Better known for being the creator of two of the Mayetería Sanluqueña wines, Rafael Rodríguez, third generation of grape growers, combines his profession as a quantity surveyor with his passion for farming vineyards and with the production of artisanal and unfortified white wines under the Barrialto brand.
While he studies an online master's degree in winemaking, he gradually builds his dream and in 2019 he moved to an old tavern in Sanlúcar's Barrio Alto -hence the name- which he has transformed into a winery in his spare time. "It's a project to cook slowly in the oven, rather than in the microwave: everything happens at a slow pace and you have to be on top of it," he says.
In his small space he has old barrels that contain new white wines such as his Barrialto Aranzá (1,750 bottles, 10 euros), named after the district where the wine is grown and the traditional agricultural measure of the area.
His first vintage on the market is 2018. It is a 60-year-old Palomino and is grown on three hectares on La Palma vineyard, in the pago Balbaína, and belongs to a grower who is a family friend. The albariza soils in this part of the vineyard are tosca cerrada, harder than the famous barajuela and with less diatoms, and it usually gives wines with volume. To make the wine, Rafa ferments the grapes spontaneously in old manzanilla casks where it rests for six months until it is bottled. With pleasant hints of apples, citrus fruits and a touch of saltiness, it is a pleasant and easy-drinking wine.
Within his "traditional" range, in addition to Barrialto Aranzá, Rafa makes Lambuzo, a Palomino with a layer of flor from the 2018 vintage that will be released "soon, but with no hurry". The name is a local word that refers, according to Rafa, to people who like to eat between meals. It comes from a vineyard next to Casabón, where one of its wines for Mayetería Sanluqueña is made, and has an extra degree of flavour and structure compared to his entry-level wine.
His “rebel” range includes three more wines, all of them made in very small quantities -barely 600 bottles each- which are still resting in the bodega. Rafa splits them according to the way they’ve been made. Barrialto Sobre Lías is a single butt with a blend of grapes from Balbaína, with tosca cerrada soils, and from Maína, with pure albariza de barajuelas soils, which rest with their lees for three months. Bottled in July, it is a white wine just under 12% abv that combines intensity and a savoury character. The Barrialto Sobremaduro butt contains a wine made with grapes that were harvested at the end of September in a micro plot in Hornillos. Barrialto Orange (2019 is the first vintage) spent four months in contact with its skins before being pressed. For the time being, Rafa keeps it in an old butt at 14% abv with no layer of flor. His idea is to wait 24 months to release it.
Barrialto does not receive visitors as such, but if wine lovers get in touch with Rafa, he will gladly welcome them to his small bodega in Sanlúcar, which he has painstakingly restored.