In the deep and rural Extremadura, an exotic land where fighting bulls and iberian swine roam free on pasturelands, there in the distance, among the green grass and the red poppies, an avant-garde architectural monument has emerged, a museum or a wine cellar? - many might ask themselves. Well, there shouldn’t be much difference between both; and this is what bodegas Habla is trying to prove to the world. Their wager: breaking with any concepts and stereotypes and producing unique creations that they pamper and curate, like true pieces of art. And they must be doing something right, because they look like art (some might say perfumes), but they do taste like heaven.
My admiration for bodegas Habla started many years ago, when I was a modest waitress at a luxury train, whose mission was to translate the sommelier into English, French and German. Guests were given local wines and food in each of the legs of their trip, and in Extremadura it was Habla. While savouring their wines in order to prepare that night’s tasting notes, their crianza, Habla de la Tierra, caught my attention. Years later, I saw it at my parents' wine shop, and I grinned. Now there would be Habla at home. And so my wishes came true and I tasted one after the other every Christmas and summer. My favourite so far was Habla del mar, but today, to my surprise it has been beaten.
Tour & Taste
Going back to the wine cellar, these 200 hectares of slate, are located in a rather difficult and demanding land, but if we know anything about wine it is that the best wines grow under difficult conditions. Their building is not only a perfect piece of contemporary architecture, but also functional to allow an optimal flow of work for wine production, and as guests, you will feel it. You will flow from room to room, admiring their aesthetics and glimpsing their state-of-art as if you were in the Louvre. They have different projects and international vineyards. Among them we can highlight their collection wines (N3, N4, N5, etc.) which come in limited quantities, their innovative projects, such as Habla de mar, which ferments in barrels under the sea, or Moses, a champagne. However, they have also decided to make quality affordable for every pocket, and have an affordable but delicious collection that has won many awards such as Habla de ti, Habla del Silencio, Habla de la Tierra, who are known found in most restaurant sin Extremadura and other parts of Spain.
After the exquisite visit, you will have the most interesting part, the taste. Today we tasted:
Habla del mar, a white wine of a secret varietal that has been fermented under the sea, which confers the wine a slight but delicious salinity that makes it ideal to pair with seafood. On the nose, seabreeze with a slightly pineapple and citric touch. Its salinity increases in the mouth, and so its flavour. A very complex and delicious wine, that for me is a must to try.
Habla de ti: a fresh sauvignon blanc with tropical notes on the nose and mouth, and a slightly herbal touch, as it is characteristic of this variety. It is an elegant and matured wine with a long finish, due to its fermentation “sur lie”.
Habla 25: my favourite, a 100% cabernet franc. Quite powerful on the nose, with malolactic, tannic and oak notes, has a remarkable smoothness. Despite being powerful and having a quite present body, it has one of the rounded and silkiest tannins I have ever tasted, making it dangerously easy to drink for a wine of its power. Apparently, it has to do with their pumping technique.
Habla 26: I was looking forward to trying this 100% malbec, and after the first shock, I really enjoyed it. I was expecting what you know from the books, malbec is usually described by black fruits such a black sherries, blackberries, plums, chocolate, cocoa, tobacco and lots of oak. However, this was very floral. I saw some lavender outside by the field and remember what they said, wine catched aromas of what they have nearby. Therefore, the strong lavender smell made sense. In the mouth black sherries appeared. Despite being medium body and smooth, it had a long finish, which denotes its complexity.
Trujillo
After the wine cellar, we went to Trujillo, the nearby mediaeval town which sits over a hill overlooking the centre. You will feel like you are time travelling. If at Habla you saw avant-garde, here you will experience the past. Their streets and fortress are so authentic, you will really wonder if you are in the 15th century. Their town square looks exactly as it should, full of tapas bars and people enjoying the winter sun. Making a reservation on a weekend, we struggled to find a spot.
