Tag Archives: Spain

June 15, 2012 · 6:58 pm

Txomin Etxaniz – 15/06/2012

Txomin Etxaniz Txakoli White 2011 (85% Hondarrabi Zuri [white], 15% Hondarrabi Beltza [black])
Nice crisp green fruits, almost like a sparkling viura/macabeu, some herbal elements. Lovely spritz on the mouth with some very delicate creaminess, very tight and crisp, mouth-puckering aperetivo style wine, perfect with salty seafood tapas, very subtle R/S roundness, but a core of green citrus fruits.

Txakoli Rose 2011 (50% Hondarrabi Zuri [white] , 50%  Hondarrabi Beltza [black])
Pale salmon colour, with the same delicate spritz. Slightly more nutty and herbal, green red fruits. A tad bitter with the tannins, balanced and fresh but lacking the zing of the white, a little dull in comparison.

Txomin Etxaniz Txakoli 2011

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June 15, 2012 · 6:37 pm

Artazuri – 15/06/2012

Rosado Garnacha 2011
Not too dark in colour, but not light either. Good expressive combination of fresh red fruits – cherries, raspberries, pomegranates – with some mineral savoury elements, and some cheesy elements too. Fresh mouthfeel, quite crisp with some red citrus notes to add to the mix. A little fruit sweetness. Texture balance approachability, adaptability with food.

Tinto Garnacha 2011
Nice dark dusty red and black fruit, some spicy elements as well, exactly what a typical Spanish garnacha should be. Soft and light but plenty of vibrancy of fruit and freshness, approachability and breadth, but focus and drive as well. Very good uncomplicated wine, easy drinking yet with character and personality.

Santa Cruz de Artazu 2009
Deep dark and oaky nose, quite toasty and caramelly, dark fruits and intense floral concentration. A lot more tannin and oak concentration on the palate, looking very youthful and hot, a product of the climate and vintage, and possibly age of the vines. Needs more time in bottle to show the complexity, at the moment slightly dominated by sweetness and oak. Classic powerful Spanish garnacha from 2009.

Santa Cruz de Artazu 2010 (tank sample)
More complexity, less overt fruit and oak influence on the nose, more interesting toasty notes (more French oak?), quite locked up for now, needs a year in bottle. Better balance and integration, better structure and concentration. Looking quite hot and ripe but in a more complex way. Very intense but better savoury elements and balance on the palate, powerful yet a lot more potential.

The Artazuri range

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June 14, 2012 · 9:59 pm

The rain in Spain (Rioja, Spain – Day One)

What a shame that the weekend I happened to be in one of the best beach towns in Spain – during June (aka summer) I might add –  it was raining. This was particularly disappointing considering how hot it was the past week in Priorat and Penedes; why couldn’t I have brought it with me? Adding to my luck I then took it to Rioja with me the following Monday morning, but I’ll come back to that. I managed to get over the poor weather in San Sebastian by hitting the bars (a bit hard), and also the tapas (even harder). There is a good reason why this town is considered to be one of the best to visit in Spain, as the old town has a very extreme concentration of night spots. I sampled a range of pinchos from various bars, and also popped into one of the top wine bars in town, A Fugo Negro, where I tried some wines from a number of regions in Spain, as well as a sensational ceviche dish. On the Monday I hit the dusty (more wet actually) trail for Rioja, less than two hours south-west, for my first and second appointments in the icon region of Spain.

Ceviche with pomegranate seeds and strawberry foam at A Fugo Negro

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June 14, 2012 · 6:47 pm

Palacios Remondo – 14/06/2012

La Vendemia 2011 (50% garnacha, 50% tempranillo)
Lovely light bright ruby red colour. Some floral spice, clear grenache influence, violets and roses. Fresh, fruit sweet blackforest, dark cherry notes. Soft mellow full, generosity of fruit sweet characters, possibly some R/S? Approachable and delicious, very appealing, good with food. Great balance and character.

Placet 2009 (100% viura)
Very elegant mineral rich nose, delicate white floral, white peach and some citrus notes, some very faint battonage characters. Body viscosity and richness without being heavy, fat or buttery. Ripe tropical fruits and good consistency, lots of life and vibrancy, lingering texture and a little warmth for good measure.

La Montesa 2009 (50% garnacha, 40% tempranillo, 10% mazuela)
Slightly pale brick red. Beautifully unique floral notes, slightly hazel(?), black fruits. Wonderful depth concentration, elegance and delicacy, balance of sweet red fruits and savoury elements; earth, slight sweet spice, very fine well structured tannins, an outstanding Rioja wine.

Propiedad 2010 (97% garnacha, 3% tempranillo)
Surprisingly light colour, red not purple. Quite a concentrated dark fruit and floral nose with some dried herbal notes, dried rose petals. Full sweet fruit and oak tannins, quite soft and mellow though. Feeling the warmth in it’s youth, looking slightly candied. Wonderful depth, concentration and extension.

Palacios Remondo tasting

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June 14, 2012 · 6:28 pm

Artadi – 14/06/2012

Vinas de Gain Blanco 2008
Delicate honey citrus, guava peach, nice clean minerality, rich sandy soils. Good texture, mid-weight, fresh but full and expressive. Good concentration and balance, tight acids and fruit, plenty of time to open up in the bottle and develop more richness and viscosity.

Vinas de Gain Tinto 2009
Nice ripe and tight black fruits, blackberry, spice, some garnacha influence? Quite intense and dark, mouth-filling brisk and firm tannins, quite tight and full, some weight as well. Reasonable maceration and fine oak tannins, still very youthful and powerful, will benefit with a few years in the bottle.

Pagos Viejos 2007
Lovely dark fruits, very intense and concentrated, good ripeness and expressive aromatics, oak well integrated, red earth and slight dustiness. Big powerful warm and intense on the palate, teeth-staining extraction, very intense new oak, very modern intense wine, needs a lot of ageing, far too heavy and intense now. Architype icon Spanish wine. Better when you drink it, but still.

Artadi back-vintage

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June 14, 2012 · 6:13 pm

Companio de Vinos – 13/06/2012

El Transistor 2010 (Rueda, Verdejo)
Lovely bright citrus, tropical notes, not the Marlborough SB profile I have seen in others, fresh and inviting. Clean pure minerality, nice battonage notes very subtle, great fruit, but very pure balanced and drinkable. Friendly but with character.

Mountain Blanco 2010 (Malaga)
Lovely musky nose, quite subtle though, very inviting like an Italian dry moscato. Wonderful texture, appearance of fruit sweetness, bold and generous, pure and deep. Balanced friendly, wonderfully drinkable, hard to spit out.

LZ 2011 (Rioja, Joven Tempranillo)
Bright rosy black fruit nose, juicy plum blackberry, wonderfully fresh and soft, generous inviting with nice core of sweet black fruit and well managed tannins and acids. Approachable but good character.

Lanzaga 2008 (Rioja)
Open soft red fruits, subtle earth and mushroom notes. Pure focused, great drive and extension, gentle caressing tannins, not broad heavy or sweet, nice balance and concentration of fruit, some mineral characters. Fantastic integrated acids.

Altos Lanzaga 2007 (Rioja)
Darker colour, more concentrated and extractive, possible vintage-specific. Incredibly dense complex nose, very quiet fruits and well integrated oak notes. Darker more intense fruit, a little warmer on the palate, very concentrated and much more classic profile of Rioja, dark fruits, power and expression, balanced and ageable.

Gago 2008 (Toro)
Quite dark purple colour, very intense. Lovely savoury tar and black and blue fruits. Soft mellow, full and dark, slightly leathery but still very drinkable, more brooding in character, really concentrated. Amazing structure, will soften up nicely given time.

Pegaso Barrancas de Pizzara 2009 (Cebreros, 100% garnacha)
Smokier flintier more raisined notes, candied florals. Daker heavier more intense, sweeter black fruit, softer and more open, less concentration of tannins.

Pegaso Granito 2008 (Cebreros, 100% garnacha)
Seductive dark floral notes, sweet fruits very red and blue, not heavy, quite fresh but intense dark and expressive. Approachable delicious bang for buck value in a glass, what you want, what you need. Plenty of tannins.
The definition of a sustainable winery

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June 14, 2012 · 8:18 am

Bodegas y Vinedos La Bastida – 13/06/2012

Montebuena Tempranillo Joven 2011
Bright blackforest sweet fruit nose, very ripe, slight carbonic notes, candied floral notes, very potent and fruity. Fresh definitely fruit sweet, candied but not oppressively so, intense juiciness and brightness, plenty of volume and chewy generosity.

Crianza 2008
Nice earthy slightly dirty red fruit notes, slight lamb chop fat notes. Much bolder and denser on the palate, not smooth or opulent, but tight and expressive. Plenty of acids, oak subdueing the fruit. A tad sharp and lacking in generosity.

Reserva 2005
Combination of mature oak, ripe green and red vegetables, and dark red fruits. Mouth-filling depth and intensity, bold expressive tannins with plenty of acid to balance, good savoury and fruit elements working together. Still quite young, but oak looking well integrated.

Manuel Quitano 2004
Quite bold international maceration oak nose, a very fine example nonetheless. Chocolate banana, coconut milkshake, blackcurrant sweetness. Intense powerful full tannins, quite dark but still has some brightness, micro-oxygenation making the wine look prematurely old. Good structure, good fruit, just a shame about the oak treatment.

The range at La Bastida

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June 14, 2012 · 7:50 am

Bodegas Remelluri – 13/06/2012

Lindes de Remelluri 2008

Bright fresh ruby notes, very delicate ripe tomatoes and balsamic notes. Soft juicy fresh but focused, full flavoured approachable, firm tannins, extension and focus. Great wine from a great vintage.

Remelluri Reserva 2008

Dense bright red fruits, soft velvety tannins, very opulent. Freshness but very subtle earthy mineral notes. Wonderful concentration, superb ageing potential.

Remelluri Reserva 2007

Darker softer fuller, more blackcurrant richer creamier sweet fruits and tannins, bold fruit intensity, broader and fuller on the palate, quite intense but a gentle structure.

Barriques in the cellars of Bodegas Remelluri

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June 14, 2012 · 7:22 am

Valenciso – 12/06/2012

Blanco 2010 (70% viura, 30% garnacha blanca, 9 months Russian oak, 20% new)
Very delicate aromas, white peach, mandarin, some white floral aromas, slightly creamy. Wonderful structure, finesse and elegance straight down the palate, slightly closed and reductive in a very nice way, awesome purity of fruit with minerality and very delicate oak influence. Russian oak very interesting. Wonderful drinking wine with great character.

Tinto (Reserva) 2005 (100% tempranillo)
Nice bright ripe red fruits, sour cherry, some nice ripe tomato characters, a little tobacco leaf, wild raspberries, hints of floral but some good earth components. Bright tight light freshness, intense ripe fruit most definitely, but very delicate and fine, purity of fruit and terroir. Again, pretty simple when you look at it, non-interventionist winemaking but so complex, balanced and ageable.

Tinto (Reserva) 2006 (100% tempranillo)
More closed and rustic, dense impenetrable, darker fruit somehow, but not riper. Deeper earthier notes, more savoury and picking up some vegetative spice elements, tight intense, very concentrated tannins that should open up beautifully over some time. Structure and acidity locked up at the moment.

Valeciso red and white wines

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June 14, 2012 · 7:09 am

Baigorri – 12/06/2012

Rosado 2011 (50% tempranillo, 50% garnacha)
Bright red intense colour. Some earthy savoury notes, slightly smoky, cured meats, roasted onions. Texture, some fullness of fruit, dark red fruits, plenty of depth but not sweet.

Blanco Fermentado en Barrica 2009 (95% viura, 5% malvasia)
Ripe tropical almost like varnished oak chips (??), honeyed, citrus notes. Quite warm, very textural, retaining some freshness and acidity, quite precise and intense, honey wax.

Crianza 2008 (90% tempranillo, 5% garnacha)
Dark earthy red ripe currants, soft full freshness, good clarity, American oak softens and gives the tannins a nice cream sweetness, vibrancy and approachability. Classic tempranillo wine.

Reserva 2006 (100% new barrel malolactic and ageing for 18 months)
Dark florals, savoury, earthiness, density, some interesting Turkish delight elements, lovely and full, great depth concentration of fruit, nicely integrated oak, plenty of potential for ageing.

Garnacha 2009
Quite dense black fruits, crushed violets, amazing concentration, very full and volumous, velvety generous texture, vibrant fresh fruits, chewy and delicious.

De Garage 2007 (probably tempranillo)
Insanely well structured, very tight focused tannins, finesse and intensity, concentrated, warmer vintage, would be interesting to see the 2008. Youthful, amazing quality from the old vines, very low yields providing depth and concentration.

Baigorri tasting

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