Dear Casa Carmen Family,

The past few weeks have been a cacophony of emotions. From uncertainty and fear to comradery and hope, we have been forced—as a town, as a state, as a country, and as a world—to reevaluate our most fundamental assumptions about the edifice that we have built and to adjust to an unprecedented situation.

But despite the hardship and the fear, beautiful things have happened. While only a month ago, we might have complained about the loneliness and individualism of the modern world, now, from the actual solitude of our isolation, we see people reaching out in whatever means possible to lend love and support. At least, that has been our experience, which is why we want to reiterate that this is a community.

We are indeed bound by our love of wine and food, but, more importantly, by friendship. We have been in contact with many of you, and always want to remind everyone that we are here, that we are in this together, that we have felt your love and want you to feel ours. We hope that you feel some of that through the passion, love and care that we have put into making these wines of our new vintage.

First, our 2018 Tinto is our yearly release of our staple red. Much like the 2017 Tinto, this wine is a medium-bodied red that exemplifies what can consistently be done in our terroir when grapes are treated carefully. It spent 15 months in French oak and it is filled with notes of red berries and black pepper. It is lovely to drink now, but wonders will happen after a year or two in your cellar.

Similarly, our 2019 Rosé is the yearly release of our staple. As usual, this wine is lively and crisp. It was made through partial direct press and fermented anaerobically to maximize its fresh fruit characteristics. It has lovely notes of peaches, apricots and berries, and it is drinkability at its best. It is a wine that makes us want to drink under the sun, close our eyes, throw our head back, smack our lips, and raise our glass with the certainty that everything in this world is lighter than what it seems.

Finally, this is our first year releasing an Albariño. For those of you who are not familiar with this varietal, it originates in the Iberian Peninsula and is particularly popular in the Rías Baixas region in northwestern Spain, where it is the principal companion to the bounty of the seas. The cool waters of the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian coastline are home to some of the most amazing seafood in the world, particularly squid, octopus, barnacles and, perhaps the star of it all, the European Anchovy. The hills of the so-called “Green Spain” end in a rugged coast dotted with fishing towns filled with bars, bodegas and pulperías, where Albariño is consumed voraciously along with mounds of fresh fish. Albariño is as versatile as the green hills and the rugged coasts on which it grows. It is a wine that pairs well with both the murmur of waves and with the tumultuous sound of loud voices and music, with silence and with laughter. It pairs well with the coastline, with the streets and with the country. It pairs well with the bright sun and the dim bulb. But it pairs especially well with Cantabrian anchovies and octopus. Our 2019 Albariño is a beautiful example of how this varietal grows in the new world. It is crisp on the palate and has aromas of lavender, lemon zest and tropical fruits.

We truly hope that you enjoy these wines, and please stay tuned for the release of our 2019 Viognier and 2018 Duende. They are still settling in the cellar and will be ready soon. Meanwhile we want to sit with the awareness that world has been forced to pause and, as much as possible, we want to welcome that pause and open our hearts to what it might bring, and what better way to do so than to begin by opening a bottle of wine.

Salud (literally),
Enrique