Tag Archives: Spain

June 14, 2012 · 6:44 am

Bodegas Muriel – 12/06/2012

Muriel Rioja Blanco 2011 (viura, verdejo, sauvignon blanc)
Marlborough SB again, grapefruit, passionfruit, guava, kiwi. Sweet fruits, simple acids, tight freshness, aromatic, full flavour, some richness of texture.

Muriel Rosado 2011 (tempranillo, garnacha)
Some rose water, faint fairy floss Turkish delight, strawberries and cream. Fruit sweet and sugar sweet, broad, flabby and pretty fat on the back palate, solid freshness and drinkability.

Muriel Joven 2011
Very intense aromatics, tight toasty chocolate black fruit plums, a little unstable. Roasted capsicums, tomato, dirty red and black fruits, quite hot and aggressive, almost unpalateable.

Muriel Selecion 2010
Cooked meats, roasted notes, imbalanced oak. Sweet overripe fruit, juicy volatile sweet tannins, meaty and dirty, what you expect ordinary Spanish wine to taste like, only turned up to 11.

Muriel Crianza 2007
Sweet new world American oak nose, vanilla creamy toasty, rubbery red fruits. Bold fruit, plenty of volume, sweet texture on the back palate, great punter wine, pleasing to the masses. Probably good value.

Vina Eguia Rioja Crianza 2008
More restrained but also more intense nose, closed dark fruits, concentrated possibly because of the vintage. Intensity on the palate, quite focused but also powerful and forward in terms of fruit. Better balance and structure, more acceptable.

Muriel Reserva 2007
Aromatically challenged, subdued oak hidden red fruits. Bold and intense, too extractive and stretched out, pummeled and pounded into submission, very little freshness. Is it the fruit or the winemaking? Maybe both?

Vina Eguia Reserva 2007
Sweet black fruit, generous bold mellow, good character and approachability, great drinking but not too oaky.

Muriel Gran Reserva 2004
Quite traditional nose, earthy tarry carmelised balsamic, dense earthy very textured, intense and bold, sweet and sour, layered and old-world.

JME 2008
Bold and hot, stinky and fecal, intense dark fruit, sweet juicy and opulent, quite simple heavy fruit, oak not really influencing.

Real Compania Blanco 2011
Sweaty sweet juicy bright fresh honey, very textured, you can really taste this wine.

Real Compania Verdejo 2011
Soft gentle generous freshness, good focus, tightness balance and acidity, not oppressive or too sweet.

Real Compania Garnacha 2011
New world South Australian black fruits, slightly more savoury than an Aus example. Extremely sweet fruit.

Real Compania Tempranillo 2011
Completely volatile, are my standards too high now? Absolutely no varietal character. I need to get back in the market again, my tastes have become too refined and not realistic.

Muriel Blanca Mesa 2011
Simple alcoholic water. What is the point of drinking this? Oh yeah, it’s alcohol.

Muriel Vino de Mesa 2011
Offensive nose, simple fruit palate. Cheap wine and a three day growth. ‘Nuff said.

Picante Grande Meseta Tempranillo Shiraz 2010
Well balanced clean, good fruit, approachable, good texture, red fruits some spice notes. Good value wine.

Elefante Tempranillo Shiraz 2010
Dense earthy red fruit nose, fresh vibrant fruit, mouth-filling and generous, vibrant fruit. Pure minerality and intensity.

Calo Tempranillo Rioja DOCA 2010
Nice intense dark fruits, very plummy and cherry. Very fruit-sweet juicy fantastically good fruit.

Calo Reserva Tempranillo DOCA 2007
Old world sweet juicy dark earthy black fruits, coconut caramel chocolate. How could you be disappointed with this, great character, really full fruit, soft and generous, structured and delicious.
One of many large tanks at Bodegas Muriel

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June 11, 2012 · 9:03 pm

Ramon Bilbao – 11/06/2012

Mar de Frades Finca Valinas Albarino 2010 (Rias Baixas)
Lovely ripe tropical fruit, apple, floral, some minerality. Textured sharpness, ripe and slightly viscous. Nice balance and approachable fruit. Good character, pleasant drinking and good with food. Need to understand the variety and region better.

Monte Blanco Verdejo 2011 (Rueda)
Riper more candied notes, slightly sweaty in a sauvignon blanc way. Ripe tropical New Zealand sauvignon blanc style of wine, looks almost volatile in its sweaty characters. Good aromatic white wine with ripe approachable fruit, good as an aperitif but lacking in finesse, crispness and minerality. Ditto above.

Ramon Bilbao Crianza 2009 (12 months in barrel, 9 months in bottle)
Fairly bright red fruits and some dusty earth notes, cherry and slightly green strawberries. Tight compact and fruit-driven, fresh and relatively elegant, sweetness of tannin from the American oak, slightly vanilla and caramel. A tad hot in the mouth.

Ramon Bilbao Reserva 2006
More intense focused fruit nose, more oak influence, dark floral notes and some sweet balsamic elements. Light and tight, juicy dark fruit still on the fresh side, good structure and balance, focused tannins, oak not interfering too much, has some more potential.

Ramon Bilbao Gran Reserva 2004
Fruit completely shut down on the nose, oak dominating and not inviting at all. Sweet fruit, almost candied on the palate. Quite juicy and plummy, fairly broad and lacks the focus of the Reserva. Quite simple for a wine of this quality.

Ramon Bilbao Vina Turzaballa Gran Reserva 2001 Rioja
Shy nose, in a trough, starting to show some bottle mature notes, some leather and dusty elements. Better concentration of fruit and more expressive structure, good combination of red and black fruits, plenty of life in the wine yet.

Ramon Bilbao Selecion Limitada 2009 Rioja
Ruby and dark fruit nose, very bold fruit, dense and juicy, very ripe and sweet, extended maceration and newer oak. Bold, very young, international-style Spanish wine, not really Rioja.

Mirto 2006
Lives up to its name, as it smells like myrtle, hazel, vegetative elements. Very intense concentrated fruit, really low yielding very ripe berries, a lot of time in new oak, designed to be left for many years. Stay away, it’s difficult to see where the wine might go in the future.
Ramon Bilbao fermenter

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June 11, 2012 · 8:58 pm

Bodegas Roda – 11/06/2012

Sela 2009 (mainly tempranillo, a little graciano. 12 months in barrel, young vines)
Intense purple colour, but still bright. Blackforest, black cherry, vibrant florals. Juicy juby very soft mellow, some creaminess from the oak. Bright intense sweet red and black fruits, generous smooth tannins and some brightness of acidity. Fairly modern style.

Roda 2007
Darker denser and earthier. Deeper tannins, much more brooding and masculine, textural heavier oak influence. Youthful crunchy tannins, some nut and vanilla notes from the oak and grape tannins, mature and extractive but not heavy, fat or fruit-sweet.

Roda 1 2006 (always 100% tempranillo)
Even darker colour but not too intense and black. Denser darker fruit nose, black olives, dried spices, wild plum. Very deep intense, noticeable influence from the oak, but in an extremely mature and delicate way. Very savoury, not a lot of overt juicy black fruits, all extremely well integrated. Quite grainy rough manly texture, but not aggressive or oppressive and oaky. A wine that will benefit a lot from ageing.

Cirsion 2009 (100% tempranillo, only made in certain years)
The darkest and most intense heavy colour of them all. Sweet coconut chocolate vanilla, black fruits plum and very intense blueberry notes. Very youthful and modern looking, ripeness and concentration are key.

Corimbo 2010 (Ribera del Duero)
Creamy red currant fruits, caramel elements, lovely and intense fruits, quite toasty. Tight tannins, quite juicy and full, fruit intense. Quite warm for the time being, but not ready for release just yet. Prefer the Ribera fruit to the Rioja fruit.

Corimbo 1 2009 (Ribera del Duero)
Dark really bright and juby black fruits on the nose. Blackcurrant juice, super intense. Much heavier tannins and depth, but with a very mellow smooth finish. So young for now, will really benefit from bottle ageing. Full-flavoured generous breadth and depth, bang for buck, powerful example.

Roda tasting

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June 10, 2012 · 10:50 pm

It’s a bubbles thing (Penedes, Spain – Day Two)

After spending the night at Raventos i Blanc, I spent my second day in the region meeting a few of the most important people in cava production in the heart of the production area, Sant Sadurni d’Anoia. The first person was the owner of the winery I stayed at, Manuel Raventos himself. Over breakfast Jose introduced me to the history of his forefathers and their impact on wine in the region. He is an amazingly modest man considering the contribution he himself has made to lift the profile of cava wine around the world. Back in the early ’90s he innovatively decided to purchase a chateau in Bordeaux in an effort to secure more placements for his cava. He completely changed the business from selling the fruit and wine, to bottling the wine entirely. After he realised that having a bordeaux wine didn’t help his cava he decided to sell the winery, and the new owners promptly upped the price off the back of the growing acclaim the winery had received. Manuel continues to chip away at creating larger markets for terroir-driven vintage cava, and he is lucky to be supported by a number of other producers like my other hosts for the day Agusti Torello Mata.

In the relocated library of the Raventos family, the Intrepid Wino with Manuel Raventos

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June 10, 2012 · 6:59 pm

Cava country (Penedes, Spain – Day One)

Cava is to Spain what champagne is to France. Way back in the 19th century the area in and around Penedes to the south of Barcelona there was a lot of grapes growing, but they weren’t known for quality wines. The indigenous grapes were macabeu, xerello and parellada, grown for their yields and ability to ripen but provide plenty of acidity. In 1872 after a visit to Champagne, Josep Raventos Fatjo returned to his estate in Penedes and had the revolutionary idea to begin producing traditional method sparkling wine, from the indigenous grape varieties which as I mentioned had plenty of acids ideal for the wine. This proved to be a wise decision and changed the entire wine industry in the region. His son then wanted to protect the reputation they were gaining for high quality sparkling wine, and thus created one of the first DO classifications in Spain to protect the name and area of production. As the Spanish government weren’t particularly interested they went to Brussels to get the protection, but the problem was that they couldn’t agree with the area of production, only that it must be made in the traditional method. The Denominacion de Origen area covers Penedes, areas to the south near Valencia, and even as far west as Rioja, however 95% of the cava produced comes from the Penedes region.
Traditional method bottle of cava

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June 9, 2012 · 5:12 pm

Agusti Torello Mata – 8/06/2012

Xarello 2011
Typical juicy green characters, lime, kiwi, some asparagus. Green tropical notes, very clean and fresh, pure minerality and crispness. Some textural elements. A little extension, but a good aromatic varietal wine.

Subirat Parent 2011
Slightly more closed oily crispness, crisp tight salty texture. Fresh balanced pleasant more subtle notes. Same green fruit notes.

Aptia Macabeu 2011
Slightly more closed, very delicate hints of toast and nut, riper fuller and juicier, more yellow fruits, no green. Very slight creaminess and very soft texture. Some good extension, lingers nicely on the palate.

Agusti Torello Mata Brut Reserva 2008
Clean precise perfectly balanced, great depth and richness, texture creaminess, wonderful apple and lemon notes with the typical cava varietal nature, slightly green herbs. Perfect example of the classic style.

Brut Nature Gran Riserva 2007
More mineral almost like chlorine, very pure precise and clear, amazingly subtle fruit on the nose. Natural cream from the bead and fruit, typical varietal character but more fruit richness and depth.

Gran Reserva Barrica 2007
More complex quitter o the nose, creamy in a very toasty vanilla way, interesting texture, slightly deeper, a much better example than champagnes I have tasted, very fresh and light, only a subtle difference. Not too creamy, better balance and integration.

Kripta 2006
Exquisitely subtle, very elegant, a little richness creamy notes. Creamy delicate yet explosive flavours of brioche, vanilla, creamy wheat, lively fruits still very fresh, very mature citrus and slight carob notes. Almost as complex as trying to store the bottle.

Rosat Trepat 2009
Bright intense fairy floss strawberry creamy, lovely texture and some citrusy crispness. Strawberry desert gives the wine an almost maraschino cherry, cherry liqueuer flavour. Good with deserts.

Kripta

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June 9, 2012 · 4:11 pm

Raventos i Blanc – 7/06/2012

Reserva Brut 2009
Nice fresh familiar cava nose, smoky citrus, creamy nose, wonderfully full and vibrant on the palate yet amazingly well balanced, focused and driven. Some great but unpretentious autolysis notes. SO enjoyable yet unique.

De Nit Rose 2009 (5% monastrell short cold skin contact)
Red citrus notes, quite vibrant and some astringent tannins texture. Bright slightly savoury red berries, not sweet, quite subtle. A very differet rose wine. Not rose but not white either. Interesting combination of tannin and yeast notes.

Elisabet Raventos 2006 (4 years on lees)
Floral vanilla creamy citrus notes. Honeysuckle white lily. Deeper more intense and serious, builds beautifully on the palate, layers of complexity. Very subtle but assured autolysis notes. Still fresh and will benefit from age. A champagne drinkers cava, no doubt.

Silencis Xerello 2011
Very intense fruity nose, grapefruit lychee apricot, freshness persistence, balance, very delicate and approachable, not a particular wine of distinction, but a great crisp fruit driven wine nonetheless. Good phenolics, some subtle viscosity.

Raventos i Blanc Reserva de la Finca Cava

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June 9, 2012 · 3:05 pm

Can Feixes – 7/06/2012

Huguet Gran Riserva Cava Brut Nature 2007 (60% parellada, 20% macabeo, 20% pinot noir)
Lovely tight crisp tropical yellow green notes, some passionfruit, stone fruits, some minerality and very integrated autolysis. Vibrant fresh but exquisitely balanced, reflective of the varieties and region, but really a cut above. Amazingly subtle and long, like a Champagne twist on Cava.

Can Feixas Blanc Seleccio 2011 (Parellada, macabeo, chardonnay, malvasia)
Fresh bright, slightly uriney sauvignon blanc fume stink, again green fruits on the nose. Very full fruit driven fresh vibrant textural volume. Bold stone fruits and some very ripe citrus notes. Pretty intense now, perhaps will settle down in some months. Wonderfully juicy and drinkably refreshing.

Chardonnay 2007 (barrel fermented, new oak – five French coopers)
Very creamy toasty almonds and maize notes, slight toffee aromas, ripe citrus peach notes. Full crunchy bold hot texture, multilayered, very ripe and fruit heavy, oak meshes well with the ripeness of the fruit, thank god there is no malolactic as it would make it far too fat. Well balanced, just too warm a region for the variety, like Sicily.

Negre Tradicio 2007 (merlot, tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot)
Sausage meat, toasty notes, black olives, black fruits. Wonderful acidity and freshness, beautiful balance, bright red and black fruits, fresh plum and cherry notes, Full and generous yet soft and approachable with solid structure and character.

Reserva Especial 2005 (70% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot)
Dusty chalky clay notes, slightly smoky meats, full voluptuous, very tight in structure and looking a little youthful/green in texture. Oak looking a little prominent still, lot’s of potential. The structure is all there, the pieces around it just need to fall into line. Slightly warm.

Huguet Gran Riserva Cava 2007

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June 9, 2012 · 2:44 pm

Torreblanca – 7/06/2012

Brut – Xarello, Macabeu, Peredara
Fairly subtle classic cava nose, Very vibrant dark honey, fresh, fresh citrus, not completely unfamiliar, clean fresh, very approachable and drinkable.

Brut nature
Slightly brighter and more vibrant fruit and floral nose. Tighter fresher, broader and denser, full flavoured, bright fresh.

Brut Rosat (garnacha, merlot)
Very dark ruby colour, juicy blackcurrant juice nose, Dark juicy, fresh bold, mellow, not really bright, but pretty juicy and floral. Almost like a slightly savoury sparkling Ribena.

Extra Brut (pinot noir)
A cava expression of pinot noir, bold red berries, nice and yeasty and rich, quite broad and very fruit creamy but very toasty and quite special, different. Elegant, flavours last a long time in the mouth.

Torreblanca cava ageing in the cellar

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June 6, 2012 · 10:03 pm

Slow down (Montsant, Spain)

Life is pretty different in this part of the world, and things move just a little bit slower. There is something peaceful about driving along the winding roads between Priorat and Montsant, and as the valley opens out into the gentler rolling hills it makes for very nice driving in a pretty decent car that I was upgraded to. Meandering about through the lanes of medieval villages perched on hills, sitting down to a long lunch, enjoying a cold beer with some local cuisine, life couldn’t be easier. If you have a closer look around the villages here however, you see several of the problems not only with Spain but much of Europe. The first is that it is a rapidly ageing population in the country, with most of the young people gone to work in the larger cities and live more modern cosmopolitan lifestyles. There are a lot of difficulties with the bureaucracy here and red tape is a constant annoyance of the people. Apart from Falset, if you drive through most of the villages they are essentially ghost towns, which may also have something to do with the afternoon heat this time of year. There just isn’t enough work for young people (not that there is much more in the cities), and many of the people who do work here commute in, such as from Tarragona only 45 minutes away on the coast. So shops close at odd hours, restaurants may not open several days of the weeks, I haven’t seen many petrol stations or supermarkets, it is a little bit more difficult than most of the other places I’ve been. It really does remind me of the Salta region in Argentina, except at least you aren’t far from other places here, whereas you can run into serious trouble if your car breaks down in Salta. Don’t let it happen to you!
Nice view into the Capcanes valley

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