‘Garnacha Tintorera’, the red-fleshed Grenache
A bit of history…
We all know the ‘Grenache’ variety, but there are different variations, crosses or mutations, such as ‘Garnacha Blanca’, ‘Garnacha Gris’ or ‘Peluda’ and ‘Garnacha Tintorera’, which presents, as a differentiating characteristic, that its pulp has color and is not ‘white’, like the rest, being red like the skins or skin of the grape berries.
This particular characteristic is known in the enology world as ‘Teinturier’, a French term that means ‘dye’ or ‘stain’, and it refers to those grape varieties whose pulp and must have a strong red color, due to a high concentration of anthocyanins that accumulate inside the grape, something very typical of the skin, but not of the pulp. This property means that the wines made with these varieties have a strong pigmentation with a very covered cape, which are often used to give color to coupages of wines with varieties that are lacking in color.
But let’s go back to the variety we are using in this article. ‘Garnacha Tintorera’, internationally known as ‘Alicante Bouschet’, does not come from Alicante (Spain) as you might think, but its origin is French and its name was given by the Bouschet family, creators of this variety, where they joined the name ‘Alicante’, how the variety ‘Grenache’ is known, the mother variety from which this ‘creation’ arises, to their own surname.
This variety comes from a cross between ‘Petit Bouschet’ and ‘Grenache’ and was first made by Henri Bouschet in 1866, resulting in a vine that is easy to grow and has high yields.
Our ‘Garnacha Tintorera’: Luzón Colección Garnacha Tintorera
Wines made from ‘Garnacha Tintorera’ are characterized, as we mentioned before, by a very dark and intense color, provided not only by the skins, but also by the pulp.
En cuanto a los aromas, una Garnacha Tintorera ‘de libro’ y sin paso por madera, presentará notas de fruta negra (ciruela), notas herbáceas (heno), fruta (cáscara de naranja), especias (pimienta verde) y notas balsámicas (eucalipto).
In terms of aromas, a ‘Garnacha Tintorera’ standard wine, without oak aging, will present notes of black fruit (plum), herbaceous notes (hay), fruit (orange peel), spices (green pepper) and balsamic notes (eucalyptus).
On the palate, we will appreciate the high alcohol and deeply marked tannins with balanced acidity.
Nuestra garnacha tintorera: Luzón Colección Garnacha Tintorera
At Bodegas Luzón we are not settle for the usual and as a result of the restlessness of our technical team, led by our winemaker Vicente Micó, we set ourselves the challenge of making a wine 100% Garnacha Tintorera, something very rare in our area, because it had always been used to improve the color of other wines but never to create a new single varietal concept.
To manage the power and structure of this grape, an eight-month aging in French and American oak barrels was deemed necessary, the ‘Luzón Colección Garnacha Tintorera’, made with grapes from historic vineyards over 40 years old that are harvested by hand and submited to manual selection of the bunches of grapes.
The wine has a beautiful deep cherry red color of high intensity, with an expressive, intense and complex nose, which highlights the aromas of black fruits (blackberries, cherries), licorice and menthol, with a round, concentrated mouth, which presents ripe tannins and well structured and balanced, with very good volume and long and persistent finish.
‘Luzón Colección Garnacha Tintorera’ is perfect for pairing with red meats, big game hunting, roasts, Iberian charcuterie, fatty cheeses and various stews.