Spanish Soul

Spanish Soul

Sembro Tempranillo, Vendimia Seleccionada 2012, Ribera del Duero, 13.5%, €14.99, imported by Wine Alliance  and widely available.

Some wines you only ever get to know briefly, a shakehands and a pleasant meeting and soon you don’t remember the name. This one makes more of a mark, goes that bit deeper. It has something special. From the heart of the Ribera del Duero it brings an expression of authenticity. I won’t easily forget the name of this magnificent Tempranillo.

Colour is a dark red and the pleasant aroma is of red fruits. On the palate it is fruity and smooth and then you have an excellent dry finish. After four to six months in new oak, there is some spice but it is pleasingly moderate. Very Highly Recommended.

The Osborne family, better known for their sherry, has been connected to the wine trade since 1772, are the producers.

Just had a quick look at the region in the World Atlas of Wine (available in Bradley’s) and was surprised to see that Swiss pharma company Novartis, “founded a vast property” there in 1996. More traditional wine names, including recent investors Torres and Faustino, have joined Osborne as Ribera investors.

Indeed, the region itself has only recently taken off, as “there were just 24 bodegas in the region when the DOP was created in 1982”. Going by this Sembro, we can expect more good things from Ribera del Duero in the years ahead.

Last Minute Wine Suggestions

Last Minute Wine Suggestions

 Top one goes with "a variety of meats" - ideal for Christmas!

Tim Adams, Bluey’s Block Single Vineyard Grenache, Clare Valley 2009, 14.5%, €16.99 Curious Wines 

Colour is a very light red and the aromatics are pretty if restrained. The magic is on the palate. Fruity for sure but very very refined and so well balanced. It has of course, the typical spice of the variety and, what you might not expect, an ABV of 14.5%. Must say it was love at first bite (well, first sip) with this mouth filling beauty, with its subtle tannins (supple, the label says) and its long fruity driven finish. Goes with a variety of meats and is Very Highly Recommended.

Viñedos Iberian, Yaso, Tinta de Toro 2010, 13.5%, stockists 

Familia Osborne (of Sherry fame) owns Viñedos Iberian and this Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo to most of us!) is a classy bottle. Yaso comes from a selection of old vineyards in the Zamora region of the Toro DO. They’ve been growing vines here for over 2000 years and this is named after the Greek goddess of healing.

Not sure I needed any healing when I opened this red the other day but I sure felt good as the initial sips came in and better as the silky liquid reached all areas.  It has an intense concentration of red fruits – you see it in the bright cherry colour and catch it in the aromas – and it is prominent again on the long finish. Highly Recommended.

Kerpen Riesling 2010 (Blauschiefer, Bernkastel, Mosel), €17.52, Karwig Wines

This estate bottled Riesling is a my favourite of mine, confirmed as recently as last Sunday. It is bright with straw green colours and modestly aromatic. Ripe fruits reach all areas before a long dry finish. Luscious apple-ly fruits yet really well balanced and with a great texture. Good with fish with light sauces or on its own as an aperitif. Highly recommended, not for the first time!.

The vineyards are on the slopes of the River Mosel, a tributary of the Rhine.

Check out the full 2013 list of recommendations here 

Do you like black on your plate?

Colour barrier on a plate
A wee jar of Squid Ink.

Getaria. The shop is on the right!

Black is not a colour I'd normally see on my plate unless of course it is black pudding! Indeed, it can be hard to get over the colour barrier that a dominant black presents in a dish. And so it was with some trepidation that I screwed the cap off a small jar I bought the summer before last in a small town, Getaria, on the beautiful coast of North West Spain.

The label said, Salsa de Chipiron, and the gooey contents were pure black. Translated the ingredients and it read: Onion, Olive Oil, Water, Tomato, Squid Ink, salt and spices. But what to do with it? Squid ink is widely used (though not in Ireland) with pasta, noodles, rice and also with the squid itself, with cuttlefish and scallops.

Before

But this was late on a Saturday afternoon and a bit late to be wandering down town. So, we had to make do with what was in the cupboard. No fish but we did have fresh chorizo from Gubbeen and some pasta, enough to make a starter. Enough to be going on with. Soon the pasta was cooking and then came the transformation when the contents of the jar were added.

Some cut tomatoes were thrown in and the moment of truth soon followed and it was fine, really fine. The chorizo soaked up the ink and were hardly visible among the general blackness but you knew for sure when you bit into one. Overall, the flavour was very pleasant indeed, not at all fishy, and the spicy explosions of the chorizo rings enhanced the whole thing.

During

So, if you ever find yourself on the Basque coast, in either Getaria or Hondarribia, be sure and call into the shop of the family owned cannery Salanort. They also sell anchovies, bobito, tuna, octopus, sardines, and indeed some very good examples of the local wine, the very dry Txakoli.

After. Chorizo (centre left) well coated

Had to have a bit of colour after that and it is provided by the classic bacon and cabbage. The loin of bacon came from the local Dunne’s Stores, a fine piece by Truly Irish. The cabbage and potato cakes (a mix of normal and sweet) added to the colour and the enjoyment.

Colours of Ireland

Torres Tasting at Bradley’s

Torres Tasting at Bradley’s

Torres Tasting at Bradley’s

Bodegas Torres, probably best known here because of their Vina Sol and Sangre de Toro labels, is the largest wine company in Spain and exports to 140 countries. They also run wineries in Chile and California.

Their Brand Manager Marta Delfa will be in town next week. Bradley’s Off Licence on North Main Street is the venue for a two continent tasting. There’ll be a rosé and white from Chile and two reds from Spain.

It is an interesting line-up and I’m really looking forward to tasting the Ibericos, their first wine from La Rioja, their most recent regional venture in Spain. See more about Torres wines on You Tube (links at bottom).

Details:

Venue: Bradley’s, 81/82 North Main Street, Cork.

Date: Wednesday November 6^th.

Time: 3.00pm to 5.00pm.

The wines:

Torres Ibericos Rioja Crianza Spain

Ibericos is Torres' first wine produced in Spain's most famous wine region, Rioja. Deep red cherry colour. On the nose it reveals notes of black ripened fruits and spicy aromas (cocoa and nutmeg) from the wood. Silky in the mouth with pleasant tannins. Long and spicy aftertaste. Tomas Clancy of the Sunday Business Post gave Ibericos 89 points and found it a "Polished, glossy and vibrant Tempranillo, bursting with blackcurrant and leather, rounded out with modernist tannic grip. Pitch perfect for drinking now". Accompanies roasted meats, stews, Iberian charcuterie and cured cheeses.

Torres Celeste Crianza Ribera Del Duero Spain

Made entirely from Tempranillo, rich, full bodied style, brimming with fruit and colour. Intense blackberry colour. Spicy and intense nose, with liquorice and black pepper hints on a base of well ripened fruits (blackberry and cherry). On the palate, very fruity at first with ripened tannins, also persistent and full bodied. Owing to its fruity and tannic characteristics, this wine pairs well with a great variety of meat dishes including roasts and small game.

Miguel Torres Santa Digna Sauvignon Blanc (Chile)

This unwooded Sauvignon Blanc is a lively dry elegant refreshing style showing a lovely combination of green apple flavours supported by ripe tropical fruits. Zesty, clean finish.

Miguel Torres Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé (Chile)

Fragrant and floral, with a temptingly fruity sensuality. On the palate the wine is voluptuous, with a silky texture and the sort of fresh, fruity body (blackcurrant, cranberry, redcurrant) that only Pacific Cabernet Sauvignon rosés can offer. Delicious with cured sausages, meat pies and many pasta dishes. The perfect wine for sweet-and-sour Chinese dishes.

See more about Torres wines on You Tube (links below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKZDUw1STOI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xSbIXbOcnE

Telmo sees future of Spanish Wine in the past

Telmo sees future of Spanish Wine in the past

Magnificent Seven

Wine lover Telmo Rodriguez, he doesn’t particular like being called a wine-maker, declared in Ballymaloe last evening that wine in Spain “had been in the wrong hands, now it is starting to be in the right hands. I am between a boring generation and an exciting generation”.

To find the brighter future, Telmo went back to the past. He could have had comfortably slotted into the family winery Remelluri but, after an intensive wine education in France, he eventually headed off on his own.

And to the most unlikely places. Barren hillsides where vineyards had been abandoned. Sometimes a few survived with practices dating back five hundred years, including “beautiful bush vines”.

“I support the bush vines,” he said and, pointing to the wines he was showing, “I am proud that none of these were on trellis. Small bush produce rich concentrated wine. And the bush protects the grapes from the hot sun. Grapes on trellis are like a sun-burned Irishman in Marbella.”

He deplores the New World concentration on the grape variety as the most important element. “In the Old World, the grape is the loudspeaker to show a place”, a medium to convey “the taste of a place”. Oak he sees as an enemy of that taste. “When oak becomes cosmetic, we are destroying the taste of the place. None of my wines are called Crianza – doesn’t matter to me.”

He spoke fondly of the family vineyards at Remelluri which have a history dating back hundreds and hundreds of years – in the 16th century the monks were already producing wine there.

Telmo remembers the mules coming in and working in the vineyards and also when his father bought the first tractor. After France, Telmo worked there for a while before moving out from what was considered the first Bordeaux style chateau in Rioja.

But now he is back. And has been for some years. The big estate, which had always tended that way, is now “absolutely organic, with plenty of grass and flowers, and we are always working to be more pure, more radical. The sense of history and place is very important to me.”

Yours truly and Telmo (right)

He showed seven wines in all and each had a story. Perhaps the strangest was that of his Mountain wine, the Malaga Molino Real, a sweet wine. This was a dream he pursued, having heard references to it via the unlikely pairing of Shakespeare and Hugh Johnson.

But it had disappeared and off he went to Malaga and began to search for the high altitude old vineyards and, as is his habit, talked a lot to the old people and in particular to the old women drying grapes by hand and they told him that “every single grape was massaged by hand” in the old days.

He didn’t go that far but, in 1998, settled on an area and with advice from Château Y’Quem, started production. He secured a plot and then planted it with Moscatel.  It took three or four years. He finally got it right and the exquisite result was in our glasses last night. “Never did any business with this wine but I’m proud of it.”

Reckon Telmo has quite a lot to be proud of. And, with a record of longevity in the family, he has quite a future ahead of him and is sure to keep Spanish wine-makers on their toes, to all our benefit.

WHITES

GALICIA:

Albariño de Fefiñanes 2012

MALAGA:

Mountain blanco 2011

REDS

GALICIA:

 As Caborcas 2010

CEBREROS:

Pegaso granito 2008

RIOJA:

R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rioja Reserva  2001

Remelluri Gran Reserva 2005

Lanzaga 2008

SWEET WHITE

MALAGA:

Molino Real 

During the tasting, we had some lovely Spanish nibbles provided by Sylvia and Olga of La Cocina who can see at local Farmers Markets, including Douglas (Saturday) and Blackrock (Sunday).

White Gems from NW Spain

White Gems from NW Spain

 

Samaniego, an old village in Rioja
taken thorugh the glass of the Baigorri winery

Vina Tondonia Blanco 1996 Reserva, Rioja Alta, 12.5%

When I first noticed this 100 per cent Viura, with a rich honey colour, on the shelf in Tondonia in Haro, I thought “this has to be a dessert wine”. I said as much but was quickly corrected: “All these whites are dry,” said the lady in the bodega, who had learned her English in Dublin.

So we had a taste and yes it is dry. And so much more! There are gorgeous floral blossoms on the nose. On the palate, there is a soft explosion of beautiful exotic flavours but, while rich, the aged wine is well crafted and well balanced, all leading to a very pleasing, lingering dry finish. Indeed, there are constant reminders of sherry. This is surely something different and very highly recommended.

I had accidentally come to the right place for old whites! “To talk in our bodega of white wines being exclusively young and uncomplicated, would be asking for trouble. We have never been averse to ageing white wines in oak for as long as reds, and the result is much more surprising than might be expected.”

“ When this type of wine has spent a long time in contact with oak, the oaky tastes and aromas are overly noticeable and even unbalanced. Nevertheless, when left for a few more years in bottles, the rough edges of oak become sufficiently polished and balanced to create a seductive bouquet of spice, bitter almonds, vanilla and walnut, trademarks of the majestic and opulent Viña Tondonia whites.”

Tondonia or, to give it its full title, Bodegas Lopez de Heredia/Tondonia, is run by two sisters who proudly protect the reputation and practices (sometimes they use material from a previous year to “correct” an unsatisfactory vintage) of this long standing family firm.

Whatever they do, they do it well. Just to finish with a quote from The Finest Wines of Rioja and Northwest Spain: “..the reason Tondonia deserves a position of prominence on the Rioja podium is the sheer quality and seductiveness of its wines, across virtually the entire portfolio”.

2011 Bodegas Rafael Palacios Valdeorras As Sortes Val do Bibei, 13.5%, Ballymaloe Wines at BT.

This was the star of the wines featured at the Jancis Robinson appearance in this summer’s Ballymaloe Literary Festival. And indeed Jancis herself is a big fan: “This is clearly the most wonderful harvest of a great wine. Great length and balance, although still very young. ..... A lovely wine with elegance to be deployed for many years.” Alas, my bottle didn’t last too long!

Jancis is not the only one to approve. The authors of The Finest Wines of Rioja and Northwest Spain (worth getting your hands on a copy) are also major fans of this Godello and the results that Palacios has achieved.”This is one of the finest whites, not only in Valdeorras or Galicia, but in the whole of Spain.”

High praise indeed, so there is hardly much need of my tuppence worth which just confirms that it is a very good wine indeed and well worth a trek into Brown Thomas in Patrick Street.

Palacios, just like Thursday’s Ballymaloe visitor Telmo Rodriguez, seeks out what look like poor hillside terroirs from which he extracts gems like this one. Indeed, the name As Sortes has to do with small plots, the result of inheritance being drawn by lot, often out of a hat, and called sorte in Galician.

Martin Codax Albariño 2011, Rias Baixas, 12.5%, €15.85 Karwig Wines

Martin Codax was a famous troubadour in Galicia in the 13th century. When 270 wine makers of the region banded together in 1986, they took the name as a symbol of the region and of its culture. Thanks to the local winemakers and in particular to the local grape Albariño, Martin is now the best travelled of all Galician troubadours.

Hope this Albariño keeps travelling in this direction. Albariño is the main grape of the appellation and now one of the best known of Galicia. Its bunches and berries are small, allowing for an early ripening. It is a sweet and lingering grape, with high levels of sugar and acidity which give the wines an amazing freshness. Traditionally cultivated in “emparrado”, it is one of the main symbols of Galicia.

This 2011 is bright and clean, full of flavours and complex aromas, a little tingling on the palate and a good dry finish, a very good example of the Albariño, pretty much an unknown grape until that coming together in 1986 when it began to emerge as a varietal, both locally and internationally.

Handsome Red at Ballymaloe

Handsome Red at Ballymaloe

Pena Roble, Ribera del Duero 2011, 14.5℅, €18.50, Ballymaloe Wines at Brown Thomas.

Had just tasted and dumped a cheap and cheerless South American red (no grape variety mentioned) before opening this. Chalk and Cheese. Actually had full confidence in the Pena Roble as I had tasted it last year at lunch in Ballymaloe, where it is the house red.

It is one hundred per cent Tempranillo and has spent six months in  American and French oak barrels. Colour is an intense red with warm inviting aromas of dark fruits and some spice. The palate reveals an extension and reinforcement of the aromas. It is complex and smooth, full and spicy, and possessed of an impressive finish.

The wine is produced by Bodegas de Penafiel, who began producing in 2000.   "All our wines are made from the indigenous variety Tempranillo. This grape, hallmark of Ribera del Duero, contains exquisite fruit notes that we extract to give our wines their own identity."

A young winery, an old grape and, for me, a new friend, one to keep close at hand. Very Highly Recommended.

Iberia Flying High

Iberia Flying High

The winemakers of Portugal and Spain certainly seem to be coming up with the goods nowadays. From Portugal, I’ve tasted some really good wines from the DAO recently along with a popular port while Spain has more than pleased with a Tempranillo from La Rioja Alta region and, not for the first time, with the Arana Rioja Reserva from the winery in Haro that bears the same name as the region.

Lagrimas de Maria, La Rioja Alta Crianza 2010, 14.5%, €13.99, stockists

This is one hundred per cent Tempranillo and made in the heart of La Rioja Alta. It spent 12 months in oak and the winemaker is Maria Martinez Maria whose hand writing appears on the labels.

Colour is a dark cherry red with aromas of forest fruits. This is Tempranillo at quite a high level, fruit for sure and hints of the oak but really well balanced and an excellent dry finish. No need for the tears, Maria. Highly Recommended.

Flor de Viseu Selection (red), DAO 2009, 13%, €12.99, stockists.

Colour is ruby red and the aromas, of moderate intensity, are those of red fruit. Red fruit also on the palate and slight spice, freshness and sufficient acidity present, and it finishes dry.

Grapes used are Tourigo National and Alfrocheiro. Should go well with red meat and cheese.

The flower on the label symbolises the thistle flower found locally. But nothing spiky about this rather smooth red wine. Highly recommended.

Viña Arana Rioja Reserva, 2004 La Rioja Alta

This wine, by the winery that bears the same name as the region, is a favourite of mine. But I am not alone. The Los Angeles Times Food section recently made it their Wine of the Week and you may read their take on it here. 

Ferreira Late Bottled Vintage Port 2007

Bought this bottle in the Basque Country last summer and it took me until now to get around to it. Don’t think I’ve seen it on sale in Ireland but Ferreira is a huge port exporter. Indeed, according to Hugh Johnson’s 2012 pocket wine book, they are the leading Portuguese owned Port shipper and “the best selling brand in Portugal”.

This is quite a gem, with beautiful flavours, great balance and a tremendous finish. Picked it up out of curiosity and it didn’t kill me. Read more about Ferreira, which is over 250 years old, here. 

Macabeo. Little known but a winner here.

Macabeo. Little known but a winner here.

Cariñena is one of Spain's most traditional wine-producing regions. Soil is poor with short bush vines on unirrigated land that barely receive any treatment due to the 7 months of “Cierzo” wind which constantly hit this region and where the grape ripens more slowly, allowing all its potential to be fullfilled.

The Macabeo grape has had a hard time getting itself known beyond the North of Spain. Macabeu and Maccabéo are other names for this grape also grown on the French side of the mountains. More of you will know it better as Viura, the main white grape in La Rioja.

Macabeo is the Spanish name though and I’ve got a 1997 Wine Encyclopaedia (American, by the way) in my hands and it makes no mention of the grape. Fast forward to 2012 and there is no mention in Oz Clarke’s Handbook.

Even in Hugh Johnson’s 2012 Pocket Book, it is included and described as “the workhorse white grape of Northern Spain” though, in fairness, he acknowledges its “Good quality potential”. Much of that potential has been realised in this bottle.

For more on this interesting variety check this article by Jancis Robinson: the Cinderella Grape

El Circo Macabeo 2012, Cariñena DO, 12.5%, €9.99 to €10.99, Stockists.

Colour is light gold with an aromatic nose. It is full of gorgeous white fruit but, don’t fear, the flavours don’t overwhelm and indeed the wine is really well balanced with a terrific finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Fontanario de Pegoes 2012, Palmela DO (Portugal), 12.5%, 10.99 to 11.99, stockists

Only the fairly serious wine students will know of the grapes used in this white. It is based mainly on the Fernao Pires variety with a touch of Arinto.

It is a strawy colour with tints of green. Nose is quite aromatic, summer fruits and traces of herbs. The young fruit has a pleasant and moderate input to the overall experience. The wine is light and refreshing, ideal on its own or with fish dishes and salads. Recommended.

Two Excellent Reds from Spain's Big Top

Two Excellent Reds from Spain

El Circo (The Circus)

Grandes Vinos  have launched a series of wines under the El Circo label, all from the Cariñena DO. Sampled two of the reds recently – they are imported by Wine Alliance – and I found the Tempranillo (one of my favourite grapes) and the Cabernet Sauvignon excellent, really good examples of the respective fruits. Both by the way are very well priced at between €9.99 and 10.99.

El Circo Tempranillo 2011, Spain, 13%, RRP €9.99 to10.99, Stockists

Dark plum and cherry on the nose and the colour is a dark red indeed. The same fruits show on the palate, the flavours smooth and delicious, and the finish is long and dry.

Picked from vineyards over forty years old, there is no mention of oak here but this is a very good example of the variety. Indeed, I reckon the young wine is on a par with quite a few Rioja crianzas.  The firm Grandes Vinos will already be familiar to many of you through their popular Beso de Vino range. Highly recommended.

El Circo Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Spain, 13%, RRP €9.99 to 10.99, Stockists, 

Colour is a dark red with dark fruits on the nose. Forthright fruit flavours, plum and blackcurrant for me, but well balanced all the way to the longish dry finish. The assertive flavours (it has spent two months in oak) should mean this young fellow matches well with red meat dishes, particularly meats from the grill.

This is a really good example of Cabernet Sauvignon at a very good price indeed. Highly recommended.

Had to make an edit here as late yesterday afternoon El Circo had some good news on their facebook page: “El Circo Contorsionista has been awarded on the gold medal in Berliner Wein Trophy.”  Contorsionista is their circus nickname for the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Baigorri Crianza and Reserva

Baigorri Crianza and Reserva

Baigorri Tempranillo Crianza 2008, La Rioja, 14.5%, €11.40 in the bodega at Samaniego.
Baigorri Tempranillo Reserva 2006, La Rioja, 14.0%, €18.66 in the bodega at Samaniego.


Happy day: the 12th June 2012. That was the day I pulled into the winery of Baigorri, its glass cube rising above but not dominating the nearby medieval village of Samaniego in La Rioja, and left with some really lovely wines, including these two.

We rang the bell and Pilar met us at the door and let us in. We were too late for the tour but had a lovely chat with the young lady who had polished off her English on the Clash Road in Little Island (Cork).

I was amazed at the stunning winery, designed and built by the architect Inaki Aspiazu, creating an unmissable yet compatible landmark. The cube is just the top of a seven storey structure that carries on underneath the surface and means that virtually every movement of the wine making process owes much to gravity.

And the results in the bottles are brilliant too.

The Crianza

Colour is dark red and there are intense aromas of red fruits, regularly found with Tempranillo in this region.

But the palate is something else, above expectations. Full of fruit flavours but very rounded, quite sophisticated. A really well made wine with a persistent finish.

Probably the best value of the wines that I bought here and very highly recommended.

The Reserva

The Reserva is another excellent wine but is pretty expensive. If I were stuck for money and in the bodega again, I’d probably buy two Crianza rather than one Reserva!

There are good reasons for the big price difference. It has been a good deal longer in the process, including longer in oak. The grapes are picked from very old vines, manually selected and de-stalked before being fermented in French oak.

It is one hundred per cent Tempranillo whereas the Crianza is a blend of 90% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha and 5% indigenous varieties.

The colour is a dark ruby red. The nose is rich with ripe fruit and hints of spice and leather. On the palate it is pleasant, warm and fruity, slightly spicy, with a supple texture drawn from the tannins and the oak, rounded and so well balanced with a persistent dry finish. Another in the very highly recommended category.

A twinning proposition: Timoleague and Samaniego

A twinning proposition: Timoleague and Samaniego

Timoleague (above) and Samaniego

Let us twin the ancient villages of Timoleague (West Cork) and Samaniego (La Rioja). Maybe I can’t pull that off but I sure can get Ummera and Baigorri together. Ummera is a famous state of the art smokehouse in Timoleague while Baigorri is a renowned state of the art winery in La Rioja.

Indeed, I have already brought them together, stumbling on a fantastic wine food pairing, as an unforeseen postscript when I recently opened a bottle of Baigorri Garnacha that I had purchased in Samaniego last summer.

Approaching the end of this bottle, I remembered that I had a few slices of the fantastic Ummera smoked duck to be finished off. Thought to myself that they might make a match.

For once, heaven agreed with me. Chewed a sliver of the duck and added a little wine. Eureka! The "chemistry"  revealed depths of smoky flavour, hitherto unsuspected. Amazingly, products from two ancient villages met on my palate and turned it into a flavour filled paradise.

Baigorri Garnacha, Rioja 2009, 14.5%, €19.54 at the winery in Haro.

Baigorri tend to experiment a bit and they even have a “garage” wine. This Garnacha has been influenced by the winemakers, a vin de l'auteur they call it. A well made wine for sure and highly recommended (very highly recommended if you add the smoked duck!) but a little pricey in comparison with their excellent Tempranillo Reserva.

Quite a dry introduction and then a bubbly rush of fruits. A flavoursome wine then with a stirring persistence. It has a rich red colour with calm fruity aromas, especially plum, plus hints of spice. Overall, the experience in the mouth echoes that of the bouquet.

Excellent Rioja Crianza

La Pinaleta Crianza, Rioja 2009 Limited Edition 23,500 bottles, 13.5%

The blend: Tempranillo 80%, Garnacha and Mazuela 20%.

The colour and nose (pretty intense) are typical of the modern Rioja style and the blend (above) gives a light, elegant and fruity wine. The attractive palate and persistent finish means it has that all important second glass appeal.

A few months before Christmas, Wine Alliance introduced some excellent new Spanish reds including: Las Pizarras Si O Sy Syrah and Yaso Tinto de Toro. This classy Crianza is from the same Osborne stalls. Perhaps, if we ask Wine Alliance nicely, the importers will add this one to the portfolio.

Very Highly Recommended. VHR

* Called to the fantastic Baigorri vineyard during a drive in La Rioja last summer and wasn't at all empty handed when I left, having been served by a lady who learned her English while staying on the Clash Road in Little Island. Am now engaged in sampling some of the fruits of that trip and will let you know in due course. Watch this space!

A Stellar Pair from Spain

A Stellar Pair from Spain

The weekend provided the opportunity to try out a pair of reds from Spain and it was time well spent with a stellar duo, each well priced. Both were really good, though the Sembro perhaps had the edge.

Las Pizarras Si O Sy Syrah 2010 Calatayud, 12.5%, (€10 to 12), Stockists 

The vineyard says tradition is respected but “our young team of winemakers are open to innovation and advances, in search of ways of raising qualities”. Reckon they got it spot-on with this warm and spicy 100 per cent Syrah.

Nose is complex, fairly intense, dark fruits, especially plum. Plum and cherry on the palate, it is full bodied, smooth and well balanced, moderately spicy with a good long finish. Good value and highly recommended.

Sembro Tempranillo 2011 Ribera Del Duero, 13.5% (€12 to 14) Stockists 

This is another of the three Osborne family wines recently imported by Wine Alliance. Osborne, well known for its sherries, have several estates in quality DOs in Spain and the philosophy is to ensure the wine “is a unique reflection of the personality of the vineyard”.

This very dark red has an intense mix of fruits on the nose. Fruits and some spice on the palate with a pretty smooth mouthfeel and then a good long flavoursome finish. This one has a lot going for it. Quite a personality and highly recommended.

Yaso! Just what the doctor ordered.

Yaso. Just what the doctor ordered!

Yaso is the name of the god of healing in Greek mythology. It is also the name of one of the well priced well bred new wines from Cork importer Wine Alliance. 

Well bred? Yes indeed, the vineyard is owned by the Osborne family. No, not the heavy metal tribe. I’m talking about a vine respectability here: the owners are the Osbornes of Jerez. The Tonto de Toro (Tempranillo) vines that provide the fruit are in 40 year old vineyards in the South Eastern province of Zamora and the wines spend 6 months in French oak.

Yaso Tinto de Toro (Tempranillo), 2010 Toro (Spain), 13.5%, €12.00 to €14.00 Stockists 

Cherry red is the colour and there is a fairly concentrated red fruit nose. On the palate it is smooth, fruity, with light spice and a good finish. On the wallet, it is light to medium. Highly recommended.

The other recent additions to the Wine Alliance portfolio include Las Pizarras Si O Sy Syrah 2010 Calatayud (€10 to 12); Sembro Tempranillo 2011 Ribera Del Duero (€12 to 14); and the white (also from Osborne) Oropendola Verdejo 2011 Rueda (€13 to 15). 

Read the Toro background here 

Two of the old Reserves

Two of the old Reserves

Marques de Riscal, Rioja Reserva 2006, 14%, €12.80, Venta Gora (Navarra).
Ninety per cent Tempranillo in this Cherry red Rioja. Dark fruits and spice, balsamic hints on the nose. On the palate, it is full and fruity, rich and rounded, super tasty with a persistent finish. A classic Rioja and highly recommended.

Remelluri, Rioja Reserva 2006, 13.5%, €13.32, Venta Mugica (Irabar).

The nose is your normal Rioja, fruity with a bit of spice. Some spice also on the palate and rounded fruit flavours, maybe too rounded I thought at first! Seemed to lack any distinctive characters but I had started it off too cool and, on warming up, we re-introduced ourselves, the characters came through and we got on well together. Subtle rather than in your face, it is tasty and smooth with a warm and persistent finish.

The grapes used are Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano. It has spent 17 months in oak, 70% French and 30% US. Unusually for Rioja, all Remelluri wines are made from estate grown grapes and this dark red is a good one. Highly recommended.

I bought these at Ventas on the Spanish side of the French border. Ventas are rather ugly concentrations of purpose built large shops selling everything from shoes to wines to petrol at prices cheaper than just across the road in France. Rioja wines are fairly widely available in Ireland. Try places like O’Brien’s, Superquin, Bradley’s Off Licence, Mitchel & Son. On the net, check via http://www.wine-searcher.com

A hilltop Venta

Delicious White Wines of Tondonia

Delicious White Wines of Tondonia

R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia, Viña Gravonia Crianza 2002, Rioja DO, 12.5%, €11.00 (at the vineyard bodega in Haro).

When I first noticed this Gravonia, 100 per cent Viura, on the shelf in Haro, I thought “this has to be a dessert wine”. I said as much but was quickly corrected: “All these whites are dry.”

So we had a taste and yes it is dry. The colour though is like rich honey and there are gorgeous floral blossoms on the nose. On the palate, there is a soft explosion of beautiful exotic flavours but, while rich, the aged wine is well crafted and well balanced, all leading to a very pleasing, lingering dry finish.
This is surely something different and very highly recommended.

Door to the tasting room!

Vineyard notes
Colour: Pale gold slightly evolved. Nose: Fresh and aromatic. Complex and developed. Bouquet with aromas of third generation. Taste: Fruity, complex, developed and fine.Issued Quantity: 29.000 bottles.

R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia, Viña Tondonia Reserva 1996 Rioja DO, 12.5% abv, €20.00 (at the vineyard bodega in Haro).

The nose is complex and the colour is even richer than the Gravonia, red/gold, like a good whiskey. I was told the extra richness in the colour comes from the ten per cent Malvasía used; the rest is Viura. Even though I had been told it was dry, I was still expecting something sweet. But, yes, it is really dry. It is also rich and elegant, shaping up like a good smooth sherry before finishing long and dry. Gorgeous. Very highly recommended.

It has spent six years in barrel and just 20,000 bottles were produced. They say it is perfect with all kinds of fish, with seafood and well seasoned white meat.

Vineyard notes: 1996 was officially a good year. There was a perfect balance in all parameters: colour flavour and taste. The white wines keep evolving in a fantastic way, showing elegance and finesse as per the best vintages.
For even more details, click here

I had been hoping to get some of their famous Viña Tondonia Rosé Gran Reserva, another aged wine, but there was none available and, because it is not made every year, none will be available for another year or two.

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La Rioja: Faustino 1 and V

Faustino 1 and V

Faustino V, Rioja Reserva 2005, 13.5%, €13.32 Venta Mugica (Ibardin).

This is very smooth, dry, with a decent bit of spice, medium bodied, lingering finish. The bottle, as is usual, is frosted but comes without a net. Proposed pairings for this dark aromatic red include red meats, poultry with spicy sauces and mild cheeses. Fairly widely available here from, among others, Superquin and O’Brien's. Highly recommended.

Faustino 1, Rioja Gran Reserva 1999, 13.5%, €17.00 Venta Mugica (Ibardin).

This dark red, in the net, is a blend of Tempranillo (85%), Graciano (10) and Mazuelo (5). Nose is of red fruit with balsamic notes. It is very smooth and rounded, well balanced; no big rush on the palate but rather elegant all the way to the finish. Produced only in the very good years and this is a very recent release. There was also one in 1998 and it is unusual to get two in a row. Some top pundits reckon 1996 is the best. Very highly recommended

Nine Million Bottles!
Bodegas Faustino are one of La Rioja’s most famous producers and one of the biggest also, according to that excellent book, The Fine Wines of Rioja, who say they have a permanent stock of 9,000,000 bottles! They make quite a few wines, including Cava. The Gran Reserva, aged for a long time and released a decade or more after the harvest, is your classical Gran Rioja.

Txakoli, the Basque Wine

Missed!

4 weeks in the Basque Country

Txakoli, the Basque Wine

Way to do it!

Aitako Txakolina 2010, Getariako (Spain), 11.5%



Txakoli (or Chacolí in Spanish) is a slightly sparkling, very dry white wine with high acidity and low alcohol. It is the wine of the Basque Country (Euskadi) which has provinces on each side of the French-Spanish border on the Atlantic coast.

Getariko (Getaria) is a lovely coastal town between San Sebastian and Bilbao and centre of one of the major producing areas. The major grape used in this bottle is Hondarribi Zuri.

The wine, as far as I know, is not exported to Ireland but apparently has strong sales in the USA where Basque cuisine is highly regarded and where the lower alcohol levels are attractive.

This one is somewhat more advanced, more complex, than your ordinary Txakoli (meant to be poured and drunk quickly). The bubbles and acidity are there but the flavours don’t vanish after the initial pouring, though the “head” does.

Properly poured!

The Aitako vineyard say they have made a careful selection, have harvested at the optimum time and have fermented at low temperatures for a more intense aroma. The wine has also benefited from being raised on its own lees as this “gives volume, smoothness and balance in the mouth.”

While this bottle, bought in a wine shop in the main street in Getaria, a town I visited three times during a recent holiday, is undoubtedly the best I’ve tasted, I will happily say that I also enjoyed more modest efforts.

As a visitor, I was delighted to be able to try out this unfamiliar wine in the local restaurants – while it is produced in Spain, it is drunk on both sides of the border.

One of the unusual elements is that it is poured from a height, from about two feet above the glass, usually a sturdy tumbler, the intent being to increase the bubbles and release the flavours. It sure added to the novelty and the fun. Still does, especially if you try it yourself!

Like Tempranillo? You’ll love this

Like Tempranillo? You’ll love this.
Finca Museum, Crianza 2008, 100% Tinta Del Pais, Cigales (Spain), 13.5% abv, €15.35 (13.82 online) Karwig Wines

It’s quality all the way here. The fruits are hand harvested and then the best bunches are selected before it is aged in French and American oak. Tinta Del Pais, in case you don’t know, is another Spanish name for Tempranillo with which most of you are no doubt familiar. If you like the Temp, then you’ll love this.

It is quite a dark red with plum, cherry and subtle spice on the nose. It is fruity and juicy, no shyness here, and the palate will willingly take it all onboard. It arrives with a flourish and the lingering finish isn’t bad either. Similar in style to Rioja. Good value. Highly recommended.