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WINES OF SPAIN
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Ànima Negra
| Ah-Nee-Ma Neh-Gra |
VdlT Mallorca (Illes Balears), Spain
Ànima Negra was founded in 1994 when two self-taught friends—Pere Ignasi Obrador and Miquel Àngel
Cerdà—decided that the wines of their native Mallorca weren’t reaching their full potential. Taking
advantage of some unused milk tanks at the dairy farm owned by Pere’s family, they made two barriques
of wine from Callet grapes (a native Mallorcan variety) they’d purchased from local farmers.
The initial results were so encouraging that the friends decided to form a partnership and continue
pursuing their newly found passion for wine. Today, Ànima Negra sources its grapes from more than
one hundred and thirty-five carefully selected parcels of land that the partners either own or control.
Virtually all of these parcels are within a six-mile radius of the winery, and most of the vines are fifty to
one hundred and five years old. All the vines are dry-farmed and are unfertilized, helping to ensure they
produce small, concentrated fruit. The resulting unique, elegant wines have garnered worldwide praise,
and earned a loyal following among fine wine enthusiasts throughout the world. In 2010, the Slow Food
Movement honored Ànima Negra with induction into the Ark of Taste, an initiative created by the Slow
Food Foundation for Biodiversity. The recognition was for Ànima Negra’s combined respect for traditional
viticultural methods with belief in the indigenous grape varieties of Mallorca.
Quíbia
| Key-Bee-Ah |
Quíbia is a fantasy name conjured up by the Ànima Negra team. It refers to an imaginary place where
there are no known limits or boundaries—a name that is perfectly appropriate for this white wine made
in part from red grapes! The wine is made from the white Premsal and the red Callet grape fermented in
stainless steel, followed by four months of aging on the lees. Enticing straw-lemon in color with greenish
reflections, it offers pleasantly unusual notes of white peach, pear, sea brine, and jasmine. On the palate,
the wine is weighty with creamy texture and concentrated flavors while at the same time fresh, delicate
and well balanced.
2013:
90 WA
ÀN/2
This wine is 65 percent Callet, 20 percent a blend of Manto Negro and Fogoneu, and 15 percent Syrah
from vines ranging from fifty to eighty-five years old. After the grapes are hand-harvested, they are
fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts. ÀN/2 is aged for thirteen months in barrique (70 percent
French and 30 percent American oak). The wine shows aromas of honeysuckle and jasmine and has ripe,
round flavors on the palate. Extremely refreshing, with lovely, soft tannins, the raspberry-like finish is long
and complex.
2012:
91 WE |
2010:
92 WA |
2009:
91 WA