. But how many are made in a winery that is so old that it was excavated 300 years ago?! Yeah, excavated. Not created. I could even find out how old it is. This wine was aged in one of the giant amphorae that was part of that excavation. There were about 100 and the winery is using just a few of those. I must admit. I like this wine even more because of that. How cool is that? OK, now this is a blend of what could be called heirloom varietals, some of the oldest to be found on the peninsula (Pedro Ximenez, Malvasia, and Macabeu) and unique forgotten varietals from the region (Tortosina, Verdil, Merseguera). These are all varietals that can ripen and maintain acidity in this warm region. Stainless steel fermented and then aged for a few months in those ancient amphorae. This is a fresh, intriguing Mediterranean white. With subtle layers of flowers, herbs and fruit on the nose. It has some texture, thanks to the amphora and some of those more unusual varietals, and a clean lingering finish. Wines like these are what makes Spanish wine so much fun. This is a rediscovery on so many levels, region, winery, winemaking and varietals. It is intellectually satisfying but more importantly so tasty and reasonably priced.

Notes

Since the late 1990’s few producers have done more to elevate the perception and put the wines from Valencia in international wine drinkers' hands than Cellers del Roure. At first, they chased and caught the market with modern wines based on Tempranillo and other international varietals. However, winemaker Pablo Calatayud, after traveling in support of his wines, recognized he was on the wrong path he needed to champion the local varietals of region. In 2006 he purchased a property that included an ancient underground cellar that held almost 100 amphorae buried in the ground. This cellar was first excavated over 300 years ago. The wines from the estate are now fermented in stainless steel tanks but then are aged in those ancient amphorae (tinaja). These wines are part of the “New Spain”, which is really a rediscovery of grapes and traditions of the region after a turbulent 20th century. The wines are deceptively fresh, given the intense Mediterranean Climate, they have more in common with the wines of Southern Burgundy than their neighbors. Those indigenous varietals have adapted to maintain acidity in that climate. Cullerot “tadpole” is a blend of Macabeo, Verdil, Malvasía, Pedro Ximénez, Merseguera, and other white varietal. It is aged for 6 months in tinaja.

Details

OriginSpain
Type/VarietalOther White Wines
SKU1783914