Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017 - 84

Genium Celler
A small confederacy of growers in Poboleda is turning out fresh Priorats from
their ancient vines.

TOP 100 WINERIES 2017

Family Affair: In 2002, a group of six families from the town of
Poboleda, in the northern hills of Priorat, decided to pool their
resources and produce their own wines. All of them longtime growers, they devoted 37 acres to the project, divided into eight vineyards
located mainly in Poboleda, Torroja and La Morera del Montsant,
all in cool, high-altitude areas of Priorat. A substantial portion of
the vines (17 acres) date to 1910, garnacha and cariñena planted on
costers, some of the steepest slopes of the region. The rest of the vineyards were planted on terraces cut into the hills in the 1980s, some
with cuttings from the old vines, others with new varieties-merlot,
cabernet sauvignon and syrah. The group does not buy any additional grapes.
Northern Perspective: Genium's flagship is a red simply labeled as Priorat. In 2010, it's a selection including 45 percent garnacha and ten
percent cariñena from their oldest vineyards, plus 20 percent syrah,
20 percent merlot and a small amount of cabernet sauvignon. Pointedly fresh, it speaks of the north of Priorat and the firmness that
fruit lends to Genium Celler's wines. The wine is austere, imposing
in its structure, packed with red fruit flavors together with spices and
herbal notes. It ends with a pleasant mineral taste, closely associated
with the wines of the area.
Schist: Genium Celler has gained organic certification for 7.4 acres of its young vines, using them
to produce Ecologic. The 2010 is a blend of
50 percent garnacha, 25 percent merlot, 20
percent syrah and five percent cariñena.
Within the delicious red fruit flavors that
flood the palate, you might sense a strong
presence of licorella (the local slate) more
than the oak in which the wine aged for a
year (half of it new barrels). It's the fruit and
Roser Amoros
minerality of Priorat that shows clearly in this
wine. Sharing little in common with the dense,
superripe style that characterized Priorat in the
past, Genium's wines move in a stony and refreshing direction. -P.T.

The first thing we think about when we hear Rías Baixas is shellfish and white
wines. Because of Forjas del Salnés, now we think of light, refreshing reds, too.
Local Reds: Rodrigo Méndez's father and grandfather were grape
growers on the Galician coast. They made wine for the family, but it
was Méndez who decided to start bottling his own wine. And rather
than focus only on whites, he set out to rescue the tradition of light,
acidic reds that locals drink in Rías Baixas. He called on the help of
his friend, the legendary Raúl Pérez, one of the most dynamic winemakers in Spain today; together they have managed to revitalize the
red wines of Galicia, although they also make very good whites.
The Mother of Wine: Gallegos are known for their sayings. When they
talk about caiño, a local red grape, they often say, caiño, la nai de vino
(caiño, the mother of wine). It's a phrase you might hear from Doña
Lola, the 90-year-old farmer who tends her caiño vines on high pergolas, plants she believes to be 250 years old. She sells that fruit to
Mendéz for his single-vineyard Finca Genoveva Caiño. "I had to visit
her many times until I finally convinced her to sell me those grapes,"
he recalls. They make a deep red wine, one that smells like fresh-cut
grass, sea salt and earth, while the flavors overflow with red fruits,
crisp and vibrant. The last three releases, from 2010, 2011 and 2014,
have consistently been among our top wines from Galicia.
Albariño Centenario: Doña Lola also grows albariño on her pergolas,
six acres of vines she says are more than 180 years old. Mendéz buys
those grapes for his white wine from Finca Genoveva, the Leirana
Albariño. The 2015 is concentrated, salty rather than fruity, like a liquid version of the ocean winds on the Rías Baixas coast, along with
some touches of lemon and herbs. The wine aged for a year in large,
used 2,500-liter foudres, in contact with its lees, which has given it
extra creaminess, the right texture to match a generous plate of pulpo
a feira. -P.T.

DETAILS & TOP WINES

Founded: 2002 * Winemaker: Roser Amoros * Owners:
A group of families led by Jordi Ossó * Acres owned: 37
Annual production: 1,385 cases * Estate grown: 100%
Importer: Grapes of Spain, Lorton, VA * Website:
geniumceller.com

Founded: 2005 * Winemaker/viticulturist: Rodrigo Méndez
Owner: The Méndez family * Acres owned: 12.35 * Annual
production: 4,500 cases * Estate grown: 100% * Importer:
Olé Imports, New Rochelle, NY

96 2010 Priorat $40 (2/17)
95 2010 Priorat Ecologic $45 (2/17)
94 2012 Priorat Poboleda Vi de la Vila $45 (10/17)

95 2014 Rías Baixas Finca Genoveva Caino $69
95 2015 Rías Baixas Leirana Genoveva Albarino $75
94 2014 Rías Baixas Bastion de la Luna $31
(all 8/17)

S PAIN P RIORAT
84

Forjas del Salnés

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2018

S PAIN G ALICIA

http://www.geniumceller.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017