2021-C Mustiguillo Mestizaje, Valencia, Spain (750ml)
About the Icons
A Monthly Wine Club Selection
Bodegas Mustiguillo is located 100 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast, at a lovely site featuring classic old country Spanish architecture set against the beautiful landscape of Valencia, Spain. Toni Sarrion traded his career in business for a life tending grapevines and making wines. His initial mission when he founded Mustiguillo in the early 1990s was to save the ancient red varietal Bobal from extinction. He began rejuvenating his family’s vineyards and purchased several abandoned, old vine vineyards (at least 40 years old), with some dating back to 1917. Toni then began farming organically and making elegant, age-worthy Bobal like no one had imagined could be done. The white grape, Merseguera, was a similarly “forgotten” varietal that he also wanted to save; so, he spent four years farming and recultivating the grapes at an older vineyard site. He applied what he learned to his Calvestra vineyard in the El Terrerazo DOP. He grafted Merseguera onto 40-year-old Bobal rootstock in a block situated at 900 meters above sea—an altitude at which Bobal could not ripen appropriately, but where Merseguera flourishes.
The Vino de Pago El Terrerazo was granted to Mustiguillo in 2010—a part of the Grandes Pagos de España organization that is dedicated to upholding and promoting premium single-estate wines. At altitudes between 800-900m above sea level, the estate consists of 89 hectares of contiguous vineyards on primarily limestone soils. The climate is Mediterranean with a strong continental influence, including drastic diurnal temperature shifts and contrasting winds from the sea, in the east, and hot La Mancha to the west.
Our Red Cellar Trio club members will recall the tasty Vino de Pago from Mustiguillo, that we featured back in May, and which we can barely keep stocked due to its popularity! This white blend of 75% Merseguera, 20% Viognier, and 5% Malvasía has just as much charm and personality. Since it was aged entirely in stainless steel, there is no oak to mask the fresh floral and fruit flavors found on the palate. Additionally, the juice maintained contact with its lees (spent yeast cells) in order to impart a creamy texture to the wine. While the Viognier and Malvasía give the wine its fleshy, unctuous character, the Merseguera provides a juicy, balancing acidity, and tightens the reins on this otherwise opulent blend.
Pale yellow. Showcasing an intoxicating fragrance of lychee, jasmine, gardenia and orange blossom reminiscent of a tropical garden. The palate shows ripe flavors of white peach, orange blossoms, apricot, lemon flesh, candied pineapple, waxy honey and a touch of hazelnut. A lovely white wine that feels relatively light despite its rich fruit and floral qualities.