Wine is more than just a wonderful drink, essential at Christmas parties. It is also an object of desire that is dressed up with labels where the works of art of prestigious painters, sculptors, even photographers serve to highlight the character of the wine and the sensitivity of its producer as a guarantee of quality, which provokes in the buyer a visual impact that generates the desire to purchase it and drink the wine, or give it as a gift. Hence, the decision on the label is one of the most important in a winery. Its success will depend on the harmony between image and reality.
Without a doubt, the maximum artistic expression of a label is that which includes the work of an artist, the more renowned the better. This is what Philippe Rothschild thought when, in 1924, two years after taking charge of Château Mouton Rothschild, one of the most prestigious Bordeaux Prémier Crus had the brilliant idea of incorporating drawings specially made for her into its label. He chose the famous poster artist Jean Carlu. The idea was a success and since then the vintages have carried drawings by painters such as Picasso, Dalí, Miró, Francis Bacon, Mathieu, Marc Chagall, Kandinsky, Braque, or Andy Warhol. The 2021 vintage, with 100 Parker points, bears an engraving by South African artist Willian Kentridge. Soon the example spread in numerous countries.
In Spain, the most notable is perhaps the Vega Sicilia Único magnum, followed by bottles with labels by contemporary artists such as Chillida, Tapies, Saura, Canogar, Hernández Pijuan, Barceló, Cristina Iglesias, or Antonio López. These six wines are a representative sample of a gift with a lot of art.
ENATE SPECIAL RESERVE 2006
All of the winery's wines have a work of art on their label, but those from their Special Reserve stand out, with works by Chillida, Saura, Tàpies, Torner, Beulas, Canogar, and Broto for the excellent 2006 vintage. Fermentation was carried out in new French oak barrels, with very fine grain, where the malolactic and subsequent aging for 19 months with its fine lees was carried out. Wine with a complex aroma with abundant fresh red fruit (blueberries, wild strawberries), candied, floral and balsamic notes with the imprint of oak and its toasted, roasted, and spices. Elegant, with excellent and harmonious palatal power that prolongs the taste in a long and substantial finish.
A collector's wine, with a watercolor expressly painted by Barceló on the label. It is made by the Mallorcan winery ÁN Negra, with grapes of the native Callet variety from very old vines planted in small plots in the Son Negre area that gives its name to the wine. After grain-by-grain selection in the winery, the wine ferments in 4,000-liter French oak vats. Subsequently, it undergoes malolactic fermentation in new French oak barrels, where it is aged for 16 months. Intense aroma of wild berries, with notes of flower, undergrowth, coconut, tobacco, cigar box and spices. Tasty, persistent, with a spicy and fruity aftertaste.
To close the alphabet of 'Matador' magazine, the chosen wine is a pasture-grown Jerez white produced by the De la Riva winery, former property of Domecq, today owned by the renowned winemakers Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez, based on their 3 .35 hectares of albarizas from San Cayetano Alto, in the prestigious Macharnudo estate. The wine has fermented in 1,000 liter barrels and a year of biological aging. The label is a drawing by Antonio López. Intense and elegant aroma, happy harmony between white fruit, notes of dried fruits and citrus and bakery tones. Slightly sharp flavor, with a long finish and a long finish of evocative salinity.
·Phone: 947 298 119 ·VT: Land of Cadiz ·Guy: young white, 14% ·Strains: fine palomino ·Price: 69 euros ·Punctuation: 9.5/10
VINA COQUETA 2014
The Viña Coqueta plot, located in Samaniego, near the winery, gives its name to this red wine made with old Tempranillo vines and 10% Graciano. The label, which evokes the grape grain breaking, is the work of the plastic artist Javier Remírez. The wine, after fermentation in stainless steel tanks and concrete tanks of different capacities and shapes, is aged for 25 months in new French oak barrels. Elegant and captivating aroma of ripe black forest berries, somewhat liquorish, with balsamic and floral notes on a background of spices and cedar. In the mouth it is tasty, broad, with an intense and harmonious Rioja character.
Alejandro Luna Beberide, with the advice of the brilliant Mariano García, has released a line of great wines where varietal imprint and terroir take precedence. Made with grapes from the La Recovera vineyard, located in the heights of Valdetruchas at about 900 meters above sea level. The label, the work of photographer Robes, shows a detail of the Mudejar coffered ceiling of the church of San Francisco (Villafranca del Bierzo). The wine is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. Fragrant aroma, with abundant very ripe red and black fruit, along with floral notes, aromatic herbs, spices and light toast. Enveloping, fresh and fruity palate, with long persistence.
A seven-year long-aged cava made by Agustí Torelló Mata and his son Alex, winemaker and technical director, in their private winery in Can Rossell. It is a 'coupage' of the varieties Sant Joan de Mediona). The bottle, designed and patented by the winery, is a tribute to Ancient Rome. The label, the work of the artist Rafael Bartolozzi, evokes the Mediterranean of Cadaqués, the vine and the olive tree. Fine bubbles, elegant aroma, with almond notes and a fruity background that refreshes the reduction tones.
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