Click the link to read about this month’s club!

Bernabeleva “Arroyo del Tortolas” Tinto Spain:

(Carefully curated notes below are taken from the Producer’s website)

Varietal Composition: 100 % Garnacha Tinta (Grenache)

Location: San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid), Spain

Specialty Factor: Only 4 cases available

Cellar Aging: Drink now or cellar through 2030

A Few More Details

The vineyard is a narrow north facing 1.2 hectare steep hillside. The vines are 65 years old. The granitic soil is shallow and poor in organic matter, and therefore very unfertile. The changing features of the soil along the slope, as it comes closer to the Tórtolas stream, make us harvest in two stages. This plot is one of the first in ripening of our vineyards.

Vinification takes place in wooden tanks with a percentage of stems that depends on the vintage. The wine is trodden daily, either by foot or with the rammer. Malolactic fermentation takes place in French oak barriques that range from 225 to 600 liters, where the wine remains as long as necessary, always over 11 months.

Tasting Notes

Bernabeleva “Arroyo del Tórtolas” is an elegant, high-altitude 100% Garnacha showing bright red fruits like cherry, strawberry, and cranberry with floral and herbal lift. The palate is fresh and vibrant with fine, silky tannins and a subtle granitic minerality from the vineyard’s sandy granite soils. Hints of spice, wild herbs, and delicate oak add nuance without heaviness. The overall style is refined, expressive, and more about finesse than power.

Food Pairing Suggestions!

• Best Overall Pairings
  • Roast chicken with herbs (thyme, rosemary, lemon)
  • Grilled pork tenderloin with fennel or citrus
  • Duck breast with cherry or pomegranate glaze
  • Herb-crusted lamb chops (light seasoning, not too heavy)
• Mediterranean & Lighter Red Sauces
  • Pasta with tomato-basil sauce
  • Mushroom risotto or wild mushroom pasta
  • Ratatouille or roasted Mediterranean vegetables
  • Eggplant Parmesan (not overly sauced)
• Tapas & Casual Pairings
  • Jamón Serrano or lomo embuchado
  • Grilled chorizo (mild, not spicy)
  • Patatas bravas
  • Charcoal-grilled vegetables

About:

In 1923, Dr Vicente Álvarez-Villamil bought Bernabeleva, an estate in San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid). It is located at the foot of the Cerro de Guisando and the Gredos mountains and adjacent to the Tórtolas stream that formed the border of two Roman provinces: Lusitania and Tarraconense.

For decades, Dr Álvarez-Villamil’s descendants have fondly taken care of the old vines he planted, with the intention of someday producing quality honest wines. 

In Bernabeleva, we work the vineyard with a respect for balance with nature. Eco labels are not our aim, although we work to be worthy of them.  The wines, produced from autochthonous varieties, show off differences in orientation, vegetation, altitude and soil of each locale.  In the winery, we attempt to maintain the virtues of the raw material we obtain from the vineyard.

Our wines express the characteristics of the vineyards and their surroundings, and our viticulture is in tune with its environment, for we understand it is the only way to work

Our logo represents the goddess of hunt, to whom, in ancient times, sacred forests were dedicated.  In pre Roman cultures, consecration of a forest to this deity was signaled on tree barks or on something more imperishable like stone.

Bernabeleva, literally, means the path of the bear, where the bear lives, or next to the bear.  We have used two primary inspirations in the design of our logo: the nearby Toros de Guisando (which maybe bears, bulls or boars); an old photo of Luisa, the doctor’s daughter, mimicking the myth of Europa and Zeus.

Michel Thomas & Fils Sancerre Sil’ex Loire, France:

(Carefully curated notes below are taken from the Producer’s website)

Varietal Composition: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Location: Loire Valley, France

Specialty Factor: 400 cases yearly production

Cellar Aging: Drink now or cellar through 2030

A Few More Details

The special bottling “Silex” is limited each year to 400-500 cases. The vines of Michel Thomas cover three types of soil, with Le Roc-Silex being the hardest stone soil of the vineyard, and the sole source for this wine. The siliceous soil imparts pleasant notes of

fruit and a dry, smoky, mineral flavor. This wine is bottled using traditional methods without filtration, allowing for an authentic and natural taste

The grapes are grown on three soil types: 40% Terre Blanche-Argilo-Calcaire, 40% Caillottes-calcaire, 20% Le Roc-Silex. This wine comes from the hardest stone soil on the vineyard giving it pleasant notes of fruit and a very dry flavor: This wine is bottled using traditional methods without filtration, allowing for an authentic and natural taste to the wine.

Tasting Notes from the Producer

Intensely aromatic and concentrated Sauvignon, this is a wine of great concentration and excellent balance. Aromas of fresh herbs, with flavors of citrus, ripe gooseberry, apple and a hint of gunflint.

Food Pairing Suggestions!

• Best Overall Pairings (Perfect for Sil’ex)
  • Oysters (raw, mignonette, or lightly grilled)
  • Goat cheese (fresh chèvre, Crottin, Valençay) — classic Sancerre pairing
  • Poached or grilled white fish (sole, cod, halibut) with lemon-herb sauce
  • Sushi or sashimi (especially white fish, salmon, or maki with citrus)
  • Scallops with citrus butter or light sear
• Seafood & Shellfish
  • Shrimp with garlic & parsley
  • Mussels in white wine and herbs
  • Crab salad or crab cakes
  • Ceviche (citrus-forward styles)
• Light & Fresh Dishes
  • Salad with goat cheese, herbs, and citrus vinaigrette
  • Niçoise salad (especially with seared tuna)
  • Green salads with fennel, apple, or pear
  • Asparagus dishes — Sancerre handles asparagus beautifully
• Vegetarian & Herbal Pairings
  • Pasta with lemon, capers, and parsley
  • Risotto with spring vegetables (peas, asparagus, leeks)
  • Herbed potatoes or roasted fingerlings
  • Zucchini tart or goat cheese tart
• Casual Pairings
  • Rotisserie chicken with herbs
  • Fish tacos with lime + cabbage
  • Hummus + crudité platter
  • Light charcuterie (jamón serrano, turkey, chicken pâté)

About:

In the Egrots, a small hamlet of Sury en Vaux, about 4 kilometers from Sancerre, Michel and Laurent Thomas farm 17 hectares. They took over the family estate in 1970, which was founded by Michel’s father in 1946. 

Their vineyards feature three different types of soil:

40% Terre Blanche-Argilo-Calcaire – clay-limestone, yielding wines with intense aromas of almonds and citrus. Highly aged and vinified in oak.

40% Caillottes-Calcaire – limestone and stony soil, producing fine and fruity wines; pleasant to enjoy young.

20% Le Roc-Silex – sedimentary rock; very hard siliceous, giving smoked aromas & rich mineral flavor, good for aging.

The 17-hectare (42 acre) vineyard is spread amongst 40 parcels in four villages, and it is planted with 11 hectares Sauvignon Blanc and 6 hectares Pinot Noir.