Archive for the ‘Very Good’ Category
Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wines: Domaine de la Charbonniere 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc
Posted by Shea in $40-$60, Clairette, French Wine, Grenache Blanc, Rhone Valley White Wine, Rousanne, Very Good on September 2nd, 2010
As mentioned in my last post, Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc gets little attention. Nevertheless, these are distinct wines with their own expression of some of the famous terroirs of Chateauneuf that are quite unlike the whites of the Northern Rhone.
Galet Vineyards
Charbonniere makes their four red Chateauneuf and one white cuvee from four main vineyards: les Brusquières, la Crau, Mourre des Perdrix, and around the estate Charbonniere. These vineyards are in the north or north east and thus have clay and limestone soils (one of four broad types within CdP). The vineyards also contain the famous galets or rounded stones that sit in the vineyard soaking up and storing heat.
A Classic Vinification
From 20 year old vines Charbonniere makes their white using a blend of 40% Grenache blanc, 40% Roussanne, 20% Clairette, with the Clairette being harvested after the other two. The wine is then destemmed, crushed and vinified in 25% new oak and 75% stainless steel, with no malo-lactic fermentation. As the wine ages it sees regular battonages (lees stirring), which works well in this wine as its acidity balances the richness.
The classic approach reflects in the flavour profile, with this wine delivering good rounded flavours and structure, but little out of the ordinary or exciting.
A Wine of Itself but Lacking Punch
The nose is softly spicy with lemon and minerals that remind me very much of Chardonnay. This is more expressive than the Boursan, and the palate has better structure and length, with Chardonnay-like flavours of lemon, cream and minerals. However, it is quite a bit less distinctive than the Boursan, though more accessible and more immediately delicious.
Again, this is a well made wine but nothing particularly stands out. Everything is in its place, though I suspect the balance of the wine could be improved.
Very Good+
$55 at Marquis Wine Cellars
So What’s the Deal with CdP Blanc?
While signs are that these wines will continue to improve, right now they can’t match the range, complexity and better value offered by the white wines of the Northern Rhone. Despite this, these wines still possess enough interest and terroir to make them worth experiencing and are an important stop on a wine geek’s journey.
The remainder of this focus on Rhone whites will look at how these varieties are being treated in the New World – some of what is going on is quite surprising.
Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wine: Domaine Bois de Boursan Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc 2007
Posted by Shea in $40-$60, Bourboulenc, Clairette, French Wine, Grenache Blanc, Rhone Valley White Wine, Rousanne, Very Good on August 29th, 2010
Chateauneuf du Pape is, of course, famous for its red wines. In Vancouver particularly CdP is often the premium wine of choice for many novice buyers and moneyed collectors. Many wine geeks, however, have moved away from many Chateauneufs, which with ever better reviews from Robert Parker and ever increasing interest from the points crowd, have increased in price significantly. Despite this trend towards prestige pricing, the white wines of Chateauneuf still sit well under the radar of most collectors, and even many wine geeks.
Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc can be made from five different grapes – Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc and Picardan. Most predominantly use Grenache Blanc, though there are a few pure Roussannes that have gained a strong reputation (Beaucastel’s most notably). Bois de Boursan makes its white from a unique blend of 35% Clairette, 35% Grenache Blanc, 15% Roussanne and 15% Bourboulenc. Most of us, including myself, have never tasted pure Clairette or Bourboulenc so it is hard to tell exactly what these add to the flavours of the blend, but Jancis Robinson explains that the grapes are used in the southern Rhone to add aroma and acidity to a wine.
The wine is unique, presenting apple ginger spice cake on the subtle and not overly expressive nose. The wine tastes best at near room temperature, and along with the above flavours, has some dry minerality in the finish. Perhaps thiswas too young when I drank it, but I found it fairly closed, even as the mid-palate had serious structure. The medium acid held the wine together well enough so it didn’t become overly rich – but this is not a sprightly or crisp white. Bois de Boursan uses barriques from Alsace and Borgogne for its wines and the old wood influence works quite well. I expect the wine will open with age, but it is not nearly as immediately delicious as the Northern Rhone whites.
Very Good+
$60 at Marquis Wine Cellars
Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wine: Domaine Courbis Saint-Joseph Blanc ‘Les Royes’ 2004
Posted by Shea in $40-$60, French Wine, Marsanne, Rhone Valley White Wine, Rousanne, Very Good on July 18th, 2010
While Viognier is known for its aromatic complexity and its rich, opulent texture, as we move from Condrieu into St. Joseph, we also see a change in grapes from Viognier to Marsanne and Roussanne, known to be more elegant and restrained, often in need of a little age. We also see a move from a very small and closely demarcated wine growing zone to a very large and broad one, with multiple terroirs. St. Joseph has been so expanded over the years that it is difficult to predict the terroir and quality of a wine based simply on the appellation. Producer is what matters in St. Joseph, and if you want quality it is essential to properly research the producer whose wine you are buying.
White wine from St. Joseph is also very rare, comprising a mere 9% of the total production of the region. Marsanne, known for depth and richness, dominates the white blends in St. Joseph, but many wines also blend in Roussanne for acidity and aromatics. While there is debate over whether Marsanne and Roussanne grow best in granite (the undisputed choice for Syrah) or limestone soils, many important producers such as J.L. Chave, Domaine Coursodon and the producer of today’s wine Domaine Courbis, think that limestone produces the best white grapes.
This wine is grown in the famous Les Royes vineyard, one of the steepest in the Northern Rhone, which holds limestone and clay soils. It sits at between 200 and 270 metres above sea level and is well sheltered from the famous Mistral wind. The vines, comprising Syrah, Marsanne and Roussanne, average around 35 years of age, but the oldest are, impressively, over 60 years old. Everything produced at Courbis is hand harvested and left on the vine as long as possible. Because Courbis is so skilled at this technique, this means the white wines have incredible balance and phenollic ripeness without going too far into the realm of opulence.
Unlike the classic white St. Joseph, the Les Royes white is made with pure Marsanne dating from 1975 and is completely fermented in new Allier oak, which in the case of this wine is a very good thing. The wine also sees batonnage (lees stirring) and full malo-lactic fermentation – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the most elegant St. Josephs available. Only the best casks are used and the total production is a tiny 3000 bottles or 250 cases.
The wine itself? Well, it offers a nose of apple, spice and rock and is very soft and clean – a general hallmark of this very elegant St. Joseph. The palate adds some interesting licorice and herbal/root characteristics along with apples. This has great flavour and structure and great elegance. It might lack a little in acidity, but this wine successfully combines power and elegance and a fantastic ability to pair with food. I had it with honey/tamari glazed Salmon and the pairing was extremely successful.
As rich, dense and opulent as the wines of Condrieu are, so far the wines of St. Joseph are discrete, powerful and yet very elegant.
Very Good+ to Excellent
$50 at Marquis Wine Cellars
Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wine: Pierre Gaillard Condrieu 2005
Posted by Shea in $60+, French Wine, Rhone Valley White Wine, Very Good, Viognier on July 12th, 2010
One of the trends in Condrieu over the last few decades has been a move from a fresh steel fermented style that often saw arrested malo-lactic fermentation to a heavier oak fermented and barrel aged style with full malo. For the not so geekily inclined, this is equivalent to a move from making freshly squeezed juice to milkshakes. However, in this case the move occurred because a number of top growers realized that Viognier – the raw materials – was much better when vinified in a heavier and denser way. Some argue that the prevalence of aging in new oak has come to hide the multiple terroirs of Condrieu, but the grower/producers answer to that is a now sustained attempt to reduce the amount of new oak while maintaining a solid oak influenced backbone. It is thus on the vinification side of things that Condrieu is now coming into its own and learning how to express its terroir.
Gaillard is one of the modernist producers who really pushed to use oak. He began in 1995 with 2.5 hectares on one plot and now works four vineyard sites, most of which have granite soils. Interestingly, the southern part of Condrieu – where Gaillard grows most of his vines – overlaps with St. Joseph and so it is possible to produce both white Viognier wines labeled Condrieu and red Syrah based wines labeled St. Joseph from the same vineyard sites. However, whereas Gaillard produces 4 different St. Joseph cuvees, he only makes a single dry Condrieu, labeled simply by the region.
In the vineyards, Gaillard looks for near-overripeness in his grapes, and in the summer he strips leaves and excess vegetation so that the grapes don’t get quite that far. Lately, Gaillard has withdrawn from the use of new oak, even though he was one of the first to use it.
The wine itself is both a year older and is lighter in colour than the Villard I just reviewed. The nose is also duller and less expressive, with dill, stone, lemon and peach, though all in a more restrained manner than the Villard. Peaches, cream and dill come forward on the palate, which is not as long as the Villard but is perhaps a bit more balanced. This is ultimately a very different wine from the Villard, being more contemplative and less opulent, but also very successful with food (I paired it with a lobster, pea, lemon and white truffle risotto). I do, however, think that the Villard is superior in both structure and expressivity, perhaps providing ammunition that Viognier should be consumed young.
Very Good+
$60 at Marquis
Mastroberardino Radici Fiano di Avellino 2005
Posted by Shea in $30-$40, Fiano, Italian Wine, Very Good on June 13th, 2010
Fiano is likely a grape variety that you’ve never heard of. Grown primarily in the Campania region of Italy, this grape is known to have good structure and a relatively thick texture. This wine is produced by the Campanian producer that makes one of my favourite red wines: Mastroberardino’s 1999 Taurasi Riserva. Grown in sandy soil in the Fiano di Avellino DOCG, this Fiano is made from the grapes of 10 year old vines, vinified in stainless steel tanks and aged briefly in bottle before release.
This is the sort of wine that would be extremely difficult to place at a blind tasting – it defies easy description and evaluation. That said, I’d attempt a description by noting its austere structure, terse aromatics but dense and nutty palate. There is also a great deal of acidity in the wine and some pleasing aromas and tastes of flowers and honey. I feel as though the wine exhibits some symptoms of oxidation, though it could be the severity of the tannin or astringency in the wine that makes me think of this – though I would not go so far as to call this character off-putting.
In the end, I think this is worth a try, though it does not quite compare to the Greco from the same producer, which is more expressive.
Very Good+
$30 (on sale from $42) at Kitsilano Wine Cellars
Inama Soave Classico 2008
Posted by Shea in $20-$30, Garganega, Italian Wine, Very Good on June 4th, 2010
A reader has admonished me for neglecting some of my quicker reviews, so here’s a tasty one from northeastern Italy – right near Venice in the Veneto region. Soave’s traditional borders have expanded because of business pressures put upon the regulator by wineries just on the edge of the old zone. Those wines outside the traditional zone, well, frankly, they suck. Wines within the traditional zone are called Soave Classico. This particular wine is made with old vine Garganega – a native Italian grape. The wine-maker’s philosophy here is to have meticulous attention to detail in the vineyards, and, importantly, avoid over-cropping – the achiles heel of most wines from this region as Garganega is prone to high yields.
This is a wine that elides stereotypes but still tastes very very good. We’re talking minerals, citrus and good weight or density – this is the sort of wine you FEEL in your mouth while also one that doesn’t throw a wrecking ball across your palate. It’s also quite complex for the price. A perfect alternative to what you normally drink on hot summer days. Grab some for the inevitable good weather.
Very Good+ to Excellent
$30 at Kitsilano Wine Cellar
Spotlight on Spain: Rioja or What Makes Good Wine Great
Posted by Shea in $40-$60, Excellent, Spain, Spanish Wine, Spotlights, Tempranillo, Very Good on April 27th, 2010
Rioja is Spain’s most famous wine region. In fact, to many Rioja is Spain’s icon wine region, reaching that apotheosis where a place name immediately indicates style and quality. But, how did Rioja get to the level of prestige it now enjoys?
Certainly consistency in quality has been a big factor, not to mention a historical connection with the French practice of aging wine in oak barrels (although the Riojans add the unique touch of using mostly old American oak for extended periods of time). There is, too, the moderate pricing compared to most of the world’s great wines – this helps to bring many sommeliers and wine aficionados into the equation, pushing the essential ‘value’ of Rioja. Of course, alongside the relative international value that Rioja offers is its domestic status and high price by Spanish standards.
The prevalence of Rioja on wine lists within Spain cannot be discounted as an important factor, both with the domestic consumers and with tourists visiting the country. The current trend (both climatically and stylistically) towards greater ripeness might also be contributing to the increased interest in Rioja amongst the North American crowd. The ability of the wines to age and improve in nuance and delicacy is also a significant factor.
But all of these elements speak only to how good wine becomes famous or reputable – none of these answers help us with the deeper and much more difficult question: how does good wine become great?
Culture and history likely play a part here – but historically the current form of Rioja is as much a product of the downfall of French vineyards in the 19th century than it is of anything distinctly Spanish. Then again, how far can one go in looking for ‘roots’ to ground the greatness of a wine. As global warming is making inescapably apparent, the meaning of place is also ever changing, and ‘culture’ – one of the bugbears of Europe – is not always about tradition.
Great wines also seem to need a profound difference and distinctness from everything else that is out there and, often, a unique, singular and important contribution to the international world of wine. What is Rioja’s contribution? It offers a unique expression of Tempranillo and uses methods unlike those used most elsewhere. However, these traditions are being lost in the wave of internationalism. And, despite what I have read about Rioja, the traditionalists are, at least in my experience, losing the battle. Too many of the modern style wines are making it onto wine lists and consumers’ shopping lists.
In fact, I might even venture to claim that Rioja is becoming emblematic for Spain not just for its traditions, but more for the evisceration of historical methods and grapes in favour of internationalism. In fact, this is a trend that has come to dominate the majority of Spanish wines available. While certainly offering more variety in the ‘value’ category than places like Argentina and Australia, the momentum towards internationalization has had the effect of dumbing down the wines of Spain and of giving increasing prevalence to such unfortunate varieties as Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. The recent changes to the Rioja DOC will allow some of these international grapes to be grown and blended into the wines.
Rioja’s structure of thousands of small growers supplying the larger houses does not help this situation since growers tend to be beholden to the giants. Of course, and luckily, there are a few staunch traditionalists that will help to maintain some of the most important aspects of Rioja’s tradition, and there is probably no danger of Tempranillo losing pride of place to other grapes. However, other regions of Spain, such as Somontano and Jumilla are already capitalizing on the appetite for international varieties. But, at what cost?
One of the saddest experiences I had in Spain was the sheer volume of boring internationalized wines I came across and the relegation of the truly interesting wines to a handful of specialty shops and high end restaurants. The grass is greener adage seemed apropos to many of my experiences in the country.
So, wherein lies Rioja? Rioja is still bobbing its head higher than the majority of Spanish wine regions, but it seems to me that it is also succumbing to some unfortunate trends. The modernization of Rioja should be about distinctiveness and about finding contemporary expressions of traditional techniques, methods and beliefs. If Rioja goes to the point of no return by increasing the use of new wood, by over-expressing the consistently greater ripeness of the grapes today compared to a decade ago, and by playing to certain perceptions of international palates, then it will be the beginning of a painful decline for the region. That there are only a handful of traditionalists left in a region with hundreds of wineries is the pronouncement of an unwelcome herald. Luckily, for now, there is still hope, and I managed to taste quite a few excellent wines from Rioja while in Spain. Here are some of my favourites:
Montecillo Reserva 1998: Subtle, earthy and beautifully silky drinking. Not as complex as the other two wines on this list, but the perfect example of classically made Rioja that pairs perfectly with subtly seasoned meats. Still showing fruit and acid. Very Good+ and about 30 euros on restaurant wine list (15 retail).
Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva 2001: A truly exceptional wine with the potential for much longer aging. This was the most complex Rioja I tasted on the trip, and also the Rioja demanding the most contemplation. I find wines with this much nuance are often difficult to pair with food, not because they can’t combine to create very tasty harmonies with the right food, but because such pairings often mute some of the more interesting and exciting characteristics of the wine. That there is so much going on here, though, is certainly not a bad thing. Excellent and 34 euros retail.
Marques de Murrieta Reserva 2004: My favourite Rioja of the trip. This was exuberant but still soft and perfectly balanced. Exceptional fruit combined with restraint and a softer, more playful mouthfeel than many of the red wines I had in Spain. This wine is about sheer deliciousness more than anything else, but this is a deliciousness that derives from balance and aromatic expression rather than power and impact. Excellent and 35 euros on restaurant wine list (about 22 retail).
Spotlight on Spain: Martivilli Verdejo White Wine 2006
Posted by Shea in $20-$30, Highly Recommended Values, Spain, Spanish Wine, Spotlights, Verdejo, Very Good on March 25th, 2010
Rueda is perhaps the most interesting wine region in all of Spain. Its story is certainly amongst the most compelling in the wine world. It begins as the Moors withdrew from Spain during the Reconquista, aggressively destroying everything they left behind. The devastation in the region between the Duero and Valladolid rivers was so severe that the lands remained uninhabited and unplanted for 100 years. During that time, the lands lay fallow and began to regenerate. One of the products of this regeneration was an obscure wild vine now known as Verdejo.
In the 11th century, the king of Castile-Leon provided incentives to entice farmers to return to Rueda. The incentives were successful and many farmers tried their hand at making wine from the local wild grape vines. However, during this period Sherry was considered to be one of the greatest wines in the world, and since Jerez was still under control of the Moors at the time, wine makers in Rueda decided to mimic the style by producing oxidized wines. What’s particularly weird about this is that Verdejo oxidizes pretty much naturally. It is so sensitive that it starts severely oxidizing as soon as it is picked. The inherent quality of the grape made it easy to create a style of wine that mimicked sherry and eventually became extremely popular in its own right.
Everything came crashing down in the 19th century when phylloxera entered the region and devastated the vines. The destruction of Verdejo meant that these wines lost their inroads to Sherry, which saw a resurgence that lasted for about 100 years. The strange agricultural policies of Franco led to consistent prices being paid for tons of grapes no matter what kind of quality. This led to massive plantings of the easy to grow Palomino, which did not make wines of any distinction.
This stagnation remained in place until Rioja producer Marques de Riscal entered the region in the 1970s. Riscal is intriguing because then director Francisco Dolagaray was not a fan of the traditional oaky style of white wines being made in Rioja, so much so that Riscal did not produce any white wines. To remedy this he decided to search around Spain to find the best possible place to make white wine. After looking at Penedes and Rias Baixas, he settled on Rueda and its indigenous grape Verdejo.
Now, the most significant change by the 1970s was the advent of sophisticated modern technologies that allowed for the harvesting of Verdejo with inert gases that prevented oxidation. This same technique is used today and it is very extreme. The pickers pick wine at night and put the grapes into small plastic boxes on trucks where inert gas is blown across them to displace any oxygen present. The harvest is then transported to the winery where grapes are fermented in a sealed tank which is filled with inert gas. The entire process all the way up to bottling sees the grapes and, eventually, the juice and wine, completely protected from oxygen until bottling.
This crazy modern process completely changed the character of Verdejo. No longer were oxidized wines necessary. Instead, Verdejo exposed its character as a crisp, herbal and very aromatic white, and one that many now believe is perhaps the best in Spain.
These days, Sauvignon Blanc is also planted in the region, but it is the indigenous Verdejo and its crazy history that is sure to capture the imagination of wine lovers around the world. It helps that these wines compete with the Albarinos of Rias Baixas and the Chardonnays of Penedes for the title of Spain’s greatest white.
Founded in 1988, Martivilli is making modern styled whites in Rueda. This particular 100% Verdejo based white wine is actually fermented in barrel rather than in steel, and the oak character adds an intriguing level of richness to the normally crisp and bright Verdejo.
The nose is very expressive and lovely with apple, bright clean mineral and an almost mossy component. The oak notes are there but restrained. When I tasted this wine I loved the combination of fresh cut mountain herbs, clean and crisp citrusy mineral and the wine’s overall cleanliness and delineation. This is extremely balanced with medium+ acidity and the underlying, almost hidden, richness really starts to strut it stuff with food (try duck terrine, triple crème cheese, or Moroccan/Spanish stewed chicken).
The wine is not only fantastic, but the story and history of Rueda has to be one of the most compelling I’ve encountered in my years as a wine geek. I truly feel like I’m drinking one of the strange fortuitous accidents of history when I sip a Verdejo based wine from Rueda. Awesome. 13% ABV.
Very Good+ and Highly Recommended Value
$30 at Marquis Wine Cellars
Spotlight on Spain: Bodegas Izadi Vetus 2005
Posted by Shea in $40-$60, Spain, Spanish Wine, Spotlights, Tempranillo, Very Good on March 24th, 2010
Zipping west back into Castile-Leon, today’s wine was made in the Toro region of Spain, sitting several miles west of Ribera del Duero and Rueda (to be profiled soon). The main variety here is Tinto de Toro (aka Tempranillo), the tradition of which winds its way back to the days just following the “departure” of the Moors after the Reconquista. The growing season here is bold and hot and the fruit ripens a full two weeks ahead of Rioja. There are elevations here too, with vineyards planted at 600-750 metres above sea level. The result? Thick skinned fruit, lots of extract, density and naturally high alcohol. The wines of Toro can’t be anything but bold. Apparently a small amount of white wines are made here from Malvasia and Verdejo, but I could find nothing of these in the BC market. I will definitely be on the look out when I am in Spain.
Limestone or clay form the base of the vineyards, with alluvial soil over top. The legal minimum alcohol content here is 12.5% (and a maximum of 15%), but you will commonly find wines at 14% or above, all from natural fermentation. The region’s extreme climate actually makes it fairly natural to have grapes producing wines at up to 16% alcohol, so winemakers need to be careful with their ripeness levels in order to meet the regulations. There are also Reservas and Gran Reservas made here, although nowhere to be found in this market, and they are known to have an uncommon ability to retain fruit and power even with long aging. Recently, Vega Sicilia has put its paws on some vineyard land in Toro, resulting in the fabulous Pintia wine, which I’ve both reviewed in my Vega Sicilia Profile and shared with Sean of Vinifico.com fame (we had the heady and absolutely massive 2003).
I love how these wines were famous in Spain during mediaeval times, lost recognition for a while, and are now seeing a resurgence, and all for the same reason: the massive fruit-bruising style of the wines, whose high alcohol resisted oxidation and which in the modern world combine power with texture and structure in a way that the New World is often still trying to figure out.
This wine is made in a modern style with a clean red fruit nose, adding notes of licorice and oak spice (namely, baking spices). The palate is quite dry, with huge but ripe tannins and a bevy of cherry and raspberry fruit lying on a bed of savory herbs and earth. Sporting a long finish, excellent structure, good integration and reasonable heat, this is very well made. I would not call this a wine of singular distinction, but it certainly tastes good. With its dusty tannins and dusty fruit I have no hesitation calling this a dusty wine. 14.5% ABV.
Very Good+
$44 at Kitsilano Wine Cellar
Spotlight on Spain: Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rosado 1993
Posted by Shea in $40-$60, Grenache, Spain, Spanish Wine, Spotlights, Tempranillo, Very Good, Viura on March 22nd, 2010
Today’s entry, the last of the Rioja wines in my Spain profile, is somewhat of a genre-buster. As I’ve mentioned before, Rioja (and Spain generally) has a disparate and noncontiguous history, with Romans, multiple Christian kingdoms, Muslim invasion and the Reconquista, not to mention the civil war, the dictatorship and the process towards modern Spain. Each of these ‘eras’ has had a distinct impact on the Spanish wine industry. Whereas the Romans brought modern Roman wine-making technology and techniques to Spain in the 3rd century, the multiple Christian kingdoms brought their wealth and appetite for fine wine 1000 years later.
I don’t want to rehash Spain’s complex history here, suffice it to say that in Spain almost nothing fits a particular ‘genre’ or a particularly clear pattern or mold. This has provided the industry both a wealth of diversity, but also somewhat of a lack of clearly discernable personality. In many ways, this means that in Spain it makes more sense to approach a wine in a bit of a microcosm, looking at the history and tradition of that particular producer and that particular plot of land. Thus does the easy to say tradition vs. modernity debate in Spain actually become a series of threads that each sew together completely different histories and traditions into particular conceptions of the ‘modern’.
So, when it comes to legendary producer Lopez de Heredia, a winery sewn far more tightly into Rioja 100 years ago than into the present, and Rose, a style of wine commonly associated with light, fruity, easy drinking, you know that this particular meeting of tradition and modernity will be anything but easily pigeonholed.
Lopez de Heredia's Tondonia Vineyards in Winter
First off, Heredia, founded in 1877, harvests and selects all grapes by hand, uses wild yeasts and ferments in huge oak vats with a capacity of 240 hectolitres for the reds and 60 Hl’s for the whites. One might also take notice at the vast use of American oak barrels – 14,000 at last count – occupying 6000 square metres of cellar space. Heredia combines extended oak aging with considerable bottle aging before release to produce wines of singularity. I, for one, have never tasted any other wines quite like those from Lopez de Heredia.
So how do these threads of tradition and history combine to create what some consider to be Rioja’s most important pink wine? Well first off, the Rose is made from tempranillo, garnacha and viura (a white grape), in an intriguing blend that is very very dry, but also maintains some of the classic bright red fruit character one usually associates with the pink stuff. But that’s pretty much where the similarity ends. Remember, this wine is almost 17 years old! The rich and ripe cherry fruit on the nose becomes a terse and somewhat aggressive oxidative palate that yet retains persistence and elegance beyond any Rose you are likely to have tried. The combination of fruit and sherry-like oxidation makes this wine eminently food-worthy – pizza, jamon, almost anything at all, really.
That Spain can produce wines of such uniqueness next to modern fruit driven reds, bright and clean seafood friendly whites and smooth and silky earth driven classic wines is the embodiment of Spain’s tumultuous and non-linear history. The past several posts on Rioja are just such an indication of this complexity, as even this one famous region is nearly impossible to pin-down. In the next several posts I will be highlighting some of the lesser known regions and grapes of Spain, each with their own stories and traditions, and each with a particular take on why Spanish wine is a force any serious wine lover cannot ignore.
Very Good+ to Excellent
$45 at Kitsilano Wine Cellar
