2016 Loxarel Xarello A Pèl de Loxarel

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 84.5 points

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  5/16/2021 - forceberry wrote: 81 Points

  An orange wine or skin-contact Xarel-lo: vinified completely without sulfites, spontaneously fermented with the skins for 4 weeks and then aged for further 3 months in 720-liter amphoras. 12,5% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Somewhat hazy and quite evolved, medium-deep yellow-orange color. Fine particles in the glass. Evolved and rather tertiary nose with aromas of hay, some resinous phenolic character, a little bit of bruised apple, light ethery notes of VA, a hint of oxidative nuttiness and an aged touch of smoke. The wine is dry, medium-bodied and slightly wild on the palate with flavors of hay, apple core and apple peel bitterness, some oxidative nuttiness, a little bit of savory exotic spices, light honeyed tones, a lifted hint of VA and a funky touch of brett. High in acidity, no obvious tannins. The finish is dry, quite acid-driven and rather evolved with flavors of tart green apples, some bruised red apples, a little bit of nuttiness, light ethery notes of VA, a hint of lemony citrus fruit and a touch of phenolic funk.
  
  Too evolved, past its peak. Virtually everybody guessed orange wine right from the get-go, but everybody was guessing something much older - from the early to late 00's, mainly. It came as a surprise that the wine was so evolved, but if I understood correctly, it had been kept for a year or two in room temperature, which might explain something. In its current condition definitely not worth the 19,89€.

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  10/28/2017 - forceberry wrote: 88 Points

  An orange wine or skin-contact Xarel-lo: vinified completely without sulfites, spontaneously fermented with the skins for 4 weeks and then aged for further 3 months in 720-liter amphoras. 12,5% alcohol.
  
  Intense and quite deep lemon yellow color of cider or apple juice concentrate - this looks more like a developed white wine than your normal orange wine. The nose is somewhat reticent and a bit earthy with slightly waxy tones, a little bit of wild funk and hints of hay and dried apple chips. Overall the nose seems to be more about non-fruit aromas. The wine is dry, medium-bodied and pure on the palate with good, bright acidity and rather savory flavors of hay and grassy character (without any grassy greenness), stony minerality, a little bit of dusty earthiness, a hint of saline feel of ocean air and a touch of vague, tart citrus fruits. The wine is quite vibrant and structured with its relatively high acidity and a slightest touch of tannins. The finish is dry, somewhat coarse and very mineral with flavors of wet stones, dried autumn grass, some tart green apples and a hint of fresh citrus fruits.
  
  A very nice, clean and fresh skin-contact Xarel-lo that is tip-toeing that fine line between positive neutrality and plain lack of flavors. Although I love Cava - even varietal Xarel-lo Cava - I often find Xarel-los vinified as white wines pretty boring - the often lack intensity, fruit and acidity to be capable of making anything of real interest to me. This wine suffers a bit from the lack of flavors, which seems to be typical of the variety, and even a month's worth of skin contact hasn't granted the wine much flavor. However, the wine is very bright and structured - which isn't always the case with Xarel-lo - and it has such intense minerality that overall the wine transcends the blandness of the variety to the wonderfully mineral neutrality often exhibited by good Muscadet and Txakoli wines. This isn't particularly memorable as an orange wine, but as a varietal (non-bubbly) Xarel-lo this is a very nice effort. However, even as a fan of skin-contact wines, I probably prefer Loxarel's amfora-fermented white Xarel-lo over this one. A bit expensive at 19,89€.

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