A shared vision of balance and authenticity
So, the scales represent balance, and hopefully not in too clichéd a fashion. The wines in the range have intrinsic balance; there is a balance between indigenous Spanish varieties and modern winemaking and with the label design there is a balance between New World dynamism and a more traditional gentility represented by the Alhambra motifs found on the label and capsule . We also have the Spanish umbrella brand La Báscula matched by sub-brands in English for each of the wines in the range. Taking the analogy further, there is also the balance between the 2 partners in the project, Ed Adams and Bruce Jack. Ed speaks Spanish and has the winery contacts whilst Bruce has all the winemaking savvy and market feel.
What happens when you take a Master of Wine and a multi-award winning South African winemaker and put them together...
La Báscula has two meanings in Spanish: – either it’s an old fashioned weighing scales or a large weighbridge for lorries. When deciding what to call their new Spanish wine range, Englishman Ed Adams MW and South African winemaker Bruce Jack chose the first definition on the basis that a weighbridge would not look so good on a wine label.
Philosophy
The philosophy is small volumes and really high quality; also the lead varietal or varietals in all the wines are always native Spanish grapes which is very important for typicity and integrity. We believe all the wines represent excellent value for money and really show off the areas they come from. We have made small but significant changes in the winemaking and handling as well as introducing our own excellent American barrels from Barrel Associates, California, the same barrels Bruce’s Flagstone winery uses in South Africa. The result is fine, ripe, concentrated wines without some the dryness on the finish that is sometimes evident even in top Spanish offerings.
La Báscula started life with just two wines in the range, both Monastrell based red wines from Jumilla, south-east Spain. We can now offer a full range to cover the whole dinner party with additions from Rioja, Rueda, Catalonia and an exquisite dessert wine from near Alicante.