* * * * *
Vineyards overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Empordá.
One of the most beautiful vineyard areas in Spain.
Spain’s important native wine critic, Victor de la Serna of the publication, El Mundo, has long argued for this fantasy in the face of an historical legacy to the contrary, which helped provide the propaganda program behind which so many Spanish wineries sought to maximize profitability by fashioning wines solely for the over the top tastes of Robert Parker’s associate, Jay Miller, who has just retired from covering Spain for the Parker empire. Gerry Dawes has long been a journalistic counterpoint to the “Mediterranean Wine” armada, and in the last several months has created an import company to search out Spanish wines of the old school that steer clear of the alcoholic hubris that has marred so many new and formerly great wine-producing estates in Spain in the last fifteen or twenty years.
The Spanish Artisan Wine Group - Gerry Dawes Selections Albariños
from the Asociación de Bodegas Artesanas, Rías Baixas, Galicia.
Long-time Spanish wine expert and journalist, Gerry Dawes
has finally tossed his hat back in the ring of the wine trade here in
the United States, creating a new Spanish wine import company that is
focused on searching out old school Spanish wines of great character
that have resisted (or studiously ignored) the modern trend towards high
alcohol and over-oaked wines that have plagued many of the most
well-known properties on the Iberian peninsula during the last couple of
decades. Señor Dawes is probably the most vociferous opponent of
excessive new oak to be found in the world of wine since the passing of
Bartolo Mascarello, and he is no fan of the very heady and overripe
style of winemaking that has been championed in many other journalistic
circles behind the banner of Spain’s “Mediterranean Wine” fiction, which
argues un-persuasively that Spain’s natural wine proclivity is to make
overripe and alcoholic wines due to the limitations of its Mediterranean
climate.
Spain’s important native wine critic, Victor de la Serna of the publication, El Mundo, has long argued for this fantasy in the face of an historical legacy to the contrary, which helped provide the propaganda program behind which so many Spanish wineries sought to maximize profitability by fashioning wines solely for the over the top tastes of Robert Parker’s associate, Jay Miller, who has just retired from covering Spain for the Parker empire. Gerry Dawes has long been a journalistic counterpoint to the “Mediterranean Wine” armada, and in the last several months has created an import company to search out Spanish wines of the old school that steer clear of the alcoholic hubris that has marred so many new and formerly great wine-producing estates in Spain in the last fifteen or twenty years.
I
have now had a handful of opportunities to taste through the wines in
Gerry’s new import portfolio, which he has dubbed The Spanish Artisan
Wine Group - Gerry Dawes Selections. Not surprisingly, given Gerry’s
long history of visiting in Spain and knowing the wine regions of the
country inside out, his roster of small and very serious winegrowers is
as fine a group of classic Spanish wines as one is likely to find under
one umbrella.
I had intended to feature these wines as part of a larger piece on
traditionally-styled Spanish wines in a coming issue, but thought the
breadth and depth of selections in the Dawes’ portfolio was sufficiently
exciting to warrant a feature on their own- particularly since many of
these wines are made in very, very small quantities, and if I sat on the
notes for a few months and included them in the upcoming feature, it is
quite likely that many of these superb wines would already be sold out
of the market. So, I have decided to get these notes published as
quickly as possible to ensure that readers who are so inclined might
have the opportunity to track down some of these truly exceptional wines
prior to their disappearing from the market.
The heart and
soul of the Spanish Artisan Wine Group’s lineup are superb bottlings of
Mencía on the red side of the ledger, and a great set of producers
making stunning Albariño on one hand, and another group working their
magic with Godello on the white wine side of the ledger. This is not to
say that there are not some equally superb wines to be found here
amongst Señor Dawes’ selections that are not made from one of these
three grapes (in fact, there is a simply stunning, old vine Garnacha
from Camino del Villar Viña Aliaga that Gerry is not particularly fond
of - given its riper style in comparison to most of the wines found in
his portfolio - but which should absolutely not be missed!), so one
would be foolish to focus exclusively on the small growers producing
Mencía, Godello and Albariño in the roster of tiny estates represented
here.
But, that said, there is no denying that the Spanish Artisan Wine
Group’s lineup of producers of Mencía, Godello and Albariño are all
absolutely exceptional and every bit as fine as anything I have ever
tasted from these three grape varieties. In particular, his roster of
Albariño producers are spectacular, with each estate emphatically
showing just how great the wines from this grape can be when produced
from low yields and old vines. Along with Albariño producers represented
here in the US by José Pastor, such as Pedralonga, Raul Perez and Do
Ferreiro, the likes of Spanish Artisan Wine Group producers such as
Lagar de Broullón, O Forollo, Avó Roxo, Cabaleiro do Val and Rozas are
redefining just what Albariño can and should be and are amongst some of
the most exciting new (at least to me) dry white wines that I have
tasted in several years. In fact, Gerry’s roster ofAlbariño producers is
so superb that he generally saves them for the end of tastings,
starting with reds and rosado bottlings and letting the Albariño
producers finish off the festivities at the two events I attended!
I first tasted
several of these wines at the start of March of this year, as the wines
were just scheduling to depart from Spain (and I for a month-long swing
through France and Germany), and then followed up with a second tasting
in late May when the wines had fully arrived here in New York. Both
tastings emphasized that Señor Dawes’ lineup is chock full of
outstanding producers new to the export markets and who are fashioning
absolutely stellar, old school wines that are long on terroir, purity of
fruit, tangy acids and great personality that are derived from their
traditional places of origin, rather than from a tony French tonnelier
or trendy international winemaking consultant.
While I have not yet had the pleasure to visit and taste in the cellars
with these producers, it is now at the top of my list for future
tasting trips and it will not be long until I have the pleasure to meet
these vignerons in person and get a better feel for their philosophies
and vineyard landscapes. For, these are really superb wines and some of
the most exciting new producers to cross my path in several years. For
subscribers not located here in the states, I am sure that these small
artisan producers would be delighted to be contacted directly about the
availability of their wines, as there is little doubt that they are
currently swimming upstream from the more “typical” Spanish wine market
at home (still seemingly enamored of alcoholic clout and tons of new
wood) and would be amenable to sharing a few of their great bottles with
sympathetic private clients from around the continent.
Cava
While I will be doing a full-fledged feature on Cava in the next issue,
I wanted to include notes here on The Spanish Artisan Wine Group’s fine
Catalan producer, Jaume Giró et Giró and their excellent label of Can
Festis Cava. Like virtually all of the top producers I have tasted in
recent months, Jaume Giró et Giró is part of the “Six Percent Club” who
own their own vineyards and produce Cava solely from their own grapes.
As I will elaborate on in my article on Cava, in my experience, this is
one of the fundamental building blocks for producing truly world class
Cava, and if one were to simply limit one’s consumption of Cava to
producers who grow their own grapes and make their own wines, one could
steer clear of disappointingly bland examples and come to appreciate
just how beautifully delicate and complex top flight Cava can be from
members of this “Six Percent Club.”
Can Festis Cava “Bronze Label” Brut Nature- Jaume Giró et Giró $15.99
Can Festis Cava “Silver Label” Brut Nature Reserva- Jaume Giró et Giró $19.99
Can Festis Cava “Gold Label” Brut Nature Grand Reserva- Jaume Giró et Giró $22.99
(Notes to follow.)
Assorted Vino Blanco
The 2010 Finca
Teira Blanco from Bodegas Manuel Formigo is a blend of seventy percent
Treixadura, twenty percent Godello and ten percent Alvilla. It weighs in
at a cool 12.5 percent alcohol and is a lovely middleweight, offering
up a complex nose of lemon, grapefruit, salty soil tones, citrus peel
and a touch of beeswax in the upper register. On the palate the wine is
medium-full, bright and very well-balanced, with perfectly respectable
depth in the mid-palate, good focus and fine length and grip on the
finish. This is not exactly snappy today, but it remains fresh and
vibrant for near-term drinking. I look forward to tasting the 2011
version of this wine, as it is clearly meant to be drunk in its youth.
2012-2014. 89. $19.99
Young Manuel
Formigo de la Fuente is the winegrower now in charge of his family’s
vineyards in Ribeiro, tucked in a corner of Galicia just above the
Portuguese border in northwestern Spain. The estate’s “Teira X” bottling
hails from some of their oldest vines in their top vineyard site, Finca
Miño Teira, and is a blend of sixty percent Treixadura, fifteen percent
each Albariño and Alvilla and ten percent Loureira. Only a few hundred
cases are produced each vintage. This is a more structured and slightly
riper (thirteen versus 12.5 percent) wine than the estate’s Finca Teira
Blanco, with more mid-palate depth and a superior backbone of acidity.
The 2010 is an absolutely superb wine, jumping from the glass in a
vibrant mélange of lemon, fresh bay leaf, stony white soil tones, orange
peel and a dollop of petrol. On the palate the wine is deep,
full-bodied, complex and beautifully soil-driven, with sound acids,
lovely focus and simply exceptional length and grip on the finish. A
superb bottle. 2012-2018. 92. $26.99
Terra Remota
is owned by the husband and wife team of Marc and Emma Bournazeau, who
are residents of Perpignan, France (just over the border), as Marc’s
family was forced to emigrate from Spain to Perpignan during the Civil
War. This very pretty and stylish white wine is a blend of forty-five
percent Garnaxta Blanca, thirty-five percent Chenin Blanc and twenty
percent Chardonnay. The nose is deep and complex, offering up a very
classy blend of lemon, pear, white soil tones, a hint of green olive and
a topnote of spring flowers. On the palate the wine is fullish, crisp
and nicely transparent, with sound framing acids and good length and
grip on the focused finish. This is not the most complex white in the
portfolio, but it is a very satisfying bottle that offers up good depth
and breadth of flavor, which, I suspect, will grow exponentially in
complexity as the vines get older here. Very elegant juice. 2012-2016+.
88. $28.99
Pierre, Brigitte, Emma, Marc, Veronica, Diego & Voyou (the dog).
The winemaking and vineyard team at Terra Remota in Empordá.
The winemaking and vineyard team at Terra Remota in Empordá.
Owners Marc and Emma Bournazeau in center.
Godello
The 2010
Sabatelius Blanco is a blend of sixty percent Godello and forty percent
Treixadura and is a terrific bottle. The stylish and complex nose wafts
from the glass in a blend of pink grapefruit, beeswax, tart melon,
lemon peel, salty soil tones, a touch of green olive and a topnote of
resinous herbs. On the palate the wine is vibrant, medium-full and
complex, with a fine core of fruit, bright acids, excellent focus and
grip and a long, pure and transparent finish. Fine juice. 2012-2018.
92. $21.99
Don Bernardino
is the wine label for restaurateur, Emilio Rodríguez Diaz, whose O
Grelo restaurant is located in the town of Monforte de Lemos -
effectively the capital of the Ribeira Sacra region. His 2010 Godello is
excellent, weighing in at a ripe and pure thirteen percent and offering
up a beautiful nose of peach, lime peel, a lovely base of soil, just a
whisper of honeycomb and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine
is deep, fullish, pure and very classy, with excellent mid-palate depth,
fine focus, crisp acids and outstanding balance and grip on the snappy
and soil-driven finish. Just a superb bottle of Godello. 2012-2020.
92.
Adegas D.
Berna is owned by the young husband and wife team of Berna Guitián and
Elena Blanco, who together with their talented consulting enologist,
José Luis Murcia, produce an absolutely lovely bottle of Godello. The
deep, complex and very pretty nose wafts from the glass in a mix of
lime, tart orange, salty soil tones, a hint of white peach, olives,
white flowers and a bit of citrus peel in the upper register. On the
palate the wine is deep, medium-full and vibrant, with lovely intensity
of flavor, a fine core, crisp acids and lovely length and grip on the
beautifully focused finish. This is a really lovely bottle. 2012-2018.
91+. $24.99
Adegas O
Barreiro is owned by Pepe Rodríguez, who retired from his first career
to tend vines and make wine in this isolated corner of Valdeorras which
looks down upon the Sil River valley. Señor Rodriguez’s 2010 Godello is
flat out stunning, offering up a deep and classy bouquet of tart peach,
orange peel, beeswax, white soil tones, a touch of green olive and a
lovely, delicate topnote of fresh rosemary. On the palate the wine is
deep, fullish and very pure on the attack, with impressive complexity
and mid-palate depth, laser-like focus, sound acids and outstanding
length and grip on the bouncy and very refined finish. This is a superb
example of Godello and one taste of this wine makes it very easy to see
why so many Spanish wine aficionados argue that Godello is the country’s
greatest indigenous white wine grape. 2012-2020. 93. $19.99
While Ribeira
Sacra is obviously best-known for its outstanding red wines based on
Mencía, this lovely Godello shows that the steep slate vineyards here
are also a fine location for Godello and other white wine varieties. The
2010 Godello from Viña de Neira is a lovely middleweight, offering up
an impressively complex and vibrant bouquet of lemon, bread fruit,
beeswax, salty soil tones, lemon peel and dried flowers in the upper
register. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish, crisp and complex,
with a lovely base of soil, fine focus and good, but not great length on
the bouncy finish. If this were a bit longer on the backend it would
rate outstanding, but there is an awful lot to like in this classy and
complex wine. 2012-2016. 88. $18.99
Albariño has
long been considered one of Spain’s finest white wine grapes, but much
of its history has been marked by unfulfilled potential, as the low
prices that most of these wines sold for on the international market
simply dictated that the grape had to be cropped high in order for
winegrowers to survive economically and make a living sufficient to keep
their families fed and sheltered. Happily, one is beginning to see more
examples of Albariño these days that are clearly focused on maximizing
the potential quality of the varietal by keeping yields much lower and
searching out blocks of old vines, with the resulting wines showing a
dramatically different profile of complexity and depth of flavor than
was the case when the only way for a winegrower to survive with this
variety was to over-crop and try to get by on volume.
Much the same phenomenon can be seen in a French appellation such as Sancerre, where there continues to be oceans of rather dilute, simple and easy-drinking wine produced from very high crop yields, but where the greatest producers of the region- people such as Edmond and Anne Vatan, the Cotat cousins, Gérard Boulay and others have shown just how profound a wine can be produced from sauvignon blanc in the best terroirs of Sancerre when yields are kept down and the wines are crafted to maximize quality and complexity, rather than simply aiming to make a profit through volume.
A similar push upwards in quality can be seen in the region of Rias Biaxas with Albariño, and the last couple of years have seen some absolutely brilliant examples cross my path from some of the top producers in the region. Prior to tasting these wines, I never imagined that Albariño could produce such profoundly complex, intensely flavored and ageworthy wines, and this new trend may well be one of the most exciting today in all of Spain. Two decades ago a group of fourteen growers who specialize in Rias Biaxas Albariño decided to form a quality-oriented growers’ association, which they dubbed the “Asociación de Bodegas Artesanas,” and six of these estates are now part of Señor Dawes’ portfolio.
One of the chief tenets of the producers in this association, besides low yields and old vines is the use solely of indigenous yeasts for the fermentation of their wines. These top estates also differ from much of the more commercially-oriented Albariño out there in choosing to bottle their wines significantly later than is customary in the more quantity-oriented houses, allowing the wines to nurture on their fine lees typically until mid-summer of the following year after the harvest. The growers reported on below from The Spanish Artisan Wine Group are certainly amongst the very finest of this new genre of “quality over quantity” Albariño producers, and there are very few other vignerons working with this grape with whom I have experience that can match the stunning quality of these wines.
Much the same phenomenon can be seen in a French appellation such as Sancerre, where there continues to be oceans of rather dilute, simple and easy-drinking wine produced from very high crop yields, but where the greatest producers of the region- people such as Edmond and Anne Vatan, the Cotat cousins, Gérard Boulay and others have shown just how profound a wine can be produced from sauvignon blanc in the best terroirs of Sancerre when yields are kept down and the wines are crafted to maximize quality and complexity, rather than simply aiming to make a profit through volume.
A similar push upwards in quality can be seen in the region of Rias Biaxas with Albariño, and the last couple of years have seen some absolutely brilliant examples cross my path from some of the top producers in the region. Prior to tasting these wines, I never imagined that Albariño could produce such profoundly complex, intensely flavored and ageworthy wines, and this new trend may well be one of the most exciting today in all of Spain. Two decades ago a group of fourteen growers who specialize in Rias Biaxas Albariño decided to form a quality-oriented growers’ association, which they dubbed the “Asociación de Bodegas Artesanas,” and six of these estates are now part of Señor Dawes’ portfolio.
One of the chief tenets of the producers in this association, besides low yields and old vines is the use solely of indigenous yeasts for the fermentation of their wines. These top estates also differ from much of the more commercially-oriented Albariño out there in choosing to bottle their wines significantly later than is customary in the more quantity-oriented houses, allowing the wines to nurture on their fine lees typically until mid-summer of the following year after the harvest. The growers reported on below from The Spanish Artisan Wine Group are certainly amongst the very finest of this new genre of “quality over quantity” Albariño producers, and there are very few other vignerons working with this grape with whom I have experience that can match the stunning quality of these wines.
The Spanish Artisan Wine Group - Gerry Dawes Selections Albariños
from the Asociación de Bodegas Artesanas, Rías Baixas, Galicia.
Adega Avó Roxo
is currently run by Antonio Gondar Moldés, who took over the management
of the family estate only in 2007. His grandfather, Serafin Gondar
began production here in the 1930s and this was at one time one of the
most famous wineries in the region, winning several awards as late as
the 1970s. The family vineyard is one and a half hectares in size and
planted entirely to Albariño and Antonio Gondar Moldes is dedicated to
taking the quality here to the highest level, and Avó Roxo is one of the
most recent inductees into the growers’ association in the region. His
2010 Albariño is a stunning wine, soaring from the glass in a blaze of
tart orange, lime, stony, salty minerality, a touch of green olive,
ocean breeze and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep,
full-bodied and very transparent, with a great core of fruit, crisp
acids, outstanding focus and balance and superb grip on the very, very
long finish. This is a stunning example of Albariño! 2012-2020. 95.
$24.99
The Adega of Cabaleiro do Val is owned by Francisco “Paco” Dovalo
López, who founded and is the current president of the Growers’
Association here. While the winery was only officially incorporated in
1989, the family winegrowing traditions here go back centuries and Señor
Dovalo López has some extremely old vines in his vineyard. He has taken
selection massale cuttings from some of his one hundred and fifty
year-old vines to use for replanting purposes, thus retaining the unique
character of his outstanding Albariños. The 2010 offering from
Cabaleiro do Val is absolutely outstanding, jumping from the glass in a
deep, complex and gently leesy mélange of grapefruit, orange peel, stony
minerality, lemongrass and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is
deep, full-bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with snappy
acids, laser-like focus and simply exquisite length and grip on the
perfectly balanced and soil-driven finish. This is a brilliant Albariño!
2012-2020+. 94+. $24.99
Paco Dovalo and Gerry Dawes drinking Cabaliero do Val, Doval's great Albariño at the Asociación de Bodegas Artesanas Encontro de Vinos de Autor in Dena-Meaño, Val de Salnés, Rías Baixas, Galicia.
Lagar de
Broullón is owned by José Pintos, who farms this two and a half hectare
vineyard in the village of Meaño, which is one of the very finest for
Albariño in the Val de Salnés section of Rías Biaxas. The vineyard is
situated with a south by southwest exposition, allowing the grapes to
reach fine ripeness each year and still maintain a great base of
minerality. The 2010 from Señor Pintos is a beautiful wine, offering up a
deep and vibrant nose of fresh lime, green apple, salty oceanic tones,
citrus peel, a bit of lemongrass and a great base of stony minerality.
On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and classy, with a
superb core of fruit, crisp acids and lovely length and grip on the
perfectly focused finish. High class juice! 2012-2020. 93. $23.99
Eulogio Gondar
is the owner and winegrower at Lagar de Candes, and he represents the
fourth generation of his family to head this small estate, which is also
located in the village of Meaño, in the Val de Salnés section of Rias
Biaxas. The soils here are granitic in nature, producing beautifully
mineral expressions of Albariño. The 2010 from Lagar de Candes is a
lovely wine, wafting from the glass in a complex mix of tangerine,
elegant leesy tones, pulverized stone, lime zest and a saline topnote of
the ocean. On the palate the wine is pure, medium-full and zesty, with
lovely complexity, very good mid-palate depth, sound framing acids and
lovely length and grip on the focused and classy finish. This does not
quite possess quite the same “electricity” on the backend as the very
best Albariños in this lineup, but it is a superb bottle of wine.
2012-2016. 90+. $23.99
Bodega Meis
Otero is owned and operated by the Fernando Meis Otero, who is one of
the very youngest members of theAsociación de Bodegas Artesanas. He took
over the reins of the family bodega in 2001. Like many of his fellow
members of the growers’ association, his vineyards are located in the
Val de Salnés. The family’s one and a half hectares of vines used to be
planted to a mix of regional grapes, but Fernand Meis Otero’s father
took the step to plant exclusively Albariño here in the early 1980s.
Thus, the vineyards are just now coming into their prime as they close
in on thirty years of age. The 2010 O’Forrollo Albariño is an
outstanding wine, delivering a deep and very complex nose of sweet
grapefruit, pulverized stone, orange peel, briny oceanic overtones,
lemongrass and a touch of acacia blossom in the upper register. On the
palate the wine is deep, fullish, complex and very classy, with a superb
core of fruit, laser-like focus, outstanding intensity of flavor and
superb length and grip on the beautifully-balanced finish that closes
with a distinct note of orange peel. Lovely juice. 2012-2020. 93.
$23.99
Adega Rozas is
located in the village of Meaño in the Val de Salnés and is run by
winegrower Manolo Dovalo. This family estate goes back several
generations, and its 6.3 hectares of vineyards are loaded with old vines
- many dating back more than two generations! Señor Dovalo insists that
it is the very high percentage of old vines in this very favored
section of the Val de Salnés that allows him to make such outstanding
Albariños. The 2010 Rozas is simply stunning, soaring from the glass in a
complex blaze of lime zest, tart orange, kaleidoscopic minerality,
lemongrass, gentle leesy tones and a smoky topnote. On the palate the
wine is deep, full-bodied and very racy, with a rock solid core of
fruit, brisk acids, laser-like focus and simply stunning length and grip
on the very minerally and magically complex finish. This is as magical a
glass of Albariño as I have ever had the pleasure to taste!
2012-2020+. 96+. $25.99
Rosado
The 2011
Rosado from Viña Aliaga is a beautiful bottle of dry Rosé that is
drinking superbly out of the blocks, but shows every indication of
improving with a year or two of bottle age. Made from one hundred
percent Garnacha, with its color arrived at by a bit of skin contact,
the 2011 offers up a deep and stunning nose of blood orange, cherries,
rose petals, lovely, chalky soil tones and a bit of orange peel in the
upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and
beautifully balanced, with a lovey core of fruit, bright acids and
excellent focus and grip on the long and classy finish. Just a beautiful
bottle of rosado, with great purity and no “candied” aspects on either
the nose or palate. 2012-2016. 92. $13.99
The Viña
Catajarros Rosado from Bodegas Hermanos Merino is made up of a blend of
eighty percent tempranillo, five percent Garnacha, and fifteen percent
of two white wine grapes, Verdejo (ten percent) and alvillo (five
percent). This winery is run by two brothers, Eugenio and his brother
Merino, and the estate is a Rosado specialist, with the vast majority of
their production comprised of dry rosé (augmented by a bit of red
wine). The 2011 Viña Catajarros Rosado offers up a superb and vibrant
nose of cherries, orange peel, salty soil tones and a topnote of dried
roses. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and tangy, with a
superb base of soil, excellent focus and bounce and a very long, complex
and classy finish. I would give this superb wine another year of bottle
age to really let it blossom, as the 2010 shows that there is more yet
to come as this wine develops with a bit of cellaring. High class rosado
here! 2013-2018. 93. $13.99
The 2010 Viña
Catajarros Rosado from Bodegas Hermanos Merino is made up the same blend
as the 2011, and the additional year of bottle age has really let this
wine come into its own. The 2010 version is a superb bottle of rosé,
jumping from the glass in a complex and classy nose of cherries, melon,
pomegranate, a touch of spiced meats, orange peel, complex, soil tones
and a nice touch of smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the
wine is deep, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a lovely core
of fruit, with gentle framing acids, superb soil signature and excellent
length and grip on the complex finish. High class and serious rosado
that shows every indication of continuing to drink well for several more
years. 2012-2016+? 93+. $13.99
Assorted Vino Tinto
Carlos
Aliaga’s tempranillo never sees any oak and is raised entirely in
stainless steel tanks. It hails from the family’s limestone-based
vineyards located in the center of Navarra and is a superb value. The
2010 tips the scales at a very civilized 13.5 percent alcohol and
delivers a lot of aromatic and flavor complexity for its very modest
price tag. The bouquet is a blend of black cherries, new leather, a
touch of chocolate, lovely spice tones, a bit of meatiness and a topnote
of violets. On the palate the wine is medium-full, complex and has a
bit of ripe tannins on the backend, with a sappy core of fruit, good
focus and fine length and grip. This will be even better with a year’s
bottle age, but it is already an awful lot of wine for a bargain price!
2012-2020. 87+. $13.99
The 2009
Camino Vi Negre from Terro Remota is a lovely red wine from Empordá,
with its alcohol nicely scaled at fourteen percent and the beautiful
terroir found here front and center in the wine. The blend on the 2009
is comprised of forty percent Garnaxta, thirty percent Syrah, twenty
percent Cabernet Sauvignon and ten percent Tempranillo. The outstanding
nose offers up a deep, pure and very refined blend of cherries, blood
orange, a touch of cocoa, lovely spice tones, fresh nutmeg and a violet
topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, medium-full, bright and tangy,
with lovely intensity of flavor, melting tannins and a long, complex and
beautifully focused finish. This is a beautiful bottle that shows off
just how special this region can be when new oak is not the focal point
of the equation. 2012-2020. 92+. $29.99
This lovely
red is a blend of Samsó and Garnaxta. The wine offers up a deep and
classy bouquet of red and black cherries, new leather, nutskins,
garrigue, a lovely base of soil and a nice touch of fresh herbs in the
upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very
suave on the attack, with a lovely core of fruit, soft tannins and a
long, complex and very classy finish. Lovely juice. 2012-2020+. 92.
$22.99
Montsant is
the mountainous region that surrounds Priorat and shares many of the
same grapes with its better known neighbor. There is very good potential
here, but it is a hot region and there is, of course, still more
incentive these days to fashion wines of power that might capture the
attention of Priorat fanciers looking for a bit better value in this
neighboring region, rather than try to harness the ripeness here and
look for a Montsant version of elegance. This 2008 from Herestat Navas
is one of the more restrained examples I have tasted from Montsant-
which admittedly is a very small sampling. The 2008 Montsant Tinto from
Herestat Navas is comprised of a blend of forty percent Garnacha, twenty
percent Cariñena (Carignan), twenty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and
twenty percent Syrah. It is a deep, ripe and classy wine on the nose,
offering up scents of cassis, garrigue-like spice tones, baked black
cherries, a bit of tariness and a nice base of new oak. On the palate
the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with
good focus and a bit of uncovered wood tannin currently poking out on
the complex backend. There is enough stuffing here to eventually carry
its new wood and the wine is not particularly out of balance, but this
is a wine that would have been dramatically better with a bit less oak.
But, not bad. 2012-2020. 87+.
The Aliaga
family’s old vine Garnacha bottling, which hails from forty to fifty
year-old vines is outstanding. Not particularly ripe by contemporary
grenache standards, the 2007 weighs in at 13.9 percent alcohol and is
raised in a blend of French and American oak- a small percentage of
which is new- for six months. Gerry Dawes is quite funny in commenting
that he really does not like this wine, but his customers keep asking
for it! It is really an exceptional bottle of Garnacha, offering up a
deep, impressively complex and sappy nose of crushed raspberries, a
touch of meatiness, gentle notes of chocolate, garrigue, bonfires and a
lovely base of chalky soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep,
full-bodied and complex, with melting tannins, a fine core of fruit,
superb focus and balance and lovely length and grip. This is a high
class bottle of grenache that never strays over the line into jammy
obsequiousness and is another dynamite value from this superb producer.
2012-2020+. 92. $19.99
The 2007
Colección Privada Tinto from Camino del Villar Viña Aliaga is a blend of
eighty percent tempranillo and twenty percent cabernet sauvignon and is
aged again in a blend of French and American oak, this time for twelve
months duration, and with the percentage of new wood slightly higher
than for the Garnacha Vieja. The nose on the 2007 is deep and complex,
with a nice, old school feel to its mélange of black cherries, grilled
meats, coffee grounds, cigar some and a lovely base of dark soil tones.
On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and “nobly rustic”, with a
superb core of fruit, modest tannins and excellent length and grip on
the backend. This is not quite as complex as the Garnacha 2007, but it
too is a very good bottle of wine. 2012-2020. 89. $18.99
Ribeira Sacra (and other Mencía-based Reds)
As noted above,
Don Bernardino is the wine of restaurateur, Emilio Rodríguez Diaz,
whose O Grelo restaurant is in the town of Monforte de Lemos. The steep
vineyards for his red wine lie in the village of Amandi, overlooking the
Sil River. I tasted two vintage of this terrific Mencía, with the 2011
being the slightly riper of the two vintages at thirteen percent (in
comparison to the 12.5 percent of the 2010), but with both wines proving
to be absolutely outstanding. The 2011 Don Bernardino offers up a
vibrant nose of pomegranate, black cherries, a beautiful base of slate, a
touch of lead pencil and a gentle topnote of woodsmoke. On the palate
the wine is deep, fullish and very classy, with excellent intensity of
flavor, bright acids and excellent length and grip on the focused and
bouncy finish. Just a classic example of Mencía. 2012-2020. 92+.
$16.99
José Manuel
Rodríguez is the head of the growers’ association and regulatory agency
of Ribeira Sacra, and makes one of the finest examples of Mencía I have
ever had the pleasure to taste. Like the Don Bernardino Mencía, these
two lovely vintages of Décima hail from very steep vineyards overlooking
the Sil River in the village of Amandi. The 2011 Décima weighs in at a
very classic octane of 12.5 percent and roars from the glass in a
sophisticated and utterly classic nose of pomegranate, lead pencil,
slate, a nice touch of gamebird, coffee bean and a gentle medicinal
topnote that is vaguely reminiscent of Hermitage. On the palate the wine
is fullish, complex and very intensely flavored, with laser-like focus,
fine mid-palate depth, tangy acids and great length and grip on the
very softly tannic finish. Utterly classic Mencía! 2012-2020+. 94.
$21.99
Roberto
Regal’s production is miniscule, as he owns only about one hectare of
Mencía vines here in a very steep vineyard overlooking the Miño River.
There are just a handful of older indigenous varieties also in the
vineyard here, so Señor Regal makes a field blend of these with his
Mencía to produce this superb wine. The 2011 Toalde is outstanding,
offering up a deep and complex bouquet of black cherries, pomegranate, a
touch of nutskin, a lovely base of slate and granitic minerality, smoke
and a gentle topnote of fresh herbs. On the palate the wine is deep,
fullish, long and very sappy in the mid-palate, with fine focus and
balance and a long, suave and bouncy finish. This is a lovely wine.
2012-2018. 91+. $24.99
The Viña
Barroca Mencía bottling from Bodegas Adriá hails from thirty to sixty
year-old vines grown on hillside vineyards that range from 450 to a 1000
meters above sea level. The soils here in Bierzo are not the pure slate
one finds in Ribeira Sacra, but rather a mix of quartz, clay and slate.
The 2010 Viña Barroca Mencía was aged entirely in stainless steel and
given four months additional bottle age prior to release and weighs in
at a ripe 13.5 percent alcohol. The nose is deep and classy, offering up
a youthful mélange of dark berries, medicinal black cherries, a touch
of tree bark, graphite, garrigue and a fine base of soil that seems to
show a slightly ferrous complexity. On the palate the wine is deep,
fullish and intensely flavored, with lovely transparency, a solid core,
fine focus and excellent length and grip on the complex and classy
finish. I should note that I tasted this wine twice, with the wine once
popped and poured and on the other occasion given one hour in decanter
prior to serving. The additional aeration made a world of difference in
allowing this young wine to blossom fully and decanting is very much
recommended for this fine wine. This is a stunning value! 2012-2020.
92. $14.99
Adegas D.
Berna is a specialist in Godello, but their 2010 Mencía d’Berna is also a
splendid wine and not to be overlooked with all the white wine
fireworks being crafted in the cellars and vineyards here by the
estate’s (regionally) well-known and very talented consultant, José Luis
Murcia. This is an absolutely classic example of Mencía, offering up a
superb aromatic mélange of dark berries, pomegranate, a touch of tree
bark, spice tones redolent of cumin, a bit of bitter chocolate and a
lovely base of complex, stony soil tones. On the palate the wine is
deep, fullish and very intensely flavored, with a sappy core of fruit,
tangy acids, excellent focus and grip and a very long, complex finish
that stays light on its feet all the way to the conclusion. There is
just a faint touch of volatile acidity to this beauty when it is first
opened, so a short stint in decanter is quite beneficial. Fine, fine
juice. 2012-2017. 92+. $19.99
I am not sure
if it is the extra year of bottle age or the slightly lower octane
level, but the 2010 Don Bernardino Mencía is even a small step up from
the excellent 2011 version. The stunning nose soars from the glass in a
blaze of black cherries, dark berries, a touch of tree bark, dark
chocolate, smoky overtones and a gloriously complex base of slate soil
tones. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish and superbly complex,
with outstanding focus and balance, tangy acids and truly exceptional
length and grip on the scintillating finish. This is a beautiful bottle
of Ribeira Sacra! 2012-2025. 94. $16.99
2010
DécimaMencía from José Manuel Rodríguez is another absolute classic in
the making. The deep and utterly refined nose soars from the glass in a
mélange of black cherries, pomegranate, a touch of road tar, bonfires,
fresh herb tones, cracked pepper and a gloriously pure and complex base
of slate. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish and very intensely
flavored, with a sappy core, tangy acids, exquisite balance and a very,
very long, focused and refined finish. The 2010 DécimaMencía is a
beautifully crafted, complex and refined wine that is very pure and
precise on both the nose and palate. It is still a young wine that will
continue to blossom with further bottle age, but there is nothing
structurally forbidding about the wine today and it will be a very
difficult task keeping this wine in the cellar and not drinking it right
away. Great juice. 2012-2025. 94. $21.99
Primitivo
Lareu is a superb winemaker on the far western end of Ribeira Sacra,
located in the sub-region of Chantada, which happens to be the coolest
vineyard area in all of Ribeira Sacra. In addition to his winegrowing
responsibilities, Señor Lareu is also a sculptor and painter, but first
and foremost these days, he is a serious viticulturist bent on
extracting as much terroir from his vineyards and producing as
transparent a glass of wine as possible. His 2010 Mencía is outstanding,
offering up a stunning and sappy nose of pomegranate, black cherries,
woodsmoke, beautifully complex herbal tones, espresso and a superb base
of stony, slate soil. On the palate the wine is deep, medium-full and
dancing on the palate, with superb lightness of step coupled to
excellent intensity. The wine is impressively complex and focused, with
bright acids, little tannin and outstanding length and grip on the
bouncy finish. Superb juice. 2012-2020+. 93+. $21.99
The 2010
Toalde from Roberto Regal is excellent, wafting from the glass in a
smoky mélange of dark berries, black cherries, espresso, tree bark,
stony soil tones, fresh herbs and woodsmoke. On the palate the wine is
deep, fullish and intensely flavored, with lovely transparency, very
good mid-palate depth and superb length and grip on the focused and
complex finish. This wine is very light on its feet and yet packs plenty
of intensity. I suspect it will prove to be a touch longer-lived than
the equally fine 2011 Toalde bottling. Classic Ribeira Sacra.
2012-2020+. 92. $24.99
Viña Cazoga
has a long history of fine wine production in the Ribeira Sacra and was
once one of the largest and most important estates in the area, but
during the nadir of the region’s fortunes- which really started at the
dawn of the twentieth century, when so many of these steep vineyard
sites were abandoned and young people emigrated en masse in search of
more profitable work- Jorge Carnero’s family’s vineyard holdings in the
village of Amandi dwindled down to almost nothing. Jorge’s grandfather,
Raimundo Vidal, was instrumental in starting to resurrect the Ribeira
Sacra region in the 1970s and today the family owns a single, 3.9
hectare parcel of vines right above the Sil River that was long
recognized as the finest vineyard in Ribeira Sacra. Almost the entire
vineyard is planted with vines in excess of one hundred years of age,
with ninety-five percent planted to Mencía and the balance made up of a
mix of Tempranillo and Merenzao. The 2010 Viña Cazoga Mencía is a
beautiful wine, offering up a deep, very intense and complex nose of
black cherries, pomegranate, black pepper, a touch of spiced meats,
slate soil tones, espresso and a topnote of cigar smoke. On the palate
the wine is deep, full-bodied and very sappy at the core, with great
focus and grip, excellent balance, bright acids, virtually no tannins
and outstanding length and grip on the dancing and palate-staining
finish. Great Ribeira Sacra! 2012-2020. 94. $26.99
The Don Diego
bottling from Jorge Carnero spends six to twelve months of its elevage
in four year-old, five hundred liter French oak barrels prior to
bottling and is released after further bottle age. Even using four
year-old barrels, the Mencía grape still shows a fair bit of wood
influence in this wine, which does make for a markedly different
impression than the stainless steel-aged regular bottling. The 2008
offers up a very deep and classy nose of black cherries, bitter
chocolate, woodsmoke, lovely soil tones and a nice, generous touch of
vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and
quite suave on the attack, with a bit less overtly terroir-derived soil
tones in evidence. The finish is very long and moderately tannic, and
though the wine is focused nicely, there is not quite the same purity
and blazing transparency here as is found in the 2010 regular bottling.
This is still a very well-made wine, but it seems that the oak takes
away a bit more than it adds to the final blend. 2012-2025. 90.
$46.99
$46.99
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