Forlong Blanco 2017
Bodegas Forlong is one of the young winemakers in the sherry region, producing white and red table wines that are sometimes flirting with the sherry heritage (using the same grapes, albariza soil, sometimes a veil of flor, etc.). The company was started in 2009 by Alejandro Narváez and Rocío Áspera with a first bottling in 2012 and the first Blanco in 2013.
Bodega Forlong (source: Twitter @bodegadeforlong)
Their baseline Forlong Blanco is made with 90% Palomino and 10% Pedro Ximénez grapes, grown on a very pure albariza soil near El Puerto de Santa María. They pick by hand, chill the grapes to 6°C while doing a heavy grape selection, then destem before pressing and go up to 15°C for spontaneaous fermentation (both varietals separately) lasting around three weeks. The wine then stays on the fine lees for 6 months, in a hermetically sealed container which is only opened 4 times for stirring.
This is a certified organic (biodynamic) wine, made with minimal amounts of sulfite. In fact they are the only certified organic vineyard in the area.
Forlong Blanco 2017 (12,5%, Bodegas Forlong, 1750 btl.)
Nose: very mineral, with hints of wet stones and oyster shells. Plenty of yellow apple to start, but as it opens op it becomes slightly more fruity and tropical, with lime peel and banana. Hints of dried flowers and chamomile too. Nice.
Mouth: quite dry but also full-bodied, showing a coastal tang at first, mixed with subdued orchard fruits and very light skin tannins. Some acidity but more towards the bulky side (says this Riesling and Albariño addict). Clear salty notes towards the end, as well as almond bitterness and Mediterranean herbs like thyme. Less sexy than the nose and certainly not exuberant, but it grows on you. Fairly short finish, still very mineral.
Availability: around € 9 in Spain. For international shipping you might want to check The Drinks Shop or Bodeboca.
Summary: An interesting white wine that demands to be paired to food. Perfect with seafood for instance. It has a character of its own, which makes this a nice introduction to the bodega. That said, I prefer almost every other wine they make (stay tuned).
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About the Author
Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be
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