Vuelta a España - Northern Spanish bangers from beyond Rioja - a six bottle box set

To tie in with GlouGlou's monthly spotlight on Northern Spain we've created a mixed case for you to enjoy these Spanish gems in the comfort of your own home!

Sparkling:

Bodegas Sumarroca, Cava Reserva, Catalunya, Spain - Fantastic as an aperitif but also with food - with rice, salads and seafood and any asparagus dish. Carlos and Nuria Sumarocca created this elegant cava using Carlos’ extensive agricultural know how, he is a nurseryman by training, and by adhering to their sustainable philosophy: improve the quality of farming and production to obtain innovative wines with character and balance.

White wines:

Loxarel, 'Cora', Penedes, Spain - This wine is a blend of local grape Xarello with Muscat d’Alexandria from the hills of Alta Penedès within what is known as the Xarel-Lo triangle. Loxarel farm biodynamically and are well known for quality, traditional method sparkling wines (ie Cava but good Cava not nasty Cava).
Perky is a good description of the aromas and flavours of this wine and these have been preserved by the use of dry ice during a 6 hour maceration on the skins. Floral but not OTT, finishing dry with hints of quince and limes and a slightly saline edge. A lovely aperitif or “I fancy a glass of wine” wine but nice with a salad or fresh shell fish too. Drink young while still perky.

Vinos Fento, 'Bico Da Ran', Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain -  This was made by the great Eulogio Pomares from Albariño grown in the Galician Garden of Eden, the Valle del Salnés, a name coined by the Romans when they began growing grapes here and a nod to the salty terroir. People often pick up salinity in Albariño and there's no doubt the sea breeze influences the climate and so the grapes and the wines.
That salinity, its pleasant citrus notes and well balanced acidity make this wine a great choice with seafood of all descriptions. 

Red wines:

Coto de Gomariz, 'The Flower and the Bee' Souson, Ribeiro, Galicia, Spain - Ricardo Carreiro and winemaker Xose Lois Sebio specialise in producing wines from little known Galician varietals and this wine is made from Souson. Grown in a little microclimate next to the Avia river with the Atlantic influence aiding them, the vineyard follows the Masanoba Fukuoka method of farming which is affectionately known as ‘do nothing farming’ but actually involves a great deal of thought and planning and patience. 
It is a juicy, fruit forward wine with bags of character. Great lightly chilled with meaty fish or with some jamon or cheese. 

Bodegas Alfredo Maestro, Vinã Almate, Castilla y Leon, Spain - The name Almate is an amalgamation of his own name and the grapes used, ALfredo MAestro TEmpranillo, clever isn’t it? Alfredo, also known as Spains “natural wine rockstar”, began making wines with the help of books but he had a revelation in 2000 and questioned why farm organic when so much is added in the winery and so changed his methods and abandoned the Ribeiro de Duero DO in favour of completely organic winemaking. 30% of the grapes are fermented in whole clusters using wild , native yeasts before all the wine is matured in used French oak. Almate is a rich and juicy red with plums, big red berries and toffee flavours balanced to perfection

Vina Zorzal, Graciano, Navarra, Spain - Vina Zorzal is a project three brothers inherited from their father, Antonio Sanz. It wasn’t long before Inaki, Mikel and Xabi were joined by their friend Rafael Regadera and Vina Zorzal really took off. Having received one of the oldest vineyards in Navarra in which grew ancient Garnacha vines that had even survived Phylloxera, they realised the magic lay in nature itself and with low interference they let the grapes speak for themselves and focused on bringing abandoned vineyards back to life.

This Graciano undertakes a light maceration before fermentation to extract the aromatics before fermentation takes place in stainless steel with a gentle pump over for 8 days. 25% of the wine then undergoes malolactic fermentation in French barrels with the remaining 75% let to rest in stainless steel before being blended and aged for 4 months in old French barrels, this barrel ageing really helps develop the character of the grape while still it retains it’s freshness and youth.

This case contains one bottle of each of these wines. If any is out of stock or becomes unavailable it will be replaced by one of equal or greater value and deliciousness.