Happy Saturday Friends,

When I first began importing, almost 25 years ago, now and then we'd hear about a guy with a small vineyard, one plot, no frills, garden-like vines; but come harvest time, he would bring it all into the winery in one day and co-ferment the whole thing. There was no separation of grape varieties, no lotting out of particular parts of the vineyard, nothing magical. Just winemaking in its purest form. Farm winemaking, reallly.

Grow it. Pick it. Ferment it. Leave it. Bottle it.

This the way Ramon Almazora makes his Montsant each year. His family's 1 whopping hectare of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, planted in the 30's, gives the grapes for such a wine. It fills just 9 barrels and makes about 2500 bottles of wine. And it is always just one wine--the wine of the vintage. 

There are no more wines like this anymore. Or so I thought...

For us, finding something like this is more exciting than any other discovery. Just stop and think for a minute--after 8 months of tending to a vineyard, day after day, meticulously farming, you clear all the fruit in one morning, and later that afternoon the grapes are in one huge vat, fermenting away. There are no random accidents allowed...none. Mess it up, and the vintage is gone. It's like Van Gogh--one canvas, one painting. Except in winemaking you get maybe 50 chances in a lifetime.

That's crazy.

So here in Cornudella, at the foot of Montsant's highest peak, we find Ramon's house/tasting room/winery renovated from the old village bakery, and we listen with awe at this very simple yet highly complex and risky way of running a winery. Ramon's 89 year old father leans against the wall, and probably wonders why it even needs to be explained.

He shrugs when you look at him as if to say, "this is the only way to do it, amigo."

Celler Nogeurals Corbatera Montsant 2010, $21

On Sale: $19

3 bottles or more: Just $18

We bought about 10% of everything Ramon makes for at least the next few years. Even though this 2010 is what's available now (he prefers to cellar his wines for about 5 years after bottling), I had the opportunity to taste more recent vintages. There are no weak spots.

This 2010 is magnificent. We found it finely-tuned complex, generous, and rich--a wonderful example of Catalunyan red that is at once sunny, roasted and warm, but in the next moment, finesseful and elegant. Truly superb.

A question you might ask is, "why is this so inexpensive?" You can do that math, right? 2500 bottles x that price = Not much. I get it. But Ramon seems happy. He works as a dental technician in Barcelona, and along with his father, takes care of Corbatera on weekends. Good stuff.

To order, please simply reply to this email with your request, or click the link or photo above to read more and order online. The wine is available today and ready to roll.

Cheers!

Dan and Jane