Alberto Orte 'Atlantida'

Atlántida is an impressive red wine hailing from Spain’s most historic grape growing region of Jerez, most famous for its solera ageing system of Sherry. However, what is seldom spoken of are the astounding vineyard sites blanketing the region, where early forgotten grape varieties are grown. While historical Jerez had more than 80 different red and white grape varieties planted, after phylloxera devastated the area the trend shifted to replanting one very productive strain of Palomino, the workhorse of Jerez and the base grape for dry Sherry. Minute amounts of older varietals still exist, however, and are being resurrected with even more new plantings. Alberto Orte works on projects all across the Iberian Peninsula, and fell in love with the region of Jerez, building a new Sherry bodega and also championing the potential for exceptional still wines from native grapes. Tintilla (related to Graciano) is an ideal grape variety to transport the mineral-laden, salty, chalky characteristics of the albariza soil in which it is grown in the coastal terrain of Jerez. There are only a few tiny plots of Tintilla and the wines made are very rarely seen in the U.S. - A truly special gem.

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