As we all know Christmas is just around the corner, and therefore, from Bodegas Loli Casado we want to recommend our top 3 best wines to make these dates as special as possible. We invite you to join us in this article so you can find the wine you need this Christmas.

First of all, we believe that the most sensible thing to do would be to start with a classic and traditional wine. This is the Jaun de Alzate Gran Reserva. A wine that remains in its barrel for 30 months, patiently maturing and then spending 36 months in the bottle, polishing its flavor and reaching its final elegance. The result? A subtle, fine, complex wine, but at the same time lively and expressive.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a more modern wine, we would like to propose the Polus Reserva 2014. This 100% Tempranillo wine, which comes from vines over 75 years old, has a special elaboration, and that is that, from its birth until it is moved to barrel, it spends about a year in 5,000 L vats maturing and developing, and then spend 18 months in barrel and 18 more in bottle. This is how it obtains its fine tannins, vanilla and smoked aromas… Given its elaboration, it is not surprising that it is a limited production wine.

Finally, if you are looking for a signature wine with a completely different character, we recommend our Polus Tempranillo 2018. This is a wine with its own personality, which requires a lot of attention, both in its production and in the tasting. This is due to the methodology used in its maturation, which manages to provide it with unique characteristics that could not be obtained in any other way. Like the Polus Reserva, the Polus Tempranillo is born in contact with wood, but in its case, in 225 L French oak barrels. This is why this wine acquires its unique flavor, intensity and personality.

So far our top 3 wines for Christmas, now it is up to you to decide which of them you want to be surprised with. Do you want to try them?

That said, here ends this article of wine recommendations for Christmas, next week we will talk about the history of wine in the Middle Ages. If you enjoyed this article, we invite you to visit our YouTube channel, where every Saturday we upload a video dealing with the same topic as here in greater depth. The video related to this article will be released this Saturday.

The entry WHAT WINES TO GIFT THIS CHRISTMAS was published first in BODEGAS LOLI CASADO.

In today’s article we will discuss how we determine at Bodegas Loli Casado when the grapes have reached their optimum point of harvest, and the monitoring that must be done prior to the harvest through a visual and sensorial control of the grapes.

During the month of September we have to start thinking about the beginning of the grape harvest. In our area it is usual to start harvesting the white grapes towards the end of September and the reds at the beginning of October. Therefore, it is necessary to visit our vineyards more frequently during the ninth month of the year, walk among the vines, feel the clusters, see the freshness of the leaves… in short, to understand at what stage the ripening process is at and how it can evolve.

As the month progresses, the frequency of the tours will increase. At first it will be weekly, then every 3-4 days, and when harvest time approaches, it will be every two days. We will walk through each plot of the vineyard observing every detail of interest.

To decide when to harvest, grapes from different parts of the cluster -shoulders, tips- will be picked randomly at various points along the plot.

Once the grains have been harvested, we will evaluate the two maturities that occur in the grain:

-Glycometric maturation or accumulation of sugars in the must. For this, once we squeeze part of the berries, we will take a few drops of the must obtained and put it in the sight glass of a refractometer. The reading on the scale will indicate the probable degree that the must of this grape would have if it were fermented at that moment.

-The phenological or skin maturation of the bean will be determined with a sensitive method in the mouth. To do this, we will take 3 or 4 of the grains without looking at the rest of them. We will make a visual examination of the color of the bean, the elasticity and recovery of its shape after exerting a slight pressure with our fingers. Then we will put them in the mouth and exerting pressure between the tongue and the roof of the mouth, we will remove the seeds. Without swallowing anything, take the seeds to one cheek, the skins to the other and pass the must over the tongue and the roof of the palate, perceiving sweet, sour, bitter, greenish sensations. …. We will chew the skins a certain number of times, and after passing it over the tongue, gums and palate, we will perceive astringent sensations to a greater or lesser extent. Finally, we will observe the color, texture and elasticity of the seeds. The interpretation of these data and sensations will give us information about the ripening of the skin.

Once both processes have been carried out, one more scientific so to speak, more objective, and the second, more based on sensations and more subjective, we will have enough data to understand the state of the grapes and we will be ready to determine when we should start with the harvest.

That said, this is the end of this article. Next week we will continue talking about the history of wine; what happened after its emergence and expansion. If you enjoyed this article, we invite you to stop by our YouTube channel, where every Saturday we upload a video dealing with the same topic as here in greater depth.

The entry HOW TO ELABORATE A GOOD WINE: SEPTEMBER – VISUAL AND SENSORIAL CONTROL OF THE GRAPE was published first in BODEGAS LOLI CASADO.

A LONG AWAITED HARVEST

The elaboration of Polus Late Harvest begins at the end of September, when the harvest starts. At this time we choose a plot from our oldest vineyard with low production vines and small clusters. These grapes will not be harvested and will remain on their shoots.

THE SWEETNESS THAT COMES FROM RAISINIZATION

From this point on, the process of raisinization of the grapes begins. The vine begins its winter rest: the leaves wither and fall, the sap stops circulating and the vine shoot lignifies and hardens. The berries lose water and sugars accumulate. This process is aided by the gentle winds and warm autumn sun.

DRIED OUT BY THE COLD

In addition, if, as this year, we have the help of snow, it will help us to dry out the grapes of the clusters by cold.

A LATE HARVEST

When we verify that the concentration of sugars is sufficient to have a final wine of around 14º and enough residual sugar to make it a sweet wine, we proceed to the harvest. On this occasion, the chosen day was January 20th.

AND ONCE IN THE WINERY, TIME FOR THE PRESS

On arrival at the winery, the grapes are pressed slowly so that the dense must comes out well, impregnating the atmosphere with aromas of raisins, figs, honey and illusion.

WE INTRODUCE YOU: POLUS LATE HARVEST 2020

The must will begin a slow alcoholic fermentation until it completes its objective. After racking and cleaning, we will have a very aromatic wine, with a touch of freshness and acidity and sweet, without being cloying, thus ending the elaboration of Polus Late Harvest 2020.

The entry POLUS LATE HARVEST ELABORATION was published first in BODEGAS LOLI CASADO.

POLUS RESERVA, AGED IN VAT

With the end of the harvest comes the beginning of the elaboration and the musts have already begun to ferment. Usually the wines are fermented inside stainless steel tanks, except for some of special elaboration as the one we are going to mention today. In this case, the elaboration of the Polus Reserva is done inside 5.000L French oak vats.

FROM THE VINEYARD TO THE VAT

“Every year, the grapes of our oldest vines wait nervously to be harvested in order to make the fermentation inside the vats”.

Each year, we pick the small bunches provided by our older vineyards of 70 to 80 years. These are vineyards formed by vines rooted in poor soil where roots and stone coexist, providing a yield of 4,200 kg/Ha.

For these delicate clusters we have chosen 5,000 liter French oak vats where we will carry out the fermentation. We have decided to do it directly in wood so that the symbiosis, or assembly, between grape and wood takes place from the beginning. In this way, the wood is part of the personality of this Polus Reserva from the beginning.

“BAZUQUEANDO”

“During the process, the skins have the mania to float over the must, and we have to punch them in order to mix them so that the must can extract its color and aromas”.

After filling the vats, two layers are formed. The first, a lower one containing the must rich in sugars and with little color in the first days. The second one, at the top, where the skins are floating forming a compact layer called “sombrero”.

To obtain a good wine, it is necessary to mix both layers so that the skins are moistened. In this way, the must, while fermenting, captures aromas from the skins and darkens in contact with the skin pigments. This maneuver is carried out by repeatedly dipping a puncher that gently breaks the cap, mixing both layers during the days that the fermentation lasts.

SOFT PRESS

“When the fermentation is over, we take out the wine and press the skins to release the wine they have trapped inside”

When the grapes have finished fermenting and the wine has an intense color, it is time to separate the wine from the pips and skins.

To do this, the lower tap of the vat is used to decant or remove the wine from the interior due to its weight.

After thiat, we open the door where we take out the solid parts with the help of a fork or sackcloth. These skins are taken to the press, where with a gentle pressure, it finishes extracting the wine they contain.

AND NOW, TIME TO WAIT

“Then the wine waits patiently for 11 months in the vat, 18 months more in the barrel and finally another 18 months in the bottle until it becomes Polus Reserva“

We already have the freshly finished wine. A powerful wine, untamed, that returns to the vat where for 11 months it begins to show its personality, evolving slowly and softening its edges.

Later it will fill the French oak barrels for 18 months, where the wood provides structure, tannins, and fine aromas of spice, tobacco, chocolate, mint…

Finally, another 18 months in the bottle achieve the magic of softening the structure and power, rounding and assembling its shades, achieving that harmony that characterizes it.

The next vintage has already begun to mature in the vats of Bodegas Loli Casado. Meanwhile, we can only invite you to enjoy this Polus Reserva at your favorite time of day.

Jesús and Loli

The entry POLUS RESERVA ELABORATION was published first in BODEGAS LOLI CASADO.