Colin – Page 16 – Colin Harkness on Wine

An Atypical Wine Taster?

COMBATTING PRECONCEPTIONS

WHEN WINE TASTING

I think I’m probably an atypical wine taster.

In various different capacities, I’ve been tasting wine professionally for 30 years now. My lengthy, and on-going, tasting trip started a few years before I opened my first restaurant in the UK, knowing that in order to make the restaurant different from the others in the area, and more attractive for diners to visit, I had to have an edge. Understanding wines and being able to write my own wine list was the way forward.

Since those days I’ve tasted wines as an exporter, wine club business joint-owner, writer, broadcaster, TV presenter (briefly!), wine tourism guide, wine tasting event presenter, plus as a national and international wine judge. That’s quite a lot of experience – yet I still find myself having to combat any preconceptions I might have. I think it’s safe to say that I do overcome them, but they nevertheless do raise their tempting, even, seductive, heads. Perhaps it’s this that makes me atypical?

This whole train of thought started just the other week. It so happened that I’d been, coincidentally, tasting a number of wines all poured from more or less the same shaped bottle. Oldsters like myself would call this shape, the Burgundy style bottle – perhaps you know the shape I mean?

I’d liked, occasionally loved, the wines emanating from these bottles and had waxed fairly, and at times, very, lyrical about them. Then, some wines turned up for me to taste (I know, it’s tough isn’t it!) and one of them was in a tall upright, high shouldered bottle, the one those of us of a certain age would call a Bordelaise, or Bordeaux bottle. My first reaction on seeing the bottle, I should emphasise, not on tasting the wine, was one of disappointment! Ridiculous, I know – after all, there are some rather good (understatement of the year) wines from Bordeaux!

Of course, the thought was dispelled immediately and I set about tasting the wine wholly dispassionately – professionally!

Whilst I’m ensconced here in the confessional, I’ll admit to feeling similarly when viewing wine labels! With some there is an immediate attraction – they say ‘Buy me, buy me now!’; or, if I’ve been sent the wine, they tell me to drink them, drink them immediately. The inference in both cases is, of course, that it’s clear I’m going to like the wine, because, well look at the cool, sexy label!

In contrast, there are some labels I see which are the antithesis of this feeling – they, initially, I emphasise again, put me off. They don’t attract me at all, making me, illogically, and momentarily (I assure you), somewhat disinclined to taste the contents!

And, whilst we are on the subject of labels, the other day I was given a bottle with no label at all – naked wine! My automatic reaction – great interest, and expectation. To open such a wine would be stepping entirely into the unknown, appealing to my sense of adventure, to boldly step . . blah, blah . . . like some sort of vinous Treckie!

But, wait, hold back a bit – the wine might well be outstanding, but it also might me poor. I have to combat my preconceptions once more.

Also, I receive recommendations from people – Oh, Colin you must try this wine! Do you find it’s the same with restaurants? It is with me. Whether I take up the advice about dining at a certain eatery will depend a lot on the person who has recommended it. I’m not being snobby, though it might sound like it, just sensible. If the person loves pizza, baked beans and burgers, well, I might not actually be that interested – because, I don’t!

Back to wine – if the recommender won’t buy anything over 3€ a bottle, well I might not be too impressed by his/her recommendation (though I am aware that occasionally a good wine, priced thereabouts, can be found!). But, on the other hand, if one of my wine appreciating pals, or a wine related Twitter or Facebook friend recommends a wine, I’m very likely to look out for it and try it.

However, it’s here where the recommendation goes out of the window. In the preconception battle, the professional has to win every time. There can be no preconceived ideas when tasting wines! What sort of judge would I be if I’d already part decided the wine’s quality, based on: the shape of the bottle; the look of the label; the absence of a label; or the recommendation of a colleague? Objectivity is key.

I recently received two wines, independently, from two people whose opinions I respect – one with no agenda at all, one who is also trying to sell wines. The latter highly recommended Albakar Viognier – and, as Viognier is one of my favourite varieties, I was keen to try it. A good wine, but nothing outstanding and not really representative of the variety – I’d give it perhaps 74 points out of a hundred.

Petit Hipperia is from Castilla – an eclectic blend of five different red wine varieties. It’s sold locally, but it wasn’t the vendor who was recommending it to me. I went along mostly with the recommendation, it’s a very well priced, good quality wine, with, as you’d imagine, lots of fruit, but it’s not quite perfectly balanced. Its ripe tannin and diminishing acidity mean it hasn’t got long to last before it starts to wane. However, is that a problem? You’ve got a year or so to drink it as it is now! 80 points!

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Spectacular Tinácula

WHAT HAVE THE ROMANS EVER DONE FOR US?

Well, although the link is at best rather tenuous, indirectly, at least, they have brought us the wines of Bodega Las Calzados – and I’m very glad they did! (www.bodegalascalzadas.com)

Linguists will know that Las Calazados means ‘the roads’ in English, and of course we all know about Roman Roads – they go in as a straight a direction as possible from one place to another. The eponymous Bodega Las Calzados is located at the intersection between two ancient Roman Roads which ran, respectively, to Cartago Nova (Cartagena) and Complutum (Alcalá de Henares). And I have a feeling that I have to visit!

It’s not quite accurate (well, not at all, really!) to suggest that Romans also brought us amphorae – the Ancient Greeks can be credited for this – but they certainly made use of them. Like their predecessors, the Romans used amphorae to carry liquids – water, oil and of course wine. So, given this, and the Roman link above, it seems a perfect fit that Bodega Las Calzadas makes and ages their wines in amphorae (large clay pots) and calls them Tinácula (Latin for Tinajas – large clay pots!).

I was sent three examples and I really enjoyed them all, in fact I’m sipping a glass of their flagship wine Tinácula X, as I write!

Tinácula White is made with 100% Chardonnay. The bunches are harvested during the cool of the night, and placed carefully in small 15kg baskets. The grapes are pressed manually and the resulting juice macerates with the skins at a cold 4ºC temperature for 12 hours. After a fifteen day fermentation the wine is placed, as you might imagine, in 150 years old tinajas, of 2,000 litres capacity.

During its 3 months ageing, this wine is subjected to daily stirring, where the lees are hardly allowed to settle. I really like the style of this wine – apart from its pale yellow colour, it’s not like any other Chardonnay I’ve tasted!

It’s refreshing, initially with a little lemon on the palate, a pleasing floral aspect – faint honeysuckle, chamomile and a little earthy hay in there too. Hold it on the plate and it will give you a little more fruit, more apple than exotic peach/pineapple, as can often be found with Californian and Australian Chardonnay. The regular stirring doesn’t give much of the creaminess you might expect, but as the wine moves around the clay it takes with it a mineral earthiness, that is a common characteristic of the whole, small portfolio.

Its big brother, Tinácula Red, is also a monovarietal this time Bobal, the signature grape variety of DO Ribera del Júcar, under whose auspices the full range is made. Here the earthiness is a little more pronounced, threading its way through the dark cherry and plum fruity notes.

It has a lovely colour in the glass and in the mouth you’ll find rounded tannins, prominent enough for there to be some ageing potential, though as smooth as you like too. The some fresh acidity, making the wine a juicy mouthful with mineral notes, a little mountain herb too.

The vines are 45 years old, grown at 800 metres above sea level, producing rich grapes. Maceration ensures the deep colour as well as tannin to age. Malolactic fermentation takes place again in clay pots, though this time new, and of just 500 litres capacity, where the wine stays for five months, intensifying the mineral earthiness, but never hiding the fruit.

I’ve been loving the flavour and aroma of the wax-finished bottle Tinácula X, with its Roman coins depicted on the front label, and some history of the bodega on the back, since I started this article – and I ain’t finished sipping yet! It’s a super example of what Ribera del Júcar has to offer.

The X, is another link to the Roman past, here signifying the 10 months that the wine has been aged in 150 years old tinajas of just 200 litres. Like the previous red, fermentation is natural, provoked by yeasts indigenous to the 50+ years old vineyard from whence the Bobal and Cencibel (Tempranillo) grapes come.

The earthiness intensifies further here, but again, never consuming the aroma and flavour of the rich grapes, coming from such an old vineyard. There are dark green herbs in the mix too, plus some stone derived minerality, also coming from the soil.

Those readers who have tasted Bobal already (come on the rest of you, now’s the time!) will know of its lovely black cherry flavour, exemplified here, and with the added bonus of some, rather ripe loganberry and tinned strawberry notes from the Cencibel, lurking under the surface of the upfront Picota cherries.

This really is an excellent wine, with time on its side too, and priced at just 14€, well, it’s a steal!

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Strawberry Fields For Ever!

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

‘Let me take you down, ‘cos I’m going to, Strawberry Fields,’ yes, you got it straight away, the Beatles, and, as a ‘Plastic Scouser’ (not actually from Liverpool, but close!), I’m always up for quoting their songs! In fact, did I tell you that Paul McCartney (he wasn’t Sir, then) dined at my restaurant once blah blah . . . . . . .?!

So, when I visited Bodega Les Freses recently, I already had the title to this week’s Cork Talk. Les Freses means The Strawberries, in Valenciano (as I’m sure you know) and the bodega at the Hotel Denia La Sella Golf Resort end of the road that cuts through Jesús Pobre takes it’s name from the prior use of the land, which were, of course, strawberry fields, and known to the local as such. A perfect fit!

Now those fields are planted with a glorious vineyard, still young, but looking pristine, and delivering the fruit for some great wines! The fruit is Moscatel grapes, and whilst there is one sweet dessert wine (though owner/winemaker, Mara, would say, cheese wine), this bodega majors in dry Moscatel (including, though you might not believe it, a Rosado!).

The winery is pristine too. Mara, who happily conducts tasting tours on certain days of the week (www.lesfreses.com), took a group of us around the spotless building with its stainless steel fermentation tanks, and the prized tinajas, 350 litre clay pots, responsible for perhaps her flagship wine. I say perhaps, because it’s clear that this charming, passionate winemakers is in love with all of her wines!

There’s a shaded tasting area just in front of the building, but before we sat to taste the wines, we had a short tour of the immediate surrounds. First stop was the old cauldron, common to many once rustic farmhouses, where grapes that had been dried to raisons, ready for export to the UK and Europe a hundred years ago, had been dipped briefly in a solution that enabled them to withstand the journey and arrive in their best condition.

Philoxera, the deadly vine bug which decimated the vineyards of Europe, put paid to that industry, causing untold misery to those whose only income was from their grapes. Fortunately, it was discovered that American rootstocks, resistant to the insect, could be used for grafting, and households were, eventually back in business. Raisons still, but also Moscatel wine.

There are many clones of Moscatel – Mara has 14 different ones planted, cleverly, because each clone ripens at different times so this small winery with limited personnel isn’t suddenly inundated at harvest time! There is a unique microclimate at Les Freses, which also helps.

When Mara first planted her vines a matter of only a few years ago, the dreadful heat of that particular summer filled off a large percentage of her vineyard. She had a watering system fitted, but hasn’t since had to use it. The humidity of the area ensures that each morning the plants are wet during the growing season with enough water to sustain the plant but not so much that the vines over-crop, which would result ultimately in wines of lesser quality. (Green harvesting is also employed, reducing the number of bunches.)

Humidity can also cause problems though. It’s perfect for some vine disease and for vines pests. High intensity chemical praying, I’m pleased to say, is a definite no-no, for Mara. Instead, for example, she buys ladybirds, which live in the grasses and wild flowers and attack some of the pests! Also, the vines, uncommonly in this area, are trellised to avoid fungus forming. There’s more too. Les Freses wines are made from organically grown vines with as little human intervention as possible and fermentation is achieved using the indigenous yeasts of the vineyard.

We first tasted Les Freses Blanc 2018, made from grapes grown in the two different soil types that the bodega enjoys. Very pale lime green in colour, elegant, with floral notes of white rose petals and honeysuckle with some lemon and understated raison aromas. On the palate there are citrus lemon notes which remain after swallowing. A beautiful aperitif wine, with sufficient presence also to partner delicate fish dishes such as sole, dorada and lubina.

Next up was another Moscatel wine (claro!) but this time made from grapes grown on just one of the soils, the white coloured limestone based soil. Quite a revelation in terms of contrasting flavours and aromas, This wine was a touch more acidic, fresh as you like, with slightly more exotic fruit, some white peach and a little apricot – reminiscent of Albariño and Viognier wines, and that’s certainly not a bad thing!

Floral again, perhaps more jasmine this time, and a little more weight on the palate. Certainly good with the above fish, but also more meaty fish, plus where sauces are used, and lovely, no doubt with shellfish. I bought a bottle to bring home and taste again – Mara apologised that it hadn’t yet been labelled, but for me it’s the wine that will do the talking when I open it, plus, there’s always a certain excitement about opening an anonymous wine!

Finally, the aforementioned cheese wine! Designated by many as a dessert wine, I can see that this would be lovely with certain desserts, lemon and maybe orange based, figs too, with some honey, perhaps. Plus, I go along with Mara – it’s great with cheese, medium matured and mature cheese, as well as blue cheese! Honey on the nose with a little orange skin spray and traditional Moscatel whiffs of raisons.

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Rós by Lynne Coyle MW & Bodega Tandem

RÓS

When it comes to rosé wine, I subscribe to the Elizabeth Gabay MW school of thought – it really shouldn’t be considered as a seasonal product, brought out in Spring (though only if the weather is sunny and warm enough!), enjoyed through the Summer, forgotten in Autumn and nought but a distant memory in Winter! No, I like to drink premium rosé all year round, enjoying it with various different, perhaps seasonal, dishes.

That said, I can see Bodegas Tandem’s rosé wine, called Rós, and made in collaboration with Ireland’s Lynne Coyle MW, selling out this Summer in the Emerald Isle! It’s a lovely rosado wine, deserving of its ‘Premium Rosé tag! So, if you are able to, I’d get some in as soon as possible! (www.bodegatandem.es)

I believe this is Lynne’s first wine and she therefore joins a small but growing number of English speaking foreigners who have decided to make wine here in Spain. Indeed, she joins an even smaller number who are also Masters of Wine! It seems to me that it’s already a perfect blend – Spanish climate and grape varieties, with Master of Wine knowledge. Then, when you add a further constituent into the mix, a native Spanish wine maker, working in a young, but established and exciting bodega – well, surely it’s got to be a success.

Bodega Tandem makes its wines under the auspices of DO Navara and their owner/winemaker, Alicia Eyaralar, a friend of Lynne’s was delighted to collaborate with her on a completely new project – creating Rós. They both share the same philosophy and wanted to make a wine with as little intervention as possible, using the buzz-grape these days, Garnacha.

Bodegas Tandem’s Garnacha grows in the Yerri Valley of Navarra, in the foothills of the Pyrenees and not far from the Atlantic – a combination which produces cooling winds, affording the vines some respite from the heat of the Spanish growing season. The vines are low yielding, meaning they are becoming elderly, and they are farmed sustainably, in other words with a view to maintaining healthy soils for future generations.

The winemaking is as naturally as possible. Native yeasts indigenous to the vineyards are used for the fermentation and throughout the process gravity and natural settlement are employed ensuring a gentle crafting of the wines, if also a little nervous nail biting of the winemakers! Wine making technology could have meant less anxiety about this, their first joint project, but it would have meant more intervention than they’d both agreed before the project started.

In case you were wondering where the name Rós comes from (I was – although it obviously is a nice fit, being the first three letters of the wine style, Rosé and of course it’s Spanish equivalent Rosado, it was the accent on the ‘o’ that I found intriguing), it comes from the Gaelic word for rose, as realised by Lynne’s son, Edward. This again is a nice fit – as a nod to their Scottish roots, as well as to Lynne’s role as Wine Director for O’Brien’s Wines, the established Irish wine merchants with over thirty shops in the Irish Republic, plus a couple in the UK too.

And what of the wine, I can almost hear you asking? Well, firstly, it was clear to me that we had to taste this pale, almost Provençal shaded rosé wine with another lovely Ros, this time without the accent, unless you’re counting the rather posh one that our great friend sports (not forgetting that I am but a humble northerner)! So, under cover from the fresh, but warm wind in their pergola, we sat down to taste Rós, with Ros, and Mick. It was a great success!

I was surprised, though delighted, to detect an immediate, though slight aroma of ripe red, slightly fluffy apples, as I brought the glass to my nose. An interesting start! This fleeting first note was joined by a floral presence – you can guess which flower, the rose of course, though a red rose rather than pink, for me at least. Some fruit notes joined the party – a little rhubarb, whose un-sugared acidity followed through to refresh the palate, though soon to be replaced by the overriding blend of pink grapefruit with some slightly under ripe raspberries. Wow, I love it!

My thanks to Lynne Coyle MW and to Bodegas Tandem for supplying the sample – good luck with sales, and your next joint project?!

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