Casa Balaguer La Rambla del Peligrés 2022

Casa Balaguer, now run within the Vinessens winery, farms a fifty hectare estate at Villena in D.O. Alicante, in the Valencia region, keeping to the minimal intervention philosophy of founder Rafa Bernabé. This wine is made from old vine Garnacha Tinta as a natural wine. The estate's sandy limestone soils are the defining factor here, free draining and poor in organic matter, giving a pale, delicate style with a saline, mineral edge rather than weight. The warm, dry Mediterranean climate ripens the fruit fully, while old vines and low yields concentrate aroma in the small crop. The wine is aged for around five months in clay vessels, whose neutral, slightly porous walls allow gentle micro-oxygenation that softens the wine without imparting oak flavour, preserving the freshness and lift of the fruit. The colour is pale ruby. The nose is fragrant with strawberry, red cherry, dried herbs and a touch of pepper over a savoury, briny minerality. The palate is light and fresh, with fine soft tannins and a saline finish. Serve lightly chilled at 14 to 16 degrees. It suits lighter meats and vegetable dishes.