I have been meaning to try this Rioja wine for some time and in the last week I have tried it in two vintages.  Both were impressive, but the 2007 could use a little more time in bottle to achieve a better balance.  Predicador is the inexpensive wine that Benjamin Romeo brought onto the market in 2005.  Benjamin Rome is a cult winemaker in Rioja and is responsible for such amazing wines as Contador, La Cueva de Contador, La Viña de Andrés, all priced 80 euros or higher.  Benjamin Romeo also offers one of Spain’s most unique whites, Que Bonito Cacareaba, which retails for about 35€.  The story behind the name is funny…it translates as “How wonderfully it crowed.”  Seems strange but originally it was called Gallo canto or “Cock crows”, but obviously Gallo in Spanish is spelled the same as the famous winery Gallo.  Need I say more….so Benjamin killed off the Gallo and in memoriam named the wine Que Bonito Cacareaba!  Love it and love the wine.  The Predicador is less intense and simpler than it’s pricy big brother, but it offers a lot of bang for the buck at only about 19€.   It is an intense, sweet fruit, fresh modern Rioja with great oak integration and a long finish.  The 2006 has the edge for me right now…much smoother.  The 2007 is delicious, but the tannins are a bit tight still.     It really a pleasure to drink a good value wine from this unique and creative winemaker.  Read on for more details on Predicador.  

Dominio de Atauta is a really unique wine from the Spanish wine region of Ribera del Duero.  As mentioned in my ratings of Ferratus, I’m a bit down on the region.  The inexpensive wines from the region are often hollow and thin on fruit, the more expensive can often be over-oaked.  Also many of the wines, though perfect technically, seem to be lacking a lot of character. I feel that many Ribera wineries have lost touch with the terroir of the region in order to attain the perfect model for an “international” wine.  I’m convinced that it would be very hard to pick some Ribera wines out of a lineup of blockbuster-style reds from around the world….many of these wines lack a sense of place…and they can also be exhausting to drink.  The wines of the Dominio de Atauta winery are the opposite of international…they are firmly rooted in the terroir that the wine-maker tries to reflect in his wines.  The winemaker; Bernard Sourdais is from the Loire Valley, but has been working in Spain for over a decade.  He brings a real French sensibility to the idea of terroir, a concept that is just catching on in a real way here in Spain.   The vineyards are very special; they are located at the far eastern end of the Denominacion, in the province of Soria.  The altitude is higher than most of Ribera, 950 meters and the vines are very old.  The youngest vines the winery uses are 60 years old, the oldest, 160!  The winery also practices biodynamic wine-making and the winery is built in a manner so as to blend into the landscape.  These are all facts that lead to the uniqueness of these wines…but a word of warning…these are not always easy wines.  These are not the big, sweet, juicy Riberas we have become used to.  When I first tasted the 2005, it was delightful in the nose, but the tannins were still quite rough in the mouth.  The wine has since come into a much better balance and is one of the most original and satisfying Riberas on the market…and also good value at 25€..    Even more spectacular are the single-vineyard wines, Llanos del Almendro, La Mala and Valdegatiles that range between 75 and 100€.  Read on for more details on the basic Dominio de Atauta red.  

Another slightly high end wine….but the Mauro 2005 is totally worth its 22€ price tag.  Mauro was one of the pioneers in making top quality wine outside the traditional wine appellation areas.  Its category is Vino de la Tierra, in theory a table wine category, but also producing some of the best and best value wines in Spain.  Mauro was founded in 1980 in the Ribera del Duero area.  Outside the wine appellation has given the winery more flexibility in grape varieties, which include Tempranillo, Garnacha and Syrah.  In the mid to late 90’s Mauro changed wine styles along with many area wineries, seeking fresher fruit and more intensity.  Mariano Garcia, the famed winemaker from Vega Sicilia took over and the result was one of the hottest wines in Spain…it really put the category of Vino de la Tierra de Castilla Leon on the map.  Even the casual wine-drinker has heard of this winery.   I used to drink a lot of this wine, but had ignored it in the past few vintages.  I’ve rediscovered the wine in the very good 2005 vintage…an intense, yet attractive wine with a perfect oak balance…something sadly lacking in many Ribera del Duero wines. It’s great to revisit a pioneer and find it still deserves its reputation.  For more information on the Vino de la Tierra Category of wine see my blog post on the unconventional wine categories in Spain.  Read on for more details on the wine.

Roda Reserva 2004 from Rioja is the wine I have consumed most over the past year.  I love to change the wines I put in my tastings constantly….otherwise I get bored!  The Roda, however, has been the exception…it is the consistently the favorite wine in my line-ups of eight wines from all over Spain.  The 2004 vintage, which is really structured, has only been getting better over the months…I’m dreading the day they come out with the 2005…it’s a very nice wine, but it will take a year to get to where the 2004 is now.  This wine is a firmly modern Rioja with only 16 months in new French oak.  The special thing about it is that perfect balance it has between sweet red fruit, fresh Rioja acidity, perfectly integrated oak and firm, yet ripe tannins.  It is so youthful, with many years ahead, but so easy to drink now.  It is really good value at 20-22€ retail in Madrid. It is the all round wine, a wine that please all types and nationalities of wine drinkers.  I serve it so much I do get burned out on Roda but I can’t stop serving it!  Read on for more details on the wine.

I usually rate wines that retail under 20€ because I think they are more useful for the typical wine buyer, but the other day I tasted a great wine that I really wanted to put out there.  The wine Cenit 2005 costs about 35-40€ retail here in Spain, though I’ve seen it for less on US sites at 40$.  Cenit is from one of the most recently created wine appellations in Spain, DO Tierra del Vino de Zamora…not the most practical name!  But it’s an interesting region located in northwestern Spain right on the border with Portugal…  The region is best known for reds made from old-vine Tempranillo, some of them on original rootstock….though there are only a handful of wineries so far, some very interesting wines are being made.  The climate is very extreme with big temperature changes between the day and night.  The best wines are generally big, full-bodied and intense.   If you want to check out this new wine appellation see http://www.tierradelvino.net/home.html.  Read on for more details on the wine.

I’ve been complaining a bit about the over-oaked state of many Spanish wines lately and probably the worst region for it is Ribera del Duero.  There’s no denying that some of Spain’s best reds come from the area….reds from a robust variant of Tempranillo called Tinto Fino.  Tinto Fino gives wines of great body and structure that do well in new oak.  Many wine-makers have taken that favorable characteristic and taken it too far.  Many top Riberas have way too much oak despite their great fruit and structure….many of my clients have been disappointed by tastings of top Riberas lately.  Inexpensive Riberas are often tough and hollow…lacking in fruit.  It’s not an inexpensive region by Spanish standards….I have found few Riberas below 20€ that I have really liked.  I tasted an Emilio Moro Crianza the other day…it used to be one of my favorites…it’s good value for Ribera at 17€, but the 2005 I tasted the other day was overly oaky.  One of my favorite wineries in Ribera is Dominio de Atauta…they make a range of blends and single vineyards wines that really stand apart from other Riberas…they really focus on terroir.  They are very intense and focused with lean, elegant fruit and great acidity…most importantly they are very carefully and moderately oaked.  Ferratus, the wine I’m rating below, is a new winery (2003) that has garnered some great ratings from Spanish critics.  I am not so impressed.  Read on for my detailed rating.

Vinos de Madrid is an improving but still little known wine appellation within the province of Madrid, the small region surrounding the city of Madrid.  Traditionally it was known for joven or “young” red wines without any oak, wines that were often served in the bars in the capital.  There has been a tremendous effort to improve the wines and the area has become quite trendy here in Madrid.  Unfortunately the best wines have become so popular that they can be quite pricy.  There are three major sub-zones in the area, each with very differing soils and climates:  Arganda to the southeast, San Martín to the west and Navalcarero to the southwest.  The climate is generally very hot continental, similar to La Mancha.  Grape varieties allowed are numerous:  the most common ones are Tempranillo and Garnacha, though Syrah is catching on.  Some of the most well known wineries are Tagonius, Qubel and Regajal…I find their wines very good but quite pricy.  Probably my favorite wine form the area, though it is not an appellation wine but rather a Vino de la Tierra is Montazo, a wonderful wine made by the famous enologist Telmo Rodriguez.   The winery Nueve Valverde is in the zone of St Martin and makes two very interesting reds.  They also represent quite good quality compared to many.

The Ciudad Real area of La Mancha produces some interesting wines; in particular there are some really interesting Syrahs and Tempranillos.  Many times the wines are really good value though prices are rising.  Typically these wines are easy drinking, glugable reds….high alcohol but with gobs of sweet attractive fruit.  The best can have some complexity and subtlety, with better equilibrium between fruit, alcohol, oak, and acidity.  The worse are out of balance:  too much alcohol, often over-ripe fruit and lacking acidity….or even worse over sharp acidity from enthusiastic acid rectification.   The wines of La Mancha are hot weather wines, big wines that often resemble new world wines from similarly hot regions.  They are big wines, even the most complex and elegant wines, and many of my Spanish wine tasters find them overwhelming.  On the other hand, many of my foreign groups love them!  I tend to drink them chilled with barbecues in the summer….when I first came to Spain I drank them more frequently at home, but I got a bit burned out and lately I’ve used them solely in tasting.  Always a region to re-visit as change and improvement is constant. 

When I arrived in Spain over 6 years ago, Robert Parker and his team were just starting to pay attention to the wines in a big way.  Since then I have seen awareness of him take off in the wine sector…frequently these days, winery professionals talk about the ratings they’ve received from the Wine Advocate.  I often ask my groups of wine tasters if they’ve heard of Robert Parker, and though many of the foreigners have, very few of the Spanish groups have. The concept of wine ratings still hasn’t really filtered down to the typical Spanish wine consumer…he or she still rely on the recommendations of family, friends, or their local wine merchant.  There are quite a few wine guides and magazines in Spain that rate wines, but ratings are a tool that is just starting to be used as a marketing tool by wineries, distributors and wine merchants. 

Toro is a wine region that 10 years ago was just starting to change its wines, making more elegant modern styles.  Now it has gained a new reputation and though there is still a lot of room for improvement, its top wines are some of the most respected in the wine community.  Within Spain, Toro still hasn’t shaken off its somewhat rustic reputation for big “bull’s blood” style wines, though when I give Toro wines to my Spanish wine tasting groups, they are generally pleasantly surprised.  Among wine aficionados and in the export market Toro already enjoys a very good reputation.  Unfortunately this has led to some pretty high prices for the top wines.  Some of my favourites have increased in price by at least half in only a few years…I remember when Termanthia was only 50€….now it starts at 120€!  Amongst my favourites….still reasonably priced at less than 35€:  Numanthia, San Roman, Quinta de Quietud, Gran Elias Moro, and Pintia (at 25€ this is still a great bargain!) 

It’s often a challenge to find a great wine from Rioja at a great price.  One of my favourite producers is Finca Valpiedra, a winery that has only ever offered a single reserva wine.  Finca Valpiedra is a great reserva that is a hybrid between modern and traditional styles, a style that can appeal to every wine aficionado!  It has a slightly longish oak aging time, 18-22 months, but largely in new French oak.  The fruit has all the bright exuberance of a modern Rioja yet has the silky texture and elegance of a more traditional reserva.  Love the current 2004 vintage, but at around 20€, it’s not for everyday drinking.

One very impressive winery in Ronda is Cortijo Los Aguilares, the personal retirement project of a Basque businessman, José Antonio Itarte.  The estate is a huge finca and the vineyards only cover some 19 hectares of the total 800 available…wine here is made on a very artisanal basis…after extensive soil analysis only the best parcels were planted with vines!  Also on the estate are free-range Iberian black pigs…we saw them running through the oak trees from a distance.  The winery itself has two buildings, both of which were restored respecting the original architecture of the Cortijo; the elegant main house is mostly a vacation home for the family but also houses the administrative offices and a beautiful tasting space.  The winemaking area is housed in a much more functional building with a shallow lake on the roof to help with cooling the barrel room.  The young enologist, Bibi García, is very dynamic and she is striving to make a very different style wine than is typical in the area.  She gained experience working in Rioja, Priorat and Chile.  The owner is greatly influenced by the wines of Burgundy and Bibi is trying to create elegant, aromatic wines that seem to defy the sometimes extreme heat of the region.  These wines do in fact have an earthy complexity reminiscent of Burgundy and are surprisingly light in alcohol. 

Rioja Vino de Autor in Two Vintages:  San Vicente 2003 and 2004

Vintage Variation in Spain is not as extreme as it is in more northern climates, but it obviously still has a very real impact.  I was fortunate to try one of my favourite Vinos de Autor in two very different vintages. 

San Vicente was one of the original Vinos de Autor in Rioja, leading the way to the modern starting in 1991.  This was the first vine de terruño or terroir…a single vineyard wine made from the “ideal” vineyard as envisioned by the winemakers, the Eguren family.  As such it has become an icon and remaisn so today, despite the multiple vinos de autor that have proliferated recently.

The Gran Reserva is almost exclusively a classic style in Rioja….most of these wines have over 30 months in oak, many as much as 48 months!   National wine law in Spain has changed…the minimum oak aging for a gran reserva is 18 months, though the total time before release remains 5 years.  But many of the regional authorities have left the minimum oak aging period at 24 months.  In any case the typical aging periods far exceed the minimum. 

Now we move on to the Reservas, both in the 18 euro price range.  Once again I picked a true classic bodega, La Rioja Alta and a fully modern one; Palacios Remondo. 

At the crianza level there is usually enough fruit in both classic and modern to satisfy the majority of palates, but at the reserva level the disparity in styles becomes more acute. 

The next pair of wines in my Rioja class was two crianzas, one in a classic style and one in a modern style, both in the 10-12 euro range. 

The Rioja style issue is a favourite theme for me to bring out in my tastings.  Many typical wine-drinkers are unaware of the stylistic differences that lie hidden in Rioja.  These comparisons of different Rioja style are some of the most revelatory tastings I hold…some clients are astonished at the difference.

I’ve been doing a course with a great group…looking more in depth at Spanish red wines.  Our first week was Rioja and we made some interesting discoveries.  It was a great opportunity to further explore the fascinating topic of classic and modern Rioja styles.

The most unique and fascinating wine was probably the 1955 Paternina Reserva…a wine that had no information on the label at all.  I had done some research and found some recent tasting notes on the 1955 from a vertical Paternina tasting.  The most fascinating piece of information I could discover was that in the early 50’s the Paternina wines had a metallic taste to them that was caused by the use of copper pipes in the winery.  These were changed out in 1956!

Ribera de Duero is one of the most well known wine regions in Spain and it is a cinch to visit from Madrid…only 2 hours due north.
We go quite frequently and have taken a few groups there. We often base our visits on what is called the “Golden Mile”, which is centered around Sardon del Duero. This area is know for some of the top wineries in Spain: Pingus and Vega Sicila being the most famous. One winery in the Golden Mile is our top recommendation to visit: Abadia Retuerta. Fantastic wines and a beautiful, detailed winery visit to one of the most high tech wineries in Spain. Also included in the visit, and equally impressive, is the ancient abbey on the grounds. Unlike many wineries, visits are welcomed and the reception is both warm and professional. If you are in the area…give them a call and stop by.

This is a subject that I can’t avoid….Rioja and its various styles…I love it! I’ve had a few comments saying that I’ve been unfair to classic Rioja and perhaps I have. Some have said that long barrel aging does not kill fruit flavors, but enhances them…this I have to disagree with. Classic Riojas are not fruit-driven wines…they have many characteristics that make them attractive but the fruit is often oxidized and faded. The bottom line for me is that I appreciate all the various styles that Rioja has to offer today, but I think it is a disservice to the consumer that you have no idea of what style you might get…especially at the reserva level….maybe style should be indicated on the label. I think having so many styles that are not indicated on the label is also a disservice to Rioja as well…it’s hard to project a coherent wine image.

As mentioned in my article below on Navarra Wine Country, we recently had the chance to visit an impressive new winery project near Estella in Navarra: Pago de Larrainzar.

The project is the vision of Miguel Canalejo Larrainzar, the former president of Alcatel in Spain. It is a real family project: a couple of his children are involved full-time in the winery.

This is a great example of some of the great value, high quality wines coming out of La Mancha at the moment. Ezekiel Sánchez-Mateos, owner of the great little wine store, Reserva y Cata, makes this wine. He has a wonderful personalized selection of wines in his store and on the days he is there, he can guide you really well, and he can also help you in English! Ezekiel runs one of the few stores in town, where each wine is individually selected with care. Check out the website at: http://www.reservaycata.com/

We usually bring the wine when we go to Miguel’s family’s house. This time we brought a Gran Elias Mora, a blockbuster wine from Toro. While it was aerating in the decanter, Uncle Constancio offered up an older Rioja. We cleaned out a bunch of old Riojas at Christmas…most of them were way gone…so naturally I was a little dubious.
However this wine is a top end single-vineyard wine from a bodega I know well. It’s also from 1996, not as old at the over-the-hill 92s I was drinking over the holidays.
A pet peeve of mine is that people often keep their wines too long…it seems the word reserve on the label encourages it. The beauty of the traditional reserva system in Spain is that the winery doesn’t release the wine for many years. It is already ready to drink upon release…yes you can keep a reserve for many more years….but it is only the absolute top wines that are drinking well ten years on.
This wine was still drinking well ten years on! It was fading a little, but still ahd lots of elegant, delicate fruit left. It was a pleasant surprise….

Before Xmas, we visited the wine region of Toro, NW of Madrid. This is a region that is famous for its potent red wines made from Tinta de Toro, a local variety of Tempranillo. The region has seen a lot of change over the last 5 years…the quality of the wines has improved dramatically, as have the prices! It can still represent good value, especially compared to its neighbour to the east Ribera del Duero! I hope to do a more in depth trip report to post at a later date.

Ribera del Duero produces some of Spain stop red wines, but at a price. By Spanish standard, the region is one of the most expensive. I’m always looking out for a wine that represents quality for price…fairly tricky!

This wine is quite good value:

Wine: Montecastro 2004

Winery: Bodegas y Viñedos Montecastro
Denominacion de Origen (DO): Ribera del Duero
Alc: 14.5%
Grape variety: 100% Tinto Fino (local variety of Tempranillo)
Oak regime: 18 months in oak (50% 1st year, 50% 2nd year)
70% French, 25% American, 5% Lithuanian
Price: Around 12 euros in SpainI tasted the 2003 of this wine a few weeks ago and found it a little flat in terms of over-ripe fruit and an excess of tannins. The 2004 much better (in line with the better vintage)…it has just been released, so look for it.