Ramiro Ibáñes of the Cota 45 winery in his cellar in Sanlucar de Barrameda with old oak vats, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine Photography
Ramino is part of the new wave of wine growers in Jerez, making non-fortified wines from Palomino, the sherry grape. These wines are then called vino de pasto. This is a well-known word for Spanish people but far less so for the rest of us. It means table wines, not in the sense “simple wine” but in the sense “not fortified”. It used to imply, and probably still does in some places, that these are simpler wines, to be drunk with food without fuss. But don’t be mistaken, Ramiro’s wines are delicioius.
You can read about the sherry process in this Forbes article: The Comeback Of Sherry, The Remarkable Spanish Wine
Ramiro’s winery is in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. He is an oenologist and, in addition to his own project, Cota 45, he is also a consultant for other wineries.
We meet Ramino in the vineyard. This is actually quite rare when you visit the sherry region. The bodegas all have magnificent wine cellars, and you tend to stay there, not least because sherry is, in many ways, a wine whose character is determined by the work in the cellar. Talking about grapes and vineyards feels a bit as an afterthought.
The white albariza soil in the sherry region in Andalucia, Spain, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine Photography
Not so for Ramino. This is another way he differs from the sherry producers. He wants to stress the importance of the vineyard and the soil. His wines come from different types of albariza soil, a kind of limestone soil common in the area. He believes this soil has tremendous potential to show the quality of the white palomino grape, often considered a bit neutral.
He makes wines with grapes grown in different types of albariza and at various distances from the Ocean. This has an impact on the wines. “With vino de pasto, it is easier for the consumer to understand the connection between the wine and the vineyard”, he says.
Ramiro’s wines spend 8 months in very old sherry casks, part of the time with flor. Flor is what gives a fino sherry or a manzanilla sherry its special character. Ramiro’s wines spend around 2 months with flor, so, much less than a fino, but it still gives the wine a distinct local feeling; a crispiness, the freshness of green apples and citrus combined with a lovely mouthfeel. (For more on flor, see the article linked above.)
For Ramiro, the white non-fortified wines are the future. “A restaurant in New York now has a wine list with many vinos de pasto; they are very attractive right now. Sherry is decreasing and the vinos de pasto are increasing a lot”, he says
Ramiro Ibáñes’ Cota 45 cellar in Sanlucar de Barrameda with old oak vats, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine Photography
It is the same story as with port wine, he adds: “Table wines represent 50% of the production now, according to [famous Douro producer] Niepoort. The future for us here is to make white wines with lower alcohol and sherry only in the top-quality segment.”
Already, 35 new small wineries, as well as some of the big sherry wineries, are producing vino de pasto. And Ramiro points out that for a new producer, it is easier to start with these wines. “You need more money to start making a sherry, 6-8 years of ageing before you can sell anything… You need a lot of wine”.
The sherry region is pretty close to the Atlantic Ocean, but the proximity varies. One of Ramiro’s vineyards is 30 miles away, and another one, Miraflores, is only 3.7 miles from the ocean. You feel this difference in the wine, says Ramiro.
“Further away from the sea, you feel the wine more in the back of the mouth. In Miraflores, we have more freshness, the wine is felt closer to the teeth, like the wine wants to jump out of the mouth back into the Ocean.”
I’m glad it doesn’t. I prefer to have this incredible wine still in the glass for me to savour.
Wines from Ramiro Ibáñes’ Cota 45 winery, UBE de uberrima and Pandorga, copyright BKWine Photography
BKWine Photography
These wines are all made with the palomino fino grape and from different types of albariza soil. If you get the chance, try them. They are all from Ramiro’s series of wine called “UBE de uberrima” referring to the Latin word for abundant or rich.
Cota 45 UBE El Reventón – from a vineyard called El Reventon with albariza de tosca cerrada soil, made with the palomino grape
Cota 45 UBE Miraflores – from different plots in the Miraflores vineyard, palomino
Cota 45 UBE Miraflores Alta – exclusively from the Alta section of the Miraflores vineyard
—Britt Karlsson
Dining and Cooking