Enate Merlot-Merlot 2006
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ENATE and art – they almost rhyme which is, perhaps, no coincidence – come together at a lofty point: the desire to create. When it began in 1992, the winery decided that the pairing of winemaking and contemporary culture would be an essential feature of its character. Then, ENATE began a contemporary art collection, bringing together works by Spanish and international artists. Since then, each of our wines has been associated with a well-known painter, with a work painted specially for our winery appearing on the label. Antonio Saura, a Spanish painter based in France for a much of his life, was the first artist to decorate one of our bottles: the Chardonnay Barrica. In time, this work has become one of the symbols identifying ENATE.
In the same way as a winery is unthinkable without wine, ENATE accepted art as the very essence of its identity. The two concepts begin together and mutually enrich one another. Today, ENATE is both a winery and a museum. It is both a wine shop and an art gallery and its character has been formed in the excellence of both. Its barrels and walls sum up the great wines of Spain, inhabited by the genius of the great Spanish and international creators.
The art making up ENATE’s excellent picture gallery is understood beyond the winery until its essential meaning is reached: the earth itself. At ENATE, we understand that the quality of our wines begins with the land, in the vineyard. We have 450 hectares of our own vineyards, allowing us to control and guarantee the quality of our grapes and vines as far as possible. All ENATE’s plots are in municipalities belonging to the D.O. Somontano in the province of Huesca. Our wines are drunk throughout Spain. ENATE is also present in 48 countries of Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Literally meaning ‘under the mountain,’ Somontano is a diverse region located in the foothills of the south central Pyrenees. Heavy winter rains supply the region with water even throughout the summer.