Selma de Nin 2017

This is an absolutely unusual wine. It comes from a vineyard called El Plà de Manlleu below the Castillo de Selma in Ester Nin's home in Alt Penedès. She and Carles Ortiz planted a mixed set of 25 % Roussanne, Marsanne, Chenin blanc and Parellada Montonegra each on one hectare there in 2008. The vines stand at an altitude of 750 metres on clay and limestone. After harvest, the whole clusters are crushed and the juice left on the skins for 24 hours. Then they are slowly pressed and both fermented and aged in barriques.

medium straw yellow

Everything about this wine is extraordinary. And that is precisely why Selma de Nin developed into one of the great Mediterranean white wines. Ester and Carles Nin-Ortiz have put two Rhône classics in the vineyard, Roussanne and Marsanne. So far, so common. To add Chenin Blanc is unusual, but one can understand it if one knows and appreciates the best Chenins from South Africa. The fact that the Spanish Parellada Montonegra variety is added makes the Gemischter Satz unique. And so, in a way, it is also the olfactory components that form a complex structure. Initially, there is a bit of a reductive pop of flint and flinty aroma. However, this is only briefly in the foreground. Things get more layered with a melange of white flowers and broom, herbs and spices like dried thyme and fennel pollen, sage, saffron and licorice, pepper and dried grapefruit peel interplaying with salt lemons, blood oranges and a bit of smokiness. Without question, this is a tremendously Mediterranean scent.

On the palate Selma de Nin an impressive size and stature. Not only is the wine beguilingly juicy and fresh, it also turns on the palate like there's no tomorrow. At Selma de Nin melons and lemons, grapefruits and oranges along with their peels provide a juicy mixture and are accompanied by the finest bitter notes reminiscent of fennel pollen. In addition, there is a very fine caramel sweetness from the perfectly used wood, and the wine offers a white-fleshed fruit as well as a lot of spice and bitter notes. These, however, are not disturbing but piquant and refreshing, coming from both the citrus and spicy directions. Fennel pollen is found here as well as grapefruit zest. In addition, there is salt next to chalky notes and in the finish some fruit from the white peach and also, at the very end, a little caramel from the barrel ageing. This is so coherent and harmonious, so gripping and punchy, so silky and salty that Selma de Nin gives you a pleasant shiver down your spine. It is a solitaire, which on the one hand is located in warm regions, but which on the other hand rather reminds of the best Burgundy in terms of finesse, liveliness, and indeed also freshness. Chapeau!