Tag Archives: Spain

June 21, 2012 · 7:24 am

The source (Ribera del Duero, Spain – Day One)

As I’ve probably already said, my trip isn’t just about wine. Naturally the most important thing for me is to travel to the regions and visit wineries to learn about the places, people and processes behind the many and varied wines of the world. As I have also probably said, wine isn’t just about what is in the glass and the facts about how it was made. So many things influence wine that it is hard to have one without the other. Cuisine for example, or culture. The previous weekend I went to San Sebastian to indulge in the former, and this past weekend I went to Bilbao to indulge in the latter. Specifically I wanted to visit the Guggenheim, and add it to the list of iconic galleries/museums I have visited in the last year, which include the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay in Paris, the Uffizi and l’Acedemia in Florence, and the Met in New York. After visiting the Guggenheim in Bilbao I have now visited all three (the others are in New York and Venice respectively), but the Bilbao was probably the most impressive in terms of architecture and collection. Having got a bit of a culture fix, I journeyed to the eastern part of the Ribera del Duero region, which lies in the next valley south from Rioja. On my first day I ventured deep into the very mouth of the river to visit two producers who are doing things a little differently.
Outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao

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June 19, 2012 · 6:31 pm

A bit different (Getaria, Spain)

One of the big problems I have with the globalisation and homogenisation of wine is that unique and traditional wines for uncomplicated consumption with food are lost. The first really different and regionally specific wine discovery I have made in Spain was made in San Sebastian the previous weekend. During a tapas bar crawl I was introduced to Txakoli (pronounced chakoli), which is a wine made on the coast only 30 kilometres west of San Sebastian on the way to Bilbao. The vineyards are planted mostly in pergola trellising systems, on the steep slopes of the coast. The wines produced are 95% white wine with a slight spritz to it, as a small secondary fermentation happens in the bottle. To encourage the bubbles when it is poured it is done from some height, something I had seen in San Sebastian. The high acids and slight fruit residual sugar matches beuatifully with fresh salty pinchos. I’m not sure it would taste the same if drinking it anywhere else, but I was intrigued to find out more. Carlos from Artadi very kindly set me up with an appointment at the most important Txakoli producer in Getaria.

In case you forget which way the Atlantic Ocean is

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June 19, 2012 · 4:36 pm

Quinta Sardonia – 19/06/2012

2011 (80% of QS2)
Noticeable Bordeaux varietal influence, spicy dark fruits, plum, cassis, blackberry, jammy. Juicy powerful yet soft elegant, structured, a little fruit sweet to offset dry tannins. Good purity and lift, some subtle minerality. Good freshness on the back.

2011 Quinta Sardonia (almost, new barrel)
Much more toasty green herb and capsicum with ripe black fruits, sweet oak nose. Full mellow and fresh, very bright and intense, powerful focused warm concentration, dense and good savoury elements. A wine with interest and character but easy to drink and appreciate.

2011 Quinta Sardonia (almost, older barrel)
Softer rounder and fresher but still very concentrated, intense dark fruit, with minerality and savoury notes. Somehow chewier tannins, juicy and fresh.

Quinta Sardonia 2009
Amazing perfume, fascinating combination of the petal and vegetal parts of roses and violets, some deep sweet spice elements. Juicy dark fruits, very soft full velvety and slightly raisined characters, sweet new oak components with good ageing, well balanced and integrated, very lifted and bright but good ripeness.

Quinta Sardonia 2010
Similar intense aromatics of floral, earthy, dusty, pot-pouri, dark fruits. Very soft, even more mellow, lovely full broad sweet fruits and subtle but firm and expressive tannins. Some savoury earth notes late on the palate. Either ready or not, hard to tell.

Cuddles all around

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June 19, 2012 · 4:33 pm

Dominio de Pingus – 19/06/2012

Flor de Pingus 2010
Dark intense fruits, quite an amazing amount of savoury notes for such a vibrant flotal nose. Juicy ripe red and black fruits, very slightly spicy, very intense concentration, bold and full in the mid-palate, dense firm yet fresh and bright tannins. Finesse yet power, needs a few years in bottle to soften and open up. Tense and tightly coiled. Not too oaky, nor too hot and jammy.

Pingus 2010
Darker more concentrated colour, very intense and bright in purple vermillion. Toasted roasted ripe and raisined, dense impenetrable dark fruits, sweet savoury molasses notes, black sweet spices, some sweet balsamic reduction notes. One of the most concentrated wines I have tasted on my trip, not heavy exactly, but incredibly tannic, fruit powerful, hot and powerful. Warm climate and 2-3 tonnes per hectare make this an intense experience. Born this way, not made this way. Some very slight citrus notes on the back, still retaining some freshness of acids. I appreciate the concentration, but I don’t like it.

The 2009 Pingus, what’s left of it anyway

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June 19, 2012 · 6:22 am

Antidoto – 18/06/2012

2011 Limestone soils (20% of blend)
Intense colour and aromatics, very spicy and blackcurrant. Looking quite toasty and very dark in fruit. Wondrful concentration and full soft tannins, depth and integrity but plenty of acids. Lifted and structured.

2011 Sandy river stone soils (40% of blend)
Brighter more floral and fresher fruit aromatics, less earth and spice. More intensity of acidity and freshness, very focused down the middle of the palate, power yet restraint, excellent balance but a tad undeveloped. Racier somehow.

2011 Clay soils (40% of blend)
Dirtier darker, more rustic and wild. Soft full bold mouth-filling, broad juicy, very expressive dark fruits, approachable generous tannins, not the same level of drive and focus, the meat of it. Nice lengthy tannins.

2011 Antidoto
A little shy, but wonderfully intense and brooding, very dark but not heavy or oaky. Nice clarity, focus, wonderful freshness of red and black fruits, juicy and vibrant but considered and contemplative. Exceptionally young, quite tight and focused, components working in perfect harmony.

2011 Dominio de Es
Dark juicy sweet black fruit, wonderful lift and vibrancy, more concentration and mature tannins, reacting with the oak a little more somehow. Too early to see the character, quite locked away in concentration, would like to see it in a few more years.

Bertrand Sourdais examines one of his vines

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June 19, 2012 · 6:09 am

Cillar de Silos – 18/06/2012

El Quintanal Verdejo 2011 (Rueda)
Crisp grassy SB salty focused ripe tropical notes. Good light texture and weight, approachable and fresh, good balanced purity of fruit. Some nice viscosity and volume, fresh aperetivo wine but great with food too.

Rosado de Silos 2011 (100% tempranillo, 5-10% is the top grapes’ pressings)
Wonderfully aromatic, very rich and creamy nose, lovely candied strawberries and cherries, some red liquorice and blackcurrants too. Bright fresh, fruit sweet and creamy texture, full in flavour and very easy to drink, but nice structure and lightness. Definitely a fruit-sweet appearance, but well balanced and food-friendly.

El Quintanal Tempranillo 2011 (Ribera del Duero)
Dark yet mellow notes on the nose, ripe black fruits and some earth and spice notes. Bold yet soft and full voluptuous tannins, very fresh and light, easy to drink, plenty of approachable attractive fruits, but relatively good structure and balance. Simple yet structured.

Joven de Silos 2011
Dark subtle closed fruit at the moment. Some concentrated dark fruits, a little bit of dried spices, some fruit sweetness on the back, good character and balance. Acid freshness holding things together, a tad exuberant and warm at the moment.

Cillar de Silos 2009 (Crianza)
Bright intense nose, very beautiful dark yet fresh fruits, very subtle oak influence, a little nutty creaminess. Quite tight and focused, very locked up fruit, slightly warm and oaky but only because it is a little reductive. Certainly a textural structured wine.

Torresilo 2008
Vey serious intense but also subtle aromas, red fruits, red earth, mature and integrated oak. Focused and driven, warm on the back of the palate, still young. Finesse and elegance but also power, not unlike a Barbaresco. Juicy dark fruits but fantastic acids and freshness, great balance. Lot’s of ageing potential.

Torresilo 2009
Slightly darker more intense colour. More reductive closed dark fruits, less subtle oak aromas for the moment. Sweeter tannins, more concentrated dark fruits, less focus, more approachability. Fuller more expressive flavour, not the same structure. Very agreeable dark fruit appreciation, great wine for many people.

Flor de Silos 2007
Seductive dark fruits and floral aromas, some toast but also savoury elements, quite an intense experience. Dark and soft, velvety tannin structure but still wonderful structure. Dark oak elements but not adding to the sweetness of the fruit profile. Very voluptuous round tannins, more new oak influence.

Flor de Silos 2005
Wonderful concentration, excellent maturity, density and richness, dark fruits, ripe florals, chocolate spice. Wonderful depth and complexity, bright most definitely and a classic style, but developing some wonderful tertiary elements, some dusty chocolate and balsamic notes. Still has a slightly sweet profile on the front, but fading nicely.

Flor de Silos 2004
Wow, wonderful deep and intense, not as full on the dark fruits, some serious savoury characters. Locked away tight, some creamy texture and retaining some youthful oak. At least 20 years cellaring potential. Amazing concentration, intensity and focus, structure depth, lot’s of expression and power. More youthful than the 2005. An absolute classic.
A barrel of the good stuff

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June 17, 2012 · 10:11 pm

The Spanish wine Renaissance (Navarra, Spain)

More than any country I have been to in Europe, Spain seems to be going through a profound and significant evolution. In the distant past viticulture was pretty widespread across many parts of the country, but due to various reasons (Spanish Inquisitions, revolutions, civil wars, phylloxera) vineyards were left abandoned until the 1960s. Since the 1970s with the global increase in demand for premium wines, often in new markets like North America, Asia and Eastern Europe, a lot of investment has gone into establishing and re-establishing viticultural areas across the country. There are many large companies spearheading this, such as the Torres family, but there are also a number of smaller producers that are developing in new areas after gaining reputations in other areas. One of these producers I had visited the previous day, and I got the chance to visit their estate in the Navarra D.O.

High above the village of Artazu in Navarra

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June 16, 2012 · 11:49 pm

South by South-East (Rioja, Spain – Day Four)

It’s funny how everyone’s concept of quality is different. In New World wine-producing countries the only laws and restrictions we have on our wines relate to labelling, whereby if we label our wines as being from a variety, region and/or vintage, they must be a minimum level (e.g. a minimum 85% in Australia). This doesn’t mean we have to use these minimums, we can always not indicate any of these things on the label. In Europe on the other hand, most of the wine regions and countries have established sometimes complicated systems and laws governing viticulture and wine production to maintain and in some cases guarantee quality. Take the Rioja Denominacion de Origen Calficada (DOCa, the only one in Spain not including the Priorat DOCQ) for example. The classification relates to red wines, and limits the maximum yield per hectare to 6.5 tonnes, and only allows tempranillo, graciano, garnacha tinto and mazuelo. There are then four quality designations that are determined based on the barrel and bottle ageing, from the young/Joven wines, to Crianza (minimum one year in oak, total two years before release), Reserva (minimum one year in barrel, total three years before release), and Gran Reserva (minimum two years in barrel, minimum three years in bottle). This comes back to my initial comment, that quality is partly subjective and somewhat controversial, as many producers forego the system in favour of less oak ageing, and they would be considered far superior in quality compared to others. Simply labelling a wine as Gran Reserva is no indication of quality at the end of the day. Like any wine (or product for that matter) regardless of origin , all you can do is trust the producer, but unfortunately you can’t tell the quality of a wine when it is the bottle.

Above Rioja Orientale vineyards near Alfaro

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June 16, 2012 · 7:30 pm

What’s the deal? (Rioja, Spain – Day Three)

Despite the fact that the Rioja region only runs for about 130 km, it is an unbelievably diverse region geologically and climatically, not to mention the fat that it actually crosses three political regions of La Rioja, Basque and Navarra. The region follows the Ebra River and which sits between the Cantabrian Mountains to the northeast and another range to the South-West, and has a wide valley ideal for the cultivation of a range of agricultural products. The climate is quite interesting, as it is a combination of Atlantic, Mediterranean and Continental. They are protected from rain coming from the north so it is very dry, and as they have cool air sucked up the valley from the Mediterranean so it is relatively cool at night. The micro-climate depends on a number of factors, including elevation, aspect and soil, the latter of which varying significantly from alluvial, to calcareous, to clay, limestone and chalk. The fact that most wine in Rioja is blended from a great range of these individual terroirs means that you are losing a lot of the nuances, but luckily there are estates like the three I visited today who are focusing on village and single vineyard wines in the future.

Rioja Alavesa as depicted by an artist that lived at Remelluri

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June 16, 2012 · 10:38 am

A healthy mix (Rioja, Spain – Day Two)

So here it is; Rioja is a big deal. With over 14,000 vineyards across 65,000 hectares it is the largest producing region in Spain. It is by no means the largest in area though, only stretching for 130 km from Haro to Alfaro, the vineyard planting is possibly the densest in Spain. Although there are 14,000 vineyards, there are only 583 business with a license to bottle, meaning there are many more growers than producers, like Champagne. Also like Champagne there are quite a few large producers, but large here means for than one million cases. Vineyards are spread across the three viticultural sub-regions of Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Orientale, and generally wine is blended across the three in different volumes. Rioja wine is the most exported and consumed around the world, and would most likely be the first region that comes to mind when considering Spanish wine regions. The three appointments I had on my second day in the region were in the three main type of winery; one large commercial winery, one mid-sized modern negociant, and one iconic super-premium producer.

Above Rioja Alavesa

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