A few years back I was a lucky visitor a to Anima Negra, as part of a five winery tour I organized when visiting Palma de Mallorca one spring week. Of the five, Anima Negra and Jaume Mesquida were the two standout wineries as they were willing to go well beyond traditional, and make wines that were modern in style, yet steeped in the traditional ways.
The Jaume Mesquida Chardonnay was one of most individually imopressive wines I've ever had, and their reds were stellar. But it was the wines of Anima Negra that were so impressive. The reason..They are so well made. The white Quibia is a delightfully rich wine that has melons and tropical fruit from end to end, but it's the Anima Negra and the AN/2 that always take my heart rate up a few beats, as the Callet grape, which is native to Mallorca, makes for such a world class, food friendly wine.
The 2013 AN/2 is one of those perfect wine no matter what you eat. It can be machango cheese, Iberico ham, garlicky shrimp, spicy peppers de padron or even lemon and garlic sauteed mushrooms. The food doesn't matter as the AN/2 stands up to everything making it one of the most diverse and food friendly reds around. The body is well structured, the aromas are black plums, raspberry and cherry. On the palate the flavors of currants, black plums, bing cherry and black licorice are the most evident.
AN/2 and its siblings are always worth seeking out…