EXTREMADURA

 

COLOMA

Extremedura was considered pretty remote to the Spanish until recently. Three quarters of the way down, very close to the Portugese border, the area is strewn with Roman remains and Moorish influence. Franco's presence is still felt in the agriculture. “Everyone had to have vines, olive trees and pigs,” Helena Coloma tells us. “Anything grows here, it is so fertile. Did you know that 30% of Europe's tomatoes come from here? Our problem is we send everything to Murcia for them to package or process, so nobody's heard of Extremedura.”

Bodegas Coloma is run by two sisters, both very well-travelled. Amelia is the very shy winemaker and viticulturist, who studied in Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Australia and Argentina and who sleeps next to the maceration tanks after harvest, to make sure they don't get to hot! Helena does everything else, to give Amelia the freedom to do what she wants. “She always wants to do something new, like plant Syrah and Petit Verdot, or make our own clones of Garnacha Roja from our 50yo vines before they died.”

This is a committed Bodega. Experimental, but always with a respect for their traditional varietals such as Cayetana, from which they make a tropical white, and the Garnacha Roja, a small-berried Grenache with a less raisiny, more autumnal outcome and an adult, bitter twist on the finish. A fascinating range, climaxing with their Torre Bermeja (Red Tower) Crianza Roble Viñas Viejas a delicious old vine Cabernet/Garnacha Roja/Merlot blend.

 

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	Cabernet Sauvignon Seleccion	2004	12.99