Mas Irene 2016

BIO/Organic wine

Ideally drink now through 2023. Decant 1 hour prior to drinking.

The Pares Balta Mas Irene is styled after a right-bank Bordeaux blend, with Merlot and Cabernet Franc combining to form a soft, structured, and intense wine. Deep ruby in color, almost opaque, this wine has an intense and complex nose of candied blackberry, cherry, clove, and balsamic glaze. In the mouth this wine is smooth and voluptuous, with a mixed berry jam and toasted oak flavor that stays on the tongue for a pleasantly long finish. Fine grained tannins carry throughout a sip, never drying or overwhelming.

The Pares Balta Mas Irene would be ideally paired with roasted lamb, pasta with meat sauce, or a lightly peppered steak seared on a hot grill, and served with a mushroom gravy.

Pares Balta’s Microcuvee line consists of small batches of wine from what the family believes is their best terroir; these wines are hard to come by, and being certified organic and biodynamic only sweetens the deal. For the Mas Irene, a 5-day pre-fermentation cold soak helps to extract color and aroma without getting too much tannin. Then, a prolonged fermentation between 23-28 days helps to get the perfect amount of tannin without it ever being drying. Aging for 13 months in new French oak barriques helps to further soften the wine, leading to its drinkable nature on release, with no aging necessary. However, a couple years in a cellar wouldn’t hurt!