An exciting week: I attended a very interesting tasting and presentation at Madrid Fusion on Biodynamic wines. 50 biodynamic wineries from around Europe attended and presented their wines. Nicolas Joly, one of the most passionate proponents of biodynamics, presented his ideas on the matter. It was a fascinating presentation and very timely as the concept is really growing here in Spain. The tasting was fascinating…some really interesting wines, some surprising dispointments too! I hope to post a full report this weekend!

In the meantime…at the office we ordered pizza delivered and I need to pick a cheap and cheerful to go with it. There are tons of cheap and cheerful in Spain, but whenever possible I like to try a foreign wine…so few chances arise!

Many of you in the US and Australia will groan at a tasting note of the ubiquitous Yellowtail, but for me, here, in the total absence of non-Spanish wines…even Yellowtail is exciting!

Wine: Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Winery: Casella Wines
Appellation: South Eastern Australia
Alc: 13.5%
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Oak regime: ????
Price: Around 9 euros in Spain

Tasting notes:
Visual: Nice youthful color
Nose: Intense fruit nose…red berries with a little spice…very jammy. Comes off a little hot despite 13.5% on label. Simple but attractive and very clean. Small touches of oak but the fruit is by far the most dominant feature.
Mouth: Smooth, juicy and simple. Loads of fruit with ridiculously soft tannins…is this Cabernet Sauvignon? Not hot in mouth. Nice jammy fruit lingers for a medium finish.
Food: Excellent with the barbecued chicken pizza.

Retaste: No retaste…we had it all…wouldn’t have benefited from air!

Conclusion: Very good pizza wine! Easy to drink…very simple, but tasty. I can see why it’s had massive popular success. Could do well in Spain eventually, but 9€ is considered expensive here!