Sot Lefriec wines

Last month I attended a vertical tasting of Sot Lefriec wines from the Alemany & Corrió winery.

The winery was founded in 1999 by husband and wife enologists Irene Alemany and Laurent Corrió in the Penedés region. The 8 hectare (20 acres) vineyards are made up of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cariñera (carignan) vines which range in average age from 25 years for the Merlot and Cabernet to 60 years for the Cariñera.

At the tasting Irene and Laurant passed around a very detailed study on each parcel of land showing orientation, elevation, soil composition and soil mapping (with photos from excavations), pH levels and more. In a departure from the established guidelines of the Penedes region, the vines have been overplanted at around 5,000 vines per hectare (12,300 per acre). The idea being that a higher density of vines will force the roots to dig deeper in search of water, creating heartier vines that can create grapes of greater character. They also strive to keep production down to 2,500 kilograms of grape per hectare (2,225lbs. per acre) which is nearly one-fourth of the average yields for the region. The goal here is to produce grapes with higher flavor concentrations.

The winery is truly a garage winery, which allows the winemakers to express themselves in the way they wish. The facility is tucked into 200 square meters (2,150 sq. feet) and has an annual production of some 5,000 bottles. Irene and Laurant's goal is not to be big, but to be thought of as making wines of character that have a distinct personality. Their philosophy is to pay great attention to the vineyard, observe and measure and do minimal intervention and shun fertilizers. They are not enthusiasts of the current trend of super fruity wines. In the wines they say reduction creates aromas and oxygen releases them.

The tasting was comprised of Sot Lefriec wines from the vintages of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The range and progression of the wines was remarkable. The 1999 had a good level of acidity, but was understated on fruit, creating an intense first taste with a gentle, long finish. 2000 was a hot year and this wine had sweeter tanins and a higher degree of concentration than the '99. 2001 was difficult year with a freeze in which nearly 40% of the harvest was lost, but the wine is strong and intense. 2002 was a wet year and this wine has very gentle tannins and was my favorite of the tasting. The 2003 season was famously hot and this wine is fruity with robust tannins. It is quite intense and needs some more time in the bottle to reach its peak. The 2004 we tried was a barrel sample, but even so had a real maturity to it.

Irene and Laurant say that they have yet to make the wine that they dream of creating, but it seems to me that they have already made something unique and personal with their wines.