FIRST STEP Paso Primero Tinto 2019

The Paso Primero estate is the adventure of an English couple who gave up everything to take up winegrowing. Thomas and Emma Holt first went to New Zealand, then to Canada, working at various wineries before arriving in northern Spain to found their own. The region produces grapes of very high quality (thanks to the high altitude and cool climate of Somontano). The grape varieties in this cuvée's blend were chosen for their suitability to the Somontano climate. As each variety ripens at slightly different times, Thomas and Emma make use of the full spectrum of their grapes' ripeness and capture their most desirable characteristics. The early pickings of Merlot and Tempranillo bring plenty of red fruit flavours to Paso Primero, while the final picking of Cabernet Sauvignon gives the wine structure and complexity. Fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks, then 30% of the wine is aged for 6 months in oak barriques, giving the wine a fine overall balance. On the palate, the wine expresses aromas of wild strawberries, red cherry, raspberry, ground coffee, leather, black mushrooms, liquorice and pepper. The wine is powerful, yet the alcohol is surprisingly discreet, no doubt thanks to the well-judged blend and refreshing acidity. The finish ends on lovely spice and calls for fine meat dishes...

The history of wine in Spain is so old that no one really knows who brought the first vines to the region. When the Phoenicians arrived some 3,000 years ago and founded the present-day cities of Cádiz and Jerez, viticulture was well established and Spanish wines were widely marketed throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa.



You could say that Spain is a wine miracle. After years spent away from the world of fine wines, she is today a major player. Investment and ambition in the vineyards and cellars results in increasingly rich and complex (often very alcoholic) and spicy reds which are increasingly appreciated by international consumers.



Proud to have more land devoted to vines than any other country, Spain is only beginning to capitalize on this resource consistently. Spain is an anarchic tangle of regions and sub-regions, just as its landscape is an anarchic tangle of incredibly raw landscapes. A glance at a map reveals the climatic diversity among Spain's many wine regions, from the soggy green vineyards of Galicia on the northern Atlantic coast to the toasty vineyards of southeastern the Mediterranean. Spain's saving grace, in terms of viticulture, is the average altitude of its vineyards, above 600 meters. A large part of Spanish vineyards therefore manage to produce grapes of good color and acidity simply because night temperatures are relatively low and the grapes do not ripen until the end of a sufficiently long growing period.



But there is real treasure to be found for those willing to dig and, now that a class of connoisseurs has developed in Spain, all manner of ambitious investors have done their part to change the image of Spanish wine . Today, a new generation of winemakers has quietly begun making spectacular wines and experimenting with grape varieties that would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Wine remains an important commodity and is an integral part of Spanish culture.