Wine Tasting with Charlotte Allen

We went to a wine tasting this evening with an English winemaker, Charlotte Allen, who has made Fermoselle her home since 2007. Prior to the wine tasting we met Charlotte at one of the “cellars” that she had previously used to produce her wine. She outgrew the space in about 2016 and passed it on to her friend Roberto who has now also outgrown the space but is still there as he hasn’t found an alternative.

Charlotte moved to a disused discotheque, but more on that later. The cellar she showed us was quite unusual as it didn’t have stairs but instead a ramp which made it easier to move things in and out. The inner area of the cellar consisted of two chambers that have been chipped out of the solid granite. They were impressive spaces with domed ceilings. There were also three wells in the cellar that are sources of fresh and cold water.

A friend of Charlotte has dated the cellar as being at least 500 years old. She also suspects that Jewish people, who were forced to convert to Catholicism or be expelled at the time, may have continued to practice their religion in private in the chambers away from prying eyes. The well in the larger chamber has 7 steps leading down to a well, which suggests it was part of ritual washing practiced by women in Judaism.

Following the tour of the cellars and the history lesson we headed over to Charlotte’s current winery and work space which, as I mentioned earlier, is housed in a disused discotheque that closed in the 1990’s. it is a large flat space that works well as a place to produce wine. The disco mirror balls, palm trees on the wall and funky bar areas add to its charm and uniqueness.

We tried a range of her wines, starting with a white which was a field blend and went very well with a sheep cheese she provided. We then had her Cielos & Besos (Hugs and Kisses) wine which was a young unoaked blend of Juan Garcia and other local varieties. We then tried her more upmarket “Mateo” wine named after her son. It was a “crianza” that was a blend of mencía and brunal, and was a very nice drop.

We then tried her “”Licores”, a blend of grappa made by a retired policeman and sugar and water. It was pretty good and easier to drink than eau de vie. It was very smooth, even though it was about 43% proof.

We then headed to dinner at Restaurant Espana, recommended by Charlotte as one of the better local ones. We had dinner in a fairly noisy upper section of the restaurant, and it didn’t disappoint.Read more