Man Whisperer Xarello all (Tour Rimbau Ton)
Posted by robodiola on March 12, 2014
Posted in: We went out and tried!.
We have translated this article into English using the most common translation tools that can be found on the Internet, so they know firsthand how to work the producer of natural wines porcellanic Rimbau Ton. This article may also find it translated into Spanish and Catalan in articles preceding this one.
June 22, 2013, Vilobí del Penedès. We are very near the Church of St. Mary of Vallformosa. There are Gemma Morato of WinePassion.cat, Pep Fari Celler de Can Mata and David Martin, who writes the scarecrow here, we waiting for one of the most amazing developers our home: Ton Rimbau.
We know, it's been a few months of this meeting, namely 9. If you see people with short sleeve, full of green leafy vines, growing grapes or greener than normal (by the time we are right now), is it about summer that is full of life. Actually, many months ago we wanted to tell you that the visit of June 22, but could not find the time to translate it (work, child, house, other posts), we did not have the "blueberries" to do it (as long ago concerning discuss a bold as winemaker Ton Rimbau).
We return to that summer day. Ton mounted us in his van, to show us what he does: to cultivate the land in a respectful manner with Mother Earth and make wines without sulfites. We like to look at a term we have used before: Rimbau is a bold type. The simplest would be to work the land as did his father, who believed that the vineyard had to "board" as a sheet, comes sulfur, copper come, worked here, worked there and kilos plus kilos, kilos ! No, Ton not want that. Practice other agriculture. Later we will show you how they love the land.
Before, I tell the tour we did with Ton for its vineyards: first stop on the La Matxatera. Matxatera is a 1 hectare farm approximately Macabeo. Some Maccabees who were about 10 years abandoned, abused by speculation and Ton gets in April 2013. Many strains were with the dead heads, many with no outbreak, few strains from grapes and " working" in 50%. Thanks to the care of Ton, were beginning to function again, but very slowly. "It's not easy being back. See if you get it, why paint it well: grapes have enough concentration."
Then he took us to a polygon in the village. There Ton, on a ship, he taught his other job: art of wood. Ton Rimbau 25 years also is dedicated to making wooden boxes for other wineries (Gramona, Mas Foraster, Ester Nin, Josep.M Ferret ...) and how could it be otherwise, the boxes are made to be saved wine. Boxes with differentiated detail "Our boxes, at the top, have a visagreta and not lost" There also being taught a wooden nest was preparing to place in the vineyard.
Soon after, the third stop. Time to see Xarello the 11 years of the La Sierra. It seemed we were in a florist: screens everywhere, huge branches, with a brutal, very green, very bright .... healing and then you talk about how you do to have these spectacular strains. At Viña La Sierra go to sleep feral and curiously, hardly touching the grapes. It may be why there sleeping. In that place we could look away two more farms Ton: The Llaona and Sotaserra, both Xarello. Of these three vineyards and makes his famous Xarello Xarello Sur -Lie.
Then he took us to the vineyard and Prats Cal Roger Vella. In Cal Ton Roger has planted Maccabees young, about 25 years old, and a little more oldies Maccabees sixties. From here leave their bases and sweet sparkling wine.
Between strain and strain, farm and farm van ride up, ride down van, spent two hours where we Ton explained his understanding of agriculture and, we venture to say, his understanding of life. A form of agriculture that caresses many disciplines with a common denominator: respect for Mother Earth. Then we the detail. Surely many will collide and others will leave you with your mouth open.
Homeopathy treats the vines Take flies and butterflies, crushes, passes them to different containers with water to 10,000 liters (hitting the appropriate container, 100 times before replacement). Those waters pass a spray tool, to scatter them in the strains. If we sought a molecule butterfly fly or perhaps find nothing, but that water has memory. Memory for those insects that do not come close to strains and flee saying "we 're out of here, that smells like death."
Use goat whey, unpasteurized, to treat the vines: Combat and fungi. The serum has amino acids rich in potassium salts and phosphates. Its action is twofold: first is directly fungicide and another capable of stimulating plant resistance against the fungus. Also spray the vines with thyme and rosemary, which help disinfect and horsetail to combat powdery mildew and downy mildew.
Strains also sprayed with a preparation of nettle to strengthen and stimulate the microbial flora of the land, strengthening plant defenses. As you can see, all are natural preparations. Plants for healing plants, plants to prevent and whey. No trace of copper, no trace of sulfate. "I do not want to poison or soil or plants, nor the buyer of my wines," he said.
Favors in the vicinity of the vineyard has insect predators: placed nests of birds and bats. A bat, night, can get to eat 1,200 mosquitoes / hour. More effective impossible. Bird nests, makes an oval opening to encourage small birds to enter, like eating worms and butterflies.
Biodiversity in the vineyard, with balance: for Ton is very important that millet among the vines, you have weeds must be some fly or butterfly must go boar to eat some grapes ( not all , thank you), you can also hang bird, fox , good presence knees to eat the snails ... "The more you have , the better. Good or bad but always trying not to have too much of something, whether positive or negative. " Balance!
7 years not till the vines: Spend a roller concrete to crush the grass. So " empaja "the ground to keep moisture. Walking between strain and strain Ton is like walking on a cushion of grass. And mow? Sega slightly ahead of the vine and the most invasive weeds, not just crush with rolling pin.
Works hand in hand with nature, not against it. Permaculture Abarca: " The strain already know what to do" understand that the vineyard has to act like a forest, and follow a little autorregulation interventionist philosophy (except treatments plants and whey, cited above).
Chromotherapy in the vineyard ¿? With the help of the therapist Silvia Lledós applies this alternative medicine in the vineyards. Lledós is able to determine, with a pendulum in hand, what color is missing that person, animal or plant, to be (could speak) balanced. They balance the colors of the vineyards with large "lollipop" of colors planted on the plots .
Tasks winery, vineyards and everything that has to do with the winery ago, following the lunar calendar. Always noticing what day is optimal for these tasks. As one example: does the Moon Vintage Crescent, decreasing fruit per day.
And most impressive is that these techniques work, and well. Another way to understand agriculture, in this case of the vine, yes it's possible.
The last stop on our tour, went home. In the house where Ton has grown. There taught us where you have stored your bottles (thus, again, you shall be shocked) and were able to try their wines.
Now you will be left impressed. Where has saved Ton Rimbau their bottles? In ancient wineries home. And you will say this is special?. The wineries are full of water! If friends Rimbau keeps bottles underwater. Not likely but there are 2.5 meters deep.
Why save them under water? Three reasons: It has no more place where you save (space issue) Underwater wine just tune and finally the water provides a high thermal stability. And yes, also keeps bottles upright "to have minimal contact with the air," it off their particular storage system, looking geomagnetic neutral zones to accommodate the boxes.
Now we could see the last point of the visit: try wines from Ton. Let's try 3 wines Ton: The porcellanic xarel.lo B'11 Wine, The Wine porcellanic Xarelo Sur -lie B'11 and The Natural Sweet Wine porcellanic 2011.
Do porcellanic are organic wines ? If and beyond. Are biodynamic wines ? Yes, we go further. Are natural wines? Yes and also further. Their wines are organic, biodynamic, no sulfites and back, beyond. Back in time. Their wines are like the ancients did, but not 60 years old, or 100, or 800 ... You could compare the wines were made in ancient times, in the time of the Romans, the Phoenicians, Greeks ...
The porcellanic are wines without sulfites, free (van where they want them), with yeast from the same vineyard, grapes hand harvested (harvest many weeks after their neighbors), harvest when the bones of the grapes are browns, wines with a highly concentrated wines that are born in those strains treated like a forest, bold wines.
Wines as well, could not be under the baton of any winemaking. Ton winemaking has one of the largest in our home: Can Avinyó Manuel Ramon (Winegrowers Montgròs). Avinyó has over 25 years experience making wine and words Ton "Making a wine without sulfites, cost much. I could not do any"
Porcellanic also the packaging is different bottles are ceramic (for safeguarding the wine from the effects of the light), the label is a wooden veneer (not to adhere any chemical element in the bottle), the plug is micronized (non stop corked wine), the cap is beeswax and has a sealed as counters light (to ensure that no one has tampered with the bottle).
Well now I will describe our feelings with these 3 wines in hand. We will not focus too much on how prepared we think we will have explained in sufficient depth the philosophy of the winery, and therefore, as part of the vine to the glass.
We did start the tasting with the most robust Ton, with Xarello more expressive varietal we tasted wine wilder. That said it is more like a wine industry professionals: Luis Gutierrez, Jose Penin , Victor de la Serna, Juan Valencia and José Roca, for the same reasons you said above: Xarelo pure and wild.
The Xarel the farms from La Sierra, in 2003 (and which I have already named above) and SotaSerra 1984. The grapes are harvested by hand, crushed in press vertical plates (those lifetime) at low pressure, macerated and fermented in stainless steel tanks at low temperature (to extract and maintain the aromas of the grapes) and rounded posterior in new French Allier oak for 9 months.
Stroke fine nose, aromas of crushed apples (cider previous step), pear juice water a little ripe, quince fruit about to become quince, cinnamon rice pudding, minerality that reminds us away to the a white wine from Priorat, unroasted hazelnut smell, a recently burned wax ... Our nose unfamiliar flavorings natural wines went well satisfied.
In the mouth shows personality, a very quirky personality and not like all the mouths. In ours if we liked: their acidity danced a waltz with our buds. Login as a thief in white gloves with touch of creaminess, has a long history in our throat. The aromas of white fruit, are now present in the mouth, the fruit of the quince is already a good quince and limestone terroir VILOBI, too.
This is the second wine we did try. The friendliest wine Ton, we could qualify as the standard, the roundest, most rhythmic and trained, as it somehow... Hey, no stop crashing our senses. It is the wine that we like the porcellanic.
The method of preparation is just like that except Xarello: 9 months which is also in the barrel, makes wine with mothers.
We smell lemon zest ready to develop a yogurt cake, freshly cut golden apple, Marcona almonds pass through the pan, almond nougat, sweet spices, touches of nutmeg, fennel growing between the vines are also compliments as jasmine come to caress the nose hairs and molasses, are also present. Terrific nose! And evolving!.
Enters the mouth with citrus tones, wine mothers greet us warmly, something buttery language and also comes with a general feeling in white wines without sulfites: sensations as drinking water. The have a good time in the mouth, leaves you feeling in your mouth, like you just eating a very ripe pear filled with water.
The sweet wine Ton is also different from everything we've tried. A sweet wine (Macabeo and xarel.lo) that comes from the sun-dried grapes and after Botrytis. Bees and wasps are leading the way: and when they arrive the first day is optimal according to the lunar calendar, vintage make. A vintage not to many manipulations, after 9 kilos collected leaves 1 liter of wine, and spend 9 months in French oak barrels. Harvesting is done in November, autumn wine, wine porcellanic golden leaves as the prize awarded guide Vinum Nature organic wines.
In the mouth the sweet notes surround us: apple jam, orange, apricot, honeysuckle flower, quince. Enjoyed with its acidity, its aftertaste of dried apricots, sweet taste of honey, sugared almonds and dot the bitter end (typical of wines made from Botrytis) is lovesick.
To enjoy and savor the magical flavor it has. With foie will delight with blue cheese enjoyment, but the best combination is a long desk, after a meal of occasions.
Eh! These are the first impressions, why tasting lasted a very long time (almost two), between talk and talk, giving the wines were new aromas, flavors more developed in the case of Sour-Lie or Dulce. Wines in constant motion, wines that go where they want, as we said before, free.
And we were left free after this entry. Free why after so many months of this visit, we had outstanding telling. As you can see by all that happened and learned, after 5 hours with Ton Rimbau, we could not let inside. Not within our brain, or in our tasting book or in our phone. Here it is. Those five hours changed a bit our understanding of viticulture, wine without sulfites or how to consume on our plate.
Until next ! HEALTH AND Porcellanic.
