Recently, I met up with fellow sommelier and wine specialist Bruno Murciano at the Wines from Spain annual tasting in London. In addition, it was a very exciting moment, as not only did I have the chance to catch up with an old friend, but also Bruno gave me the opportunity to taste the first release of his own wine.
During the clip, Bruno talks passionately about his wine, his region, his sommelier experiences and the Bobal grape variety. I hope you enjoy my roving sommelier video target=”_blank”>interview.
Essentially, Bruno’s exciting wine project is a culmination of many years of experience as a sommelier. Around five years ago, he co-purchased a seven and a half hectare vineyard, planted with the local Bobal grape in the Levante/Utiel-Requena region of Spain. Moreover, he has collaborated with famed Rioja winemaker David Sampedro. They have produced two wines – “La Malkerida” (which means ‘the unloved girl’ in Spanish) and “El Sueno” (which means ‘dream‘ in Spanish).
2011 La Malkerida is juicy, fresh and youthful with a vibrant and fruity flavour. The wine has been made from 100% Bobal and without any oak influences. At 12.5% alcohol is perfectly-balanced with a long, clean finish displaying stone fruit flavours.
The 2010 ”El Sueno” is essentially Bruno’s homage to his twelve years as a sommelier working in top-class restaurants in the UK. It is also produced from 100% Bobal, but in smaller quantites coming from older vines (around 80-100 years old) in a single vineyard. These old, low-yielding Bobal vines are planted on limestone soils at the top of a hill. The wine itself has been entirely produced to demonstrate the unique expression of the grape and its terroir. In addition, the wine has been aged in 500 litre French oak barrels for 14 months. This has given the wine depth, powerful structure and a lovely texture on the palate with some delicious spicy black cherry flavours and a long, elegant and persistent finish.
When I tasted these wines, they had literally been bottled very recently beforehand. So, of course I felt very privileged to have been amongst the first to sample them. With both of these wines, Bruno has certainly turned his wine dreams into reality and I wish him all the best of luck for the future!
Bruno Murciano’s wines are available in the UK via H2Vin.
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More sommelier stories to follow, but in the meantime the epicurean odyssey continues…
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