News from the vine!
CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING
AN EXPOSÉ!
I don’t suppose that Arnold Wesker could have known how prophetic the eponymous title above would turn out to be when he wrote his acclaimed play in 1962. Essentially a depressing study of the class system of the time, Wesker’s play, Chips With Everything’, employs National Conscription to make his point that class barriers cannot be broken down, no matter what.
Continue reading “First PublishedCosta News Group April 2013”
COOL FOOD VALENCIA, FINCA SANTA ELENA
AND THE GASTRONOMIC WONDERLAND THAT IS THE VALENCIAN TUSCANY!
. . . And that’s without mentioning, this week anyway, Restaurante Julio, the Michelin Starred gastronome paradise nestled in the tiny nearby village of Fontanars!
I was intrigued, a couple of months ago, to receive an e-mail invitation to visit the website of a new gastronomic, rather hip, company called Cool Food Valencia (www.coolfoodvalencia.com). An e-mail reply asking for more details following my cyber visit brought an even better invitation – to meet the directors at the beautiful Finca Santa Elena for a wine and artisan beer tasting, a barbecue, a luxury overnight stay and a whole lot more besides!
Continue reading “First published Costa News March/April 2013”
BODEGAS ENGUERA VISITED
DO VALENCIA
After the Spanish Civil War the founder of Bodegas Enguera, the current incumbent’s Grandfather, had nothing and had to turn his hand to something in order to survive. Supplying Butane gas was the answer and within a relatively short time his finances improved dramatically – at it’s height he had 250 trucks delivering to almost countless clients.
With money in the bank in the 1950s, and a strong desire to go back to his roots in the land he began to buy plots of land that had been, in his Grandson’s word, ‘stolen’ during the war. These plots already had olive trees and vines planted, some of which were of a venerable age, and it was clear that wine and olive oil production was to be the next move.
And like so many other Valencian wine producers there followed a move from bulk wine production, en granel, to bottling. Bodegas Enguera’s first bottled wine was made in 1999. They aren’t looking back!
It was a cold but sunny day as we drew up to the bucolic bodgega. Señor Pedro Iglesias, the young third generation of the owning family, was there to meet us having just stepped out of the vineyards, where he spends most of his time. This is unsurprising, given that Pedro was actually born in a vineyard!
Although a fully qualified wine-maker in his own right, and of course a member of the family, he works under the direction of the Head Wine Maker, Diego Fernandez who also teaches at theUniversityofValencia. This is how he wants it to be.
Like any winemaker he has his own ideas and theories, but at his young age he’s also grateful to gain experience and learn from those more senior. His portfolio of hands-on experience includes reference to his visits to New Zealand and Australia where he worked vintages from harvest to bottle. It’s clear that he is passionate about his wines and a strong believer in the mantra that good wine is made, not in the bodega, but in the vineyard.
He’s also zealous in his approach to the cleanliness of the bodega believing that good wine cannot be made consistently without transparently clean buildings and equipment. Half a generation after the New World Flying Winemakers first made their mark here in Spain, their insistence on cleaning up the bodega buildings lives on, which is all for the better for we consumers!
Pedro informed us that Enguera wines are all organic and that a huge 90% of the 800,000 bottles produced annually are exported, to countries as far away and diverse as:USA,Japan,UK,South AfricaandChinaand more. Their best market is in Switzerland, but there are also good sales in other European countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
It’s all good for business, of course, but it makes me lament a little that this means only 10% of Enguera production is available in Spain. The wines are excellent and so well priced too!
Their organic approach to farming is taken seriously. Their 390 hectares of land, 160 of which are vineyards and the rest olive groves, are treated with respect and with sustainability being a major part of the bodega’s philosophy. Any trees that need to be felled are replaced with others tress that are historically natural to the area – hence no pines, as these were brought here thousands of years ago by the Romans and though it’s hard to believe, given that Spain seems to be awash with pines, are thus not indigenous.
Only natural fertilizers are used in the vineyards. Once the bunches of grapes are de-stemmed the stems are left to rot for about 2 years when they are then scattered onto the vineyards. Between the rows of vines a rice/lentil like crop is grown. The long roots break up the soils and assist drainage and the plants’ crop falls un-harvested and again forms compost on the land. This adds nutrients and also assists with humidity.
Whilst the land is all there is also work done in the laboratory – it is here for example that they were able to isolate the best of the natural yeasts found in the vineyard and reproduce it so that it is used in their fermentation process.
And the wines:
Blanc d’Enguera (under 6€ in the bodega – an absolute steal!), unusually for a white wine, undergoes malolactic fermentation after the initial fermentation, the grapes having sufficient acidity to maintain the crucial freshness throughout this process. The varieties used for this stunning, aromatic wine are: Verdil (from 80 years old vines), Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, from vines with a low yield, some as low as just 900 grams of grapes per vine!
Paradigma, (which means paradox) 11·50€, a wine in a style that is not a Parker style block-buster is a delightful 100% Monastrell, liquorice and leather fragranced red whose initial mouthfeel is one of lightness which develops in the mouth. The mid-palate suggests a more weighty wine, quite complex with emerging dark fruit flavours and finishing juicy rich and ripe.
Megala 2009 (8€) is made mostly from Monastrell and Tempranillo. It’s a very fruity wine but with sufficient tannin and acidity for it to age still. There seems to be a combination of bramble fruit as well as plums and damsons, plus a passing reference to soft red fruit, maybe strawberry but more likely loganberry, with integrated oak, making a full and rounded wine in the mouth. Its length makes you think you are tasting a wine rather more expensive than it actually is.
The flagship wine is Sueño Megala (20€). We tasted the 2007 vintage which at 14·5% is a powerful, and yet elegant wine. Made mostly from a blend of Monastrell, Tempranillo and Syrah it has clearly enjoyed its 22 months in French oak. There are earthy aromas and bay and rosemary herbal notes on the nose with Enguera’s usual high level of delicious fruit on the palate too. It’s a multilayered wine with complexity, a lengthy finish and a certain sensuality too.
Their white Ice-Wine has honey and cinnamon notes with a floral, jasmine perfume and some refreshing acidity through the green apple flavours. Made with 100% Verdil it costs 10€ for a 37·5cl bottle and will be a talking point after your next dinner party!
Check out also their classic Reserva wine made from Tempranillo, Monastrell and Merlot which I really enjoyed as well as their Angelical. The 2008 vintage that I tried is made with Syrah, Tempranillo and Monastrell and combines floral, violet, notes, super dark cherry fruit and a slight dark chocolate on the finish with a touch of vanilla and tobacco from the European oak in which it rested before bottling.
Ask your local wine shop about these wines – the more enquiries they receive the more chance there is of increasing the measly 10% of production that is available here in Spain!
colin@colinharknessonwine.com ; www.colinharknessonwine.com ; also you can now follow me on Twitter @colinonwine
DOMINIO BUENAVISTA
GRANADA
For the time being this is the final article of a series that I’ve been writing about wines from Spain’s majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range. Whilst it would be inaccurate to say that, like the cherry on the trifle, I’ve saved the best ’til the last, it nevertheless is true to say that the high standard that I have come to expect from this small but multinational enclave is at least as prevalent at Dominio Buenavista as it is at others whom I’ve mentioned.
Buenavista wines are exemplary, providing full flavour, power and yet elegance and subtlety and I’m quite sure that in the USA where there are burgeoning sales their wines are being lauded as much and perhaps more than they are here in their native Spain.
However you could say that whilst the provenance of the wines is in no doubt the nationalities of the owners and others associated with their crafting is, rather like the wines they produce, something of a fine blend!
I was first introduced to the wines of Dominio Buenavista following an e-mail I received from the States from Nola Palomar who had picked up, via the internet, the first article I had written about emerging bodegas and their wines from the Alpujerra area of the Province of Granada. Nola, an American, and her husband Juan, born and bred in the high altitude village where the vineyards are located, have also employed the services of a flying Australian wine consultant and continue to use those of a consultant Professor of Oenology from Madrid whoi works cloesely with Head Winemaker, Juan. A truly international effort!
It’s a caring operation – Dominio Buenavista farms organically (though they haven’t applied for the certificates), responsibly and with a keen eye on sustainability and the environment, ensuring that their carbon footprint is as insignificant as possible. All this and the above make for super, fruit driven, flavour laden wines with a pleasing range of complexity, from the easy to drink and economic to deeply layered, supple wines of subtlety and elegance.
I tasted two of their sparkling wines, a rosado and a white both of which shared typical patisserie aromas, with the rosado having some delightful floral, red rose petal fragrance as well as raspberry and loganberry, and on the palate too.
Their Brut is made with Chardonnay and has clearly enjoyed its one month ageing in French oak – there is just that slight vanilla adding a little depth to the flavour and a touch of weight on the palate. It’s a good aperitif of course, but try it also with smoked fish, some white meats and south east Asian cuisine!
The range of wines, including the sparklers, is sold under the Veleta label – one to look out for!
I’m grateful to Nola and Juan for sending me their white wine Veleta Viji 2011, made as it is with a new to me grape variety, though indigenous to the area, Vijiriega, with just 10% Chardonnay for added volume and flavour, and no doubt public appeal. I’m sure I’m not alone in admitting that I’d not heard of Virijiega. I’ll be looking out for it again though!
There’s a freshness about the wine, coming no doubt from the floral and citrus contribution of the main player in this blend that is wholly original, save for the minor contribution of the ubiquitous Chardonnay. It’s a pleasure to enjoy different aromas rather than the, albeit pleasing, but also common Sauvignon, Verdejo et al. For me there’s a hint of blanched almond, a passing reference to fennel and was that a whiff of green melon there too?
Vji has had a short time in French oak too which adds to its mouthfeel and length.
Veleta Tempranillo Joven 2011 is a fruit driven, juicy red wine, designed for those who just want to enjoy the wine without having to think too much about it, no doubt an added incentive for younger drinkers, and yet there is within it a clue as to what’s to come with the older wines.
It’s a fine expression of Spain’s darling variety Tempranillo with added floral notes, violet perhaps, some mountain herb nuances and a pleasing first hint of minerality. Its medium length will also endear it to more experienced wine drinkers and in my case it certainly made me excited to try the range of 2008 wines that were also supplied.
In fact the VdlT wine Veleta Tempranillo, the older brother of the above is from the 2007 vintage. The vineyards from whence this wine comes are 650 metres above sea level, not as nosebleed-inducing as some of the wines from this area, but plenty high enough for there to be extremely cold winters, and the usual (for wines from Alpujarra) dramatic changes in temperature between nigh and day during the growing season.
At 14% alc it certainly has presence in the mouth, but this is not at the cost of elegance. Grapes harvested at their optimum ripeness and then a year in oak give the wine a rich feel with damson and liquorice on the nose and the palate. It too has a touch of herbs on the nose, bay leaf, perhaps but a little spicy cinnamon note too. Mineral notes seem to float in and out of the wine’s profile and juicy fruit note stays with you after you’ve drained your glass.
Veleta is a largely French blend, the two Cabernets, with Tempranillo too. The Cabernet Sauvignon changes the fruit to a more blackcurrant taste but the minerality remains with perhaps some thyme or rosemary, vanilla from the oak and a touch of chocolate on the rich, slightly bitter finish.
This wine is fine as drink to have with friends but it’s also going to be super with some meat dishes, maybe game, but certainly casseroles.
Veleta Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 is an example of just how good Cabernets can be when grown in full sun, but at altitude, and with a few years bottle ageing after its twelve months in oak. We know, perhaps too well in the UK, Cabernets from Chile that quite hot and sometimes sickly sweet in the mouth indicating a high level of alcohol and not enough acidity. This is the perfect antidote.
The altitude of the vineyards and the temperature change between night and day give the wine a lovely colour but also that crucial acidity. Tannins are mature adding to the overall experience and bringing a smooth depth to the wine. Blackberry and Blackcurrant with a little pepper and cinnamon and some dark chocolate on the finish, but with a lasting fruit note. There’s a very slight note of mint with some stony mineral aromas too.
The Veleta range is VdlT and can be labelled as table wine, dispelling once and for all(?) the myth that Vino de la Tierra/Table Wine must be inferior to DO wines, but of course Cork Talk Readers already know this!
Contact: colin@colinharknessonwine.com and through his unique wine services website www.colinharknessonwine.com. Please note that now you can follow Colin on Twitter – @colinonwine