The colour is pale ruby. On the nose cherries accompanied by balsamic and smoky notes. In the mouth the wine is rather rustic, but in a fascinating way. It has a medium body, good acidity and a drying, slightly bitter finish that dominates the aftertaste.
This wine is produced with 100% Sumoll grapes under the DO Penedés. It is an edición limitada made by Torres at its acquired Jean Leon Winery. I drank bottle number 1’405 out of the 2’182 produced with grapes from old bush vines planted in 1975 at 250 m/s.
Sumoll is a red grape variety native of the Penedès region of Catalonia, Spain. It is drought resistant and was once widely grown throughout the region, but recently got almost extinct. The variety gives large grapes but low yields and is quite difficult to work with. Vines have therefore been pulled up in favor of less temperamental varieties.
Nowadays wine growers are starting to recover and appreciate this variety, as they do with others on the verge of extinction. The reason being that they see an opportunity to create original wines that differentiate them from the big companies focused on the international ubiquitous varieties like Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.
Curiously, Jean Leon has been the first wine producer of Catalonia that pulled up traditional grape varieties to plant international grape varieties. Fashion clearly changes in the wine industry as elsewhere.
Bodegas Torres is one of the most famous wine companies in the world and, as Sumoll, is native of Penedès. I bought this bottle for 14.20 EUR at their Mas la Plana Estate situated close to Vilafranca de Penedès. While visiting I got to taste Torres’ most prestigious red wine, which carries the same name. I frankly found the Mas la Plana 2015, which is made 100% with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, a bit overdone.
Country: Spain
Region: Penedès
Grapes: Sumoll
Type: Red
Vintage: 2016
Producer: Bodega Jean Leon
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 4/5