Appellation: none
Cuvée: Blankaforti
Colour: Red
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache Noir, Syrah. It’s usually around 50% Cab and then 25% each Grenache and Syrah.
About: Blankaforti means the wine from Blancafort and is representative of all of Jordi’s black grapes in his home commune. Where Jordi’s whites are delicate and water like, his reds are full flavoured with a deep but very fine acid-tannin structure. Both reds and whites are wines needing food, though. The label shows a close-up of the bark of a vine plant. Different layers of bark are superimposed, where the oldest bark will soon leave the plant. While it is still on the plant, it protects the plant from the sun’s rays.
Vines
Location: Blancafort
Size ha: 5
Age: Cab Sav planted 2001, Grenache Noir 2008, Syrah 2010, Bobal 1939
Soils: ancient limestone terraces that keep nonetheless humidity
Exposition: various
Altitude: 430 to 600m
Training: cordon double royat
Farming: biodynamic, cover crops, grasses, herbs, and flowers adding to soil health, retention of moisture, and bio-diversity
Average yield hl/ha: 25
Climate: Mediterranean with fresh nights
Winemaking
The Cabernet is fermented on its own, the Grenache and Syrah are co-fermented. Each variety is de-stemmed and put in stainless steel to ferment with 10 to 12 days on skins before racking off and putting back in stainless to finish the ferment and age. No pressing (Jordi doesn’t own a press). The wine remains there until bottling, without fining, filtration or clarification after 9 months.
Vintage Notes 2016
Yield hl/ha: 20
Harvested: september 15.
Bottles produced: 3,000
Date bottled: 2017-05
Alcohol %: 12.34
SO2 Total: 16
Tasting: a plump and juicy wine full of black berry, raspberry and cherry fruit, with black pepper, green pepper and notes of leather adding complexity, so silky and mouthwatering you hardly notice the quite firm tannins that give it the structure to marry perfectly with protein in all forms.
Vintage Notes 2017
Moved to finish fermentation in new Extramadura amphorae of 1000L. Blend of Cabernet 60, Grenache Noir 30, and Parellada 10.
Bottles produced: 5,000
Date bottled: 2018-05
Alcohol %: 13.56
SO2 Total: < 4
Tasting: tons of rich, pure vibrant cassis and black cherry fruit, silky, airy, energetic, medium bodied, bone dry, very digestible.
Vintage notes 2018
Available but never fermented dry so a very different proposition.
Vintage notes 2019
Very hot and dry year for the most part. But there was a good rainfall end July and middle of August to aid a perfect maturation. Stylistically rich, full fat fruit, some residual sugar that doesn’t put me off and bottled in a heavy bottle, not due to the RS but due to lack of delivery of regular bottles due to covid restrictions.
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 40, Grenache Noir 40, Syrah and Parellada 20.
Bottles produced: 6,000
Date bottled: 2020-04
Alcohol %: 13
SO2 Total: < 4
Tasting: rich, pure and quite sweet yet vegetal cassis and black cherry fruit, yet very refreshing, cleansing, silky, medium-full bodied, long finish. Great fun. 2021-07-27 excellent, quite sweet but pure and clean, great acidity, all well integrated, spicy, plum, cassis fruit, bit short, more fun, less complex but great drinking NOW
Vintage notes 2020
A very challenging year in all ways, with heavy and persistent rain causing mildew problems and widescale loss of fruit. But the season finished well with fine weather during summer and harvest time and some purchases of fruit to make up for some losses.
Yield hl/ha: 20
Harvested: end September early October
Bottles produced: 5000
Date bottled: March and July
Alcohol %: 13.5
SO2 Total: < 4
Tasting: 2021-07-27 great balance chocolate and vegetal, green pepper, carob, orange peel, leather, rich cassis, plum, very pure, intense, great tannic structure, fine
Vintage notes 2021
Another challenging year due to drought and high temperatures (and covid restrictions) but it was bookended by rains in Spring and in September that provided freshness and focus to the wines. It was a very long harvest from late August to end October. The yield was finally surprisingly good and the wines have a great balancing vegetal acidity.
Yield hl/ha: 15
Harvested: late September to early October
Bottles produced: 12,000
Date bottled: June
Alcohol %: 11
SO2 Total: < 4
Tasting: 2021-12-16 great, sexy, some spicy roast suckling pig in with strawberry and black cherry and cassis, fat and rich but super energy acidity.