Say Hola to Caminante Tempranillo, a serious crowd-pleasing Tempranillo.

Caminante Tempranillo, Vina Albizu (Rioja Alavesa), 13.5% ABV

€21.95 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

A serious crowd-pleasing style

This is a seriously palate-pleasing Tempranillo that is brimming with fresh ripe red cherry flavours and hints of blackberries, and also a slight touch of pepper. The aromas, too, feature those red and black fruits. And there’s a refreshing acidity to this unoaked wine that also boasts a lengthy finish. Quite “a real find”, as importers Le Caveau put it, and this easy-drinker is also very well priced indeed. Highly Recommended.

Le Caveau tell us it is produced by Viña Albergada, a respected Rioja producer. The fruit for the wine comes from vineyards planted within the Rioja Alavesa appellation. Yet the bottle doesn't carry the Rioja stamp. In fact, all you’ll see is that it is a Product of Spain. All this because, even though it is from Rioja, it is made a little outside the rules of the appellation. Once you take a sip though, you’ll know it’s a good one!

Pairing tips.  

Delicious on its own, served slightly cool, and with barbecued meats and tapas.

An Outstanding Tempranillo From Toledo. The Pinuaga Colección.

An Outstanding Tempranillo From Toledo

Pinuaga Colección Tempranillo Vino de la Terra de Castillo 2018, 13.5% ABV, 

€21.00 Stockists: Mary Pawle.

In 1960, the first generation of Pinuaga winemakers established the winery in the village of Corral de Almaguer, province of Toledo.  They planted special old clones of Tempranillo called Cencibel with smaller grains, silky skin and longer ripening cycles. 

It had been a favourite ever since with the winery. “It is the first that we make after the construction of the new winery and the one that many know as ‘El Pinuaga de toda la vida’ (translated by Google as El Pinuaga is the wine of a lifetime). "This is a very special wine for us as it is the first wine we made at Pinuaga and hence why we call it Colección.” 

Mid ruby is the colour of this deep and intense organic wine. Aromas, dark red fruits (cherry) to the fore, are a little (just) on the shy side. It comes into its own on the palate, full of rich red fruit flavours, a touch of spice, smooth and rounded, and tannins well integrated. Rich concentrated and elegant, it is certainly rather special and is Very Highly Recommended.

Today, the second and third generation of the Pinuaga family, Valentin and Esther, maintain the old vines with much care and pride, following a minimal intervention philosophy, using natural and artisanal winemaking processes and recovering indigenous clones. The quality of the wines is driven by the characteristic of the soils, age of vines, grape variety and organic farming practices; all of these parameters are present in every wine, making them singular and unique.

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Check out the Good Value Wine List here

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Altitude is a key factor here, as it is in much of Spain. According to the World Atlas of Wine, “a good 90% of all Spanish vineyards lie at altitudes higher than any major French wine region” and this, especially in Castilla y Leon, helps maintain acidity enough to keep the wines relatively fresh. The altitude benefit means “growers can depend on cool nights to ‘fix’ colour and flavour in the grapes ripened during the torrid summer days”.  

The Pinuaga vineyard area is also really windy. The winemakers appreciate its benefits: “The vineyards are well aerated so it's a very healthy terroir. There is a lot of changes between the day and night temperatures too, which are very good for the ripening of the fruits.”

Pinuaga is situated close to the city of Toledo in central Spain, this is a huge wine-making region with more land under vine than the whole of Australia. The wines are now being imported to Ireland by Mary Pawle and, as is consistently the case with Mary, are keenly priced.

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Check out our Top 2023 Wines here.

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An engaging Tempranillo from Toro, "different from its peers". New Zealand Wine Week Returns Jan 30th.

An engaging Tempranillo from Toro, "different from its peers" 

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New Zealand Wine Week Returns Jan 30th. Details below.

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Liberalia “Dos” Toro (DO) 2021, 14% ABV, €15.40 Heart of Spain

Heart of Spain is an online and actual shop in Fota Retail Park in East Cork and specialises in wine (and charcuterie and cheese) from the heart of Spain, mostly from the areas known to wine drinkers as Toro and Rueda. 

This bottle of young red wine (known as joven, though you don’t normally see it on the label) is a blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha (20%, according to the producers’ own website).

Here, in the valley of the famous Duero river, over the last two decades or so, Toro has become famous for the quality of its Tempranillo based wines, the grape known locally as Tinto de Toro. Neighbouring Rueda of course is best known for its white wines made from Verdejo (and the shop have some of these on sale as well). 

It looks well and inviting in the glass with its cherry red colour and some violet hues. Aromas have black and red fruits coming through strongly in a wrap of vanilla (it has spent three months in barrel). And, in the mouth, it is loaded with fresh fruit flavours, some sweetness from the light tannins. The finish, with balsamic notes and a little influence from the oak, is lengthy. 

There is a certain Intensity and complexity to this but don’t let that put you off. This is a young juicy and easy-drinking wine, all on a typical Tempranillo base with a nicely judged oak contribution. Don’t think about it too much, just enjoy! Highly Recommended.

With its “large fruit load and pleasant mid palate” it is quite a wine for the price and the producers recommend pairing it with semi-cured cheese, cured cheese, blue cheese, goat cheese, pork, veal meat, chicken, turkey, game, lamb.

Liberalia is a family winery located in the area of the historic and prestigious Toro Denomination of Origin, province of Zamora (Spain). The vineyards are located where traditionally there has been vine cultivation.

When I first saw the English language list of varieties in the area, I also saw Bull’s Ink. It took a while before the penny dropped and I managed to translate that back to Tinta de Toro, which currently enjoys the seal certification as an autochthonous variety, with its own name, with well-defined agronomic and ampelographic characteristics. That means that the Tempranillo in Toro, while related to that in Rioja, is officially regarded here as indigenous.

“Its ampelographic characteristics are very similar to Tempranillo, but which, nestled in the area for several centuries, identifies it with its own name and personality, different from its peers.” .

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New Zealand Wine Week returns in 2023

 

After the success of New Zealand Wine Week events in 2021 and 2022, New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) will be kicking off the third New Zealand Wine Week on 30 January 2023.

 

Themed ‘Altogether Unique’, activities for the event are planned across the USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, and Sweden. New Zealand Wine Week will be a hybrid event this year with both physical and virtual sessions, with a wide-ranging programme spanning tastings, masterclasses and online discussions.

 

“Being able to run hybrid events, with a combination of virtual and physical in-market platforms, is an impactful way to share the New Zealand wine story in our key export markets, broaden our reach, and shine a light on our premium and diverse wines to our trade and media audiences,” says Charlotte Read, General Manager Marketing, New Zealand Winegrowers.

 

“The theme of the week, ‘Altogether Unique’, comes hot off the heels of the launch of New Zealand Winegrowers’ new global brand platform New Zealand Wine, Altogether Unique.  This is underpinned by a significant piece of work to define the essence of the New Zealand Wine brand and its three key pillars of purity, innovation, and care - things that make New Zealand wine, so unique and special.”

 

Throughout the week there will be bite-sized webinars covering research at the forefront of New Zealand wine and New Zealand’s commitment to climate change. In these sessions, local producers and international trade will have conversations about sustainability, site, and Sauvignon Blanc. A longer tasting webinar will see Stephen Wong MW present what puts the ‘new’ in New Zealand.

 

The New Zealand Wine Week 2023 programme will include:

Virtual Events

• ‘NEW New Zealand – Through the Lens of Smaller and Rarer Plantings’ – Stephen Wong MW will present what puts the ‘new’ in New Zealand.
• ‘Beyond Sustainable – Next Steps for a Carbon Neutral Environment’ – Michelle Bouffard of Tasting Climate Change and Belinda Jackson of Lawson's Dry Hills will discuss the strategies wine producers are putting in place to support and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
• ‘Terroir and technology – A Guarantee of Origin’ – Christina Pickard is joined in conversation by Alastair Maling MW from Oritain and Steve Smith MW of Pyramid Valley, to explore how technology can guarantee the origin of a wine down to vineyard parcels that may only be a hundred metres apart.
• ‘Expanding the Scope of Sauvignon Blanc Vine Diversity in New Zealand’ – Dr Jamie Goode, Dr Darrell Lizamore of New Zealand's Bragato Research Institute and Emma Marris of Marisco discuss New Zealand Winegrowers' research into how plants adapt to external stress to produce a collection of diverse Sauvignon Blanc vines.

 

Physical Events

• London Annual Trade Tasting – 50 exhibitors showing more than 200 New Zealand wines.
• Dublin Annual Trade Tasting – 20 exhibitors showing more than 90 New Zealand wines.
• Swedish Embassy New Zealand Wine Reception
• Independent Wine Education Guild Masterclass – ‘Sub-Regional Expressions of New Zealand Pinot Noir’ with John Szabo MS

 

View full programme details and how you can participate in New Zealand Wine Week here.

 

Thanks to Jean Smullen for above info.

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From Castillo Y Leon, a beautiful Tempranillo and an outstanding expression of Sauvignon Blanc

From Castillo Y Leon, a beautiful Tempranillo and an outstanding expression of Sauvignon Blanc

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Finca Menade Sauvignon Blanc (Vino de la Tierra Castillo Y Leon) 2021

€18.35 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Open the cork on this one and you immediately smell gooseberry. It is from Spain, it is organic, gluten free, and vegan friendly and yes, it is Sauvignon Blanc. France and New Zealand are the top Sauvignon blanc growers but Rueda in Spain grows a fair bit and grows it well if this Menade is anything to go by.

The colour is a pale straw. You’ll also note some more exotic fruits such as grapefruit, mango and passionfruit in both the aromas and on the palate, some “local” flavours too like apricot and peach. The grape is noted for its high acidity and low sweetness and that is the case here. 

Importers Le Caveau say this is a “Marlborough style that doesn't travel half as far” and that assertion is reinforced by the acidity and fruit. This youthful and modern expression of the grape is well balanced, with a hint of lime in a long lingering finish. A delight to engage with and Very Highly Recommended. 

Brothers and sister Marco, Richard and Alejandra Sanz run this certified organic estate in Rueda, South of Valladolid. The estate, where Sauvignon blanc has found a home since its 1994 introduction, has 160 ha in production (including 30 ha of pre-phylloxera vines). 

The soil-type consists of sandy clay and is covered with pebbles in most part. Hand-harvesting, natural yeasts and low yields are some of the techniques used to produce the trade-mark Menade style of pure and expressive wines. I enjoyed a bottle of their superb Verdejo in 2021 and you may read the short review here.  

As with Menade Verdejo, each parcel – for these vary widely depending on the soil type and orientation of the vines – is picked and vinified separately, fermentation is on the basis of the grapes’ natural, wild yeasts, and the wine is left briefly on its fine lees. Just one example of the attention to detail. Hand-harvesting, carbonic snow  (instead of sulphur), loveable trees, natural yeasts and low yields are among the techniques used to produce pure and expressive wines.

Sauvignon Blanc, according to Wine Folly, pairs wonderfully with “herb-driven sauces, salty cheeses, light meats and… Asian Food.” 

* This wine is labelled Vino de la Tierra (VdT) and this is the same classification often indicated by IGP (Indicatión Geográfica Protegida.

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Alfredo Maestro Almate (Vino de la Tierra Castillo Y Leon) 2020, 

€17.60 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Dark red, close to purple, is the colour of this Tempranillo, not from Rioja but from Ribera del Duero. Red and darker fruits head up the aromatics and you’ll find some vanilla hints there too.  More of the same in the mouth as the mid-bodied smooth and creamy wine flows across. Tannins are gentle and sweet and indeed, the whole experience is rather gentle. Well structured, well balanced and Very Highly Recommended.

And that is a satisfactory outcome for both the customer and the producer Alfredo whose goal is to make "easy wines with character imprinted with the earth and the vintage, authentic stories transmitted differently each year and not modified by the hand of the man in the cellar.”

I’ve enjoyed a few different vintages over recent years including the 2016 and, more recently, the 2018: “Another well-made wine from the man "known as the magician of the Duero, a prominent exponent of the natural wine movement in Spain.” This is Alfredo’s flagship wine and Spanish Wine Lover rates it “as outstanding within its type and style”.  There is indeed something of a consensus about this excellent well-priced wine and you may confidently add it to your shopping list!

Le Caveau:Viña Almate is the name of the first vineyard that Alfredo planted and gives the name to his bodega and to Alfredo’s entry-level Duero wine. This cuvee is made from fruit sourced from various plots of Tinto Fino (local name for Tempranillo), of varying vine ages, located in Valtiendas at 1,000 m. elevation, as well as Peñafiel, at 700 meters. 

Tempranillo is Spain’s top variety, made famous by the wines of Rioja. It is grown widely in Spain including in Ribera del Duero and Toro. It is grown in quite a few countries, including Portugal, but not in any significant quantity. 

Le Caveau indicates it pairs well with pair with grilled and roasted meats. Wine Folly more or less agrees saying older bolder Temps match with steak, gourmet burgers and rack of lamb. “Fresher styles match well with baked pasta and other tomato based dishes.”

Valleys of wine. Check out this excellent duo from the Loire and the Ebro

From the valleys of wine. Check out this excellent duo from the Loire and the Ebro

Azay le Rideau

Marie Thibault Le Grolleau Vin de France 2019, 13.5%

€26.95  64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Grolleau, often regarded as the workhorse vine of the Loire, is seldom used on its own. 

However, according to Wine-Searcher.com, if yields are kept low, “Grolleau can produce a

light yet vibrant red wine, with herbaceous, 

sour-cherry flavors. Many of these are vinified as natural wines, although this is more to do with modern winemaking trends in the Loire than it is to do with the qualities of the variety itself.”

Le Grolleau comes from Azay le Rideau and this is where Marie Thibault does her stuff. Colour is mid to dark ruby. The rather intense aromas feature cherry and berries. It is light bodied and there’s a clean refreshing acidity on the palate along with much the same fruit flavours and that refreshing theme, along with a little spice, goes right through to the longer than expected finish. 

A delicious vin de soif, which essentially means unpretentious wines that are measured not by their complexity, length or ageeability but by the joy and refreshment they provide. Very Highly Recommended.

Marie Thibault grew up in the Loire Valley and began in 2002 working with François Chidaine in Montlouis, falling in love with Chenin Blanc there and making wine under her own name in 2004. She purchased her own estate in 2010 and converted to organics immediately. She has been certified with Ecocert since 2014. She works with Côt (Malbec), Gamay, Grolleau, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon blanc. Most of her vines are at least 50 years old.    

Marie also buys some grapes from organic estates close by, which she herself harvests and vinifies in her cellar. Her husband is Frantz Saumon, another fantastic natural grower in the area, his wines also available from Le Caveau and their stockists. Marie’s wines see no additives other than a tiny addition of S02 before bottling, if any is added at all.

Viña Albergada Rioja Alavesa (DOC) 2016, 13%

€11.95 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Made by the same producers of the Albizu Tempranillo that we had a few weeks ago, this Tempranillo has a dark cherry colour, though maybe not quite as vibrant as it was back in 2018 when I enjoyed this same vintage last.

The red fruit aromas are a little less intense than previously. The palate though may be better.  It is attractively juicy and fruity, with a touch of spice, very good acidity, quite refreshing. And the finish is good and long. 

Highly Recommended.  This easy-drinking style of Rioja offers great value-for-money. Great too, they hint, as an aperitif with tapas. Other suggestions include queen scallops and chorizo or pan-fried garlic chicken with sun-dried tomatoes. And, just like the Albizu, it is one of those versatile reds that may be tried chilled.

Tip: Look out for a more up to date vintage than the 2016.

Hitting the jackpot with lesser known reds from Dordogne and Rioja

 Hitting the jackpot with lesser known reds from Dordogne and Rioja

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Maison des vins in Bergerac

Cuvée Des Conti Bergerac Rouge (AC) 2019, 13%,

€19.45  64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

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This is a bright and fruity organic glossy-red blend from the Bergerac area, immediately to the east of Bordeaux;  the Dordogne River flows through both areas. The producers list the grapes in the mix as Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

Colour is a dark red. Aromas are pleasant and inviting. Red fruits including cherry, a touch of spice. The palate is full of fruit, plum and blackberry, plus a subtle spice. And there’s also a lively acidity and so it is perfectly balanced. The mouthfeel is velvety, the tannins soft. As you might expect the finish lingers long. Very Highly Recommended.

Le Caveau: This new cuvée replaces the Bergerac Classique. The grapes come from Tour des Gendres, organic certified own vineyards. As with all of Luc's wine, this cuvée has been delicately put together, one can sense the perfectly ripe and healthy fruit, gentle and soft extraction resulting in a pure and perfectly balanced wine.

Hautefort, one of many
impressive chateaus here

I have visited the Bergerac region on a few occasions and love the wines (both red and white) from here. Quality is regularly on a par with neighbours Bordeaux. But historically, the city of Bordeaux controlled the head of the river and the port and Bergerac struggled to find outlets. One of the few benefits, at least for the foreign consumer, is that wines from the Bergerac region are mostly easier on the pocket. You may have to search a bit harder (Le Caveau have a few) but it will be worthwhile.

One of my visits was back in 2010 and I was looking for statements supporting Bergerac . Easy enough to find though as these two well-known wine writers were onside.

Hugh Johnson: Bergerac is a good value Bordeaux lookalike.

Robert Joseph: The second class status of Bergerac today owes more to the efforts of Bordeaux merchants to discriminate against it than to the quality of its wines.

Viña Albergada Albizu Tempranillo 2019 

€11.95, 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

In Rioja

A dark vibrant ruby is the colour of this LDR. LDR? It means light dry red. If you like Gamay you’ll love this. Not an exact replica of a Beaujolais of course - that was hardly ever the objective - but in terms of lightness, juiciness and structure, they could well be closely related. And I’d have to agree with importers Le Caveau that this juicy fruity Tempranillo “is a real find”.

And yes, that Tempranillo fruit is grown within the Rioja Alavesa appellation in the heart of Rioja but you don’t see any mention of the Spanish wine region on the label. Producers are Viña Albergada and they obviously go their own merry way. And that’s good for us as the quality its incredible. Not to mention the value! Amazingly light compared to traditional Rioja, this is Very Highly Recommended.

Like many LDR wines, this can be chilled a little. You’ll enjoy fairly intense aromas of plum along with red and darker berries. And that palate, amazingly sophisticated for a joven (young wine), is full of ripe fruit (plum, cherry, berry) with terrific acidity. All crowned by a refreshing and dry finish. This well balanced Albizu is delicious on its own, and very versatile with barbecued meats and tapas style food.

 

Iberian Aces From Mary Pawle. One Spanish Tinto. One Portuguese Branco.

Iberian Aces From Mary Pawle. 

One Spanish Tinto. One Portuguese Branco. 

Bodegas Pinuaga Tinto, Vino de la Tierra Castilla 2019, 13%, €13.15, Mary Pawle.

Pinuaga Tinto Stockists include:

 

Taste, Castletownbere

Olive Branch, Clonakilty

Mortons of Galway

Little Green Grocer, Kilkenny

The Grainey, Scarriff

Colour of this Spanish red is a mid ruby. The aromas are full of red and darker fruit. Very promising and that promise is fulfilled on the palate. Vibrant, with  fruit galore, expressive with a touch of spice, good acidity to balance. Young, yet with character, the blend is very approachable, all the way through to the finish. Your lips will tell you the tannins are still a factor. Nice touch of smoothness though in the mouthfeel. Very quaffable and should have no problem pairing with the suggested salads, tapas, pintos and bbq (serve at 12 degrees). Good idea to have a few of these bottles in the cellar or in your usual cool dark spot! Highly Recommended. Very well priced too by the way.

This wine comes from a single vineyard of 5 Hectare of Grenache and 3 Ha of old, Tempranillo bush vines. The Tempranillo clone is called Cencibel and it produces smaller grapes with very soft and silky skin and has a much longer ripening period. Hand harvested in early September, the wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks.

In 1960, the first generation of Pinuaga winemakers established the winery in the village of Corral de Almaguer, province of Toledo.

Today, the second and third generation of the Pinuaga family, Valentin and Esther, maintain the old vines with much care and pride, following a minimal intervention philosophy, using natural and artisanal winemaking processes and recovering indigenous clones. The quality of the wines is driven by the characteristic of the soils, age of vines, grape variety and organic farming practices; all of these parameters are present in every wine, making them singular and unique.

Altitude is a key factor here, as it is in much of Spain. According to the World Atlas of Wine, “a good 90% of all Spanish vineyards lie at altitudes higher than any major French wine region” and this, especially in Castilla y Leon, helps maintain acidity enough to keep the wines relatively fresh. The altitude benefit means “growers can depend on cool nights to ‘fix’ colour and flavour in the grapes ripened during the torrid summer days”.  

Casa De Mouraz Encruzado Vinho Branco DãO (DOC) 2016, 13%, €21.00 Mary Pawle Wines

Little Green Grocer, Kilkenny

+ selected Restaurants  

Leading Portuguese winemaker Antonio Braga admits to falling in love with the  Encruzado grape variety, the noblest white variety of the Dão: “It grows in complexity as it ages, is great for oak ageing. It has a wonderful gastronomic ability to cut through fatty foods. It is an autumn wine, a fireplace wine. It may not be in fashion but it is a wonderful variety, wonderful to work with.”

In 1997, Casa de Mouraz became the first biodynamic winery in the Dao. Portuguese grapes aren't that well known individually in this country. Encruzado, the grape here, is “potentially the best white grape of the DAO” according to Grapes and Wine. Barrel fermentation and lees stirring help bring out the character. It is indigenous and regarded as the most important white grape in the region and this particular wine has had eight months on fine lees with batonage.

Colour ion this 2016 vintage is a mid-straw. Aromas of medium intensity recall white fruits and citrus, floral notes too, and I noticed a slight whiff of a Riesling-like diesel. Fresh fruit flavours (apricot, peach), excellent mouthfeel, acidity enough to nudge it towards crisp and a decent citrus-y finish too. Mineral and  floral, fresh and structured, it is quite harmonious and Highly Recommended.

Food pairings include: Oven baked fish (such as codfish, salmon or tuna). Also very good with white meat and some vegetarian dishes like pasta with pesto or cheese sauces. Aside from handling full flavoured fish dishes (also the Portuguese favourite bacalao), it is excellent on its own. very versatile indeed. Serve at a temperature of 11-12ºC

The first thing you’ll note is that the cork is covered with a wax. Just remove that with the blade on your corkscrew. It is fairly soft but be careful! Alternatively, warm the top by rubbing it with the palm of your hand. Then plunge in the corkscrew as usual and it should all come away. If you get it right, just a little disc of the wax will come  away with the cork. Video demo here.