Colin
Great night at Bodega Puerto last night. Thank you for the evening and the interesting chat.
As discussed, could you add us to your list regarding upcoming events.
Best Regards
Scott and Alice Taylor
Author: Colin
First published Costa News Group, Sept. 2012
BODEGAS ANTONIO ARRÁEZ DO VALENCIA
GRUPO TERRES DELS ALFORÍNS
I’m returning this week to some of the wines produced by the individual and autonomous bodegas within the Terres dels Alforíns Association, referred to in Cork Talk several times in late June and July.
To qualify for membership of this elite group of bodegas one has to demonstrate a passion for fine wine making, where a concern for the environment – the soils and ecosystems of this beautiful part of DO Valencia, is as important as the wine itself.
(A buzz-word (bandwagon?) in the wine world at the moment is ‘sustainability’. Producers the world over are signing up for the eco-friendly concept of ensuring that the soils and general environment of vineyards must be protected from abuse so that the industry can continue for future generations without fear of harming the vines’ (and our) natural habitat – the earth/Earth!
A noble ideal and, where this belief is genuine, I wholly applaud it, of course. However that nasty cynic in me cannot help but question some of those fully-paid up members of the ‘sustainability society’ as to their real motives. Are some paying only lip-service to the notion, with the ulterior motive being simply commercial? Are some signatures solely sales-driven?)
Well I have no such worries about the members of the Terres dels Alforíns Association! I’ve been there and met several of the founding members, invariably a younger, more savvy generation, taking over the reins from their fathers, combining family and local/regional knowledge with: University degrees in oenology; modern technology; often wine-making experience in different countries; and an encouragingly open and enquiring mind.
It seems, from my experience with the wines of Bodegas Antonio Arráez, that it also helps to be a little bit crazy! ‘You don’t have to be mad to work here, but it helps!’
Witness if you will (and you should, the wines are super and the label’s fun!) Bodegas Antonio Arráez’s Mala Vida (Bad Life, in English!). The foil and particularly the label invite extra inspection with apparently random black silhouette images of: a cat, musical notes, a stiletto, the @ sign, balloons and in contrast an elegant tall red wine glass, plus a black bottle with a white heart label and a red drop of wine escaping!
Turn to the back label and in Spanish it says simply “Everyone should believe in something, I believe I’m going to carry on drinking, sorry!” with no more information at all! I love it – though I wonder if it might put off some, perhaps more conservatively minded consumers, who would consider it just a gimmick which couldn’t possibly be related to quality wine. More’s the pity my small c friends, wine can be funky and good!
This is! It’s made with an eclectic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Monastrell, Garnacha Tintorera and Syrah with a touch of oak to deepen the flavour and extend the length of the wine. There’s spicy ripe fruit on the palate with back-up of integrated light to medium done toasty aromas blending perfectly with the dark fruit.
I’m impressed too with their Lagares 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon which has had a full thirteen months in American and French oak plus time in the bodega’s cellars before it’s release. It’s one of those modern wines that defies the red tape of titles such as Crianza and Reserva – it’s neither one nor the other having been made according to the winemakers requirements and not those of the statute book!
Cabernet Sauvignon is a grape variety whose wines are notoriously harsh in youth when grown in northerly climes, though those with the patience (and the correct storage facilities!) are rewarded, years later with some stunning wines of depth and complexity. However when grown in the full-on sunshine of the Valencia region one needn’t worry about the grapes fully ripening, rather, the challenge is to ensure that the wines don’t become too flabby and alcohol-loaded.
Here the reward of fine wine can be realised far earlier than, for example in Bordeaux. These days of climate change mean that the winemaker in southerly climes must spend more time in the vineyard (quality wines are made in the vineyard not in the winery) ensuring that the vines don’t over-crop and that canopy management protects the grapes from too much exposure et cetera.
It’s clear that those at Bodega Antonio Arráez are more than capable of doing just that! I disagree with the points given this wine in the Guía Peñin, 83 points isn’t bad, but the wine is far better in my opinion. Perfectly approachable now but with life in it too this wine is deeply flavoured with sweet tannin, bags of blackcurrant fruit, some vineyard stone-derived minerality and a good length too. It’s an oxymoron of a wine – serious and fun!
I’m going to leave the final wine from this forward thinking, modern bodega whose roots in fact go back over a hundred years until next week – it’s made from Monastrell, but you aint seen (better still, tasted) anything like it!
NB Thursday 4th October – I’m presenting a Wine Tasting with Aperitivos in Javea Port’s super new wine merchants, Bodega Puerto. Starting at 7:30 pm we will be tasting a cava, a white wine and three styles of red wines – all quality and very tasty. Aperitifs will also be be served. Plus there will be super offers on wines etc and it’s only 9€ per person. Please call me asap (629 388 159) to reserve, as spaces are limited – or reserve by visiting Bodega Puerto, Javea.
colin@colinharknessonwine.com Please visit www.colinharknessonwine.com to see how I can help you enjoy wine even more!
Received from Maureen and John, October 2012 – a copy of their letter to Costa Blanca News Editor!
[Dear Editor],
I cannot thank you enough for a brilliant day out. Heavy rain was threatened and so we thought forget the beach and go to a winerie. I contacted you so that I could get in touch with Colin Harkness who writes Cork Talk each week.
We asked Colin to recommend a winerie about an hour from El Campello and he suggested the Bodegas Castano in the centre of Yecla. He provided all the contact details and we phoned Raquel and got there at 11.30.
Raquel is really personable, very knowledgeable and fluent in English. She drove us up to a boutique winerie in the hills in a very beautiful location called Puerta. All you can see for miles are vines, almond and olive trees. We had a tour there and then back to the main winerie in Yecla which is easy to find as it is next to the bullring. Another tour and then a tasting with some snacks and then a few case of wine to buy. We left at 2.30, a very pleasant 3 hours for just 7 euro each. Raquel suggested the bullring restaurant for lunch which had a very reasonable menu deldia and they allowed us to visit the bullring and museum.
You can contact Colin, colin@colinharknesswine.com and he also has a website www.colinharknessonwine.com.
Next summer we are going out to Yecla again but there will be 10 of us. If you have a party of 10 or more they organise a full day’s tour, tasting and a lunch in their stunning restaurant for 27 euro a head for the full day and we will certainly keep in touch with Colin and hope to attend some of his tastings in theAlicante area. As it was the rain held off which made the visit even more enjoyable.
Sent by email, Maureen and John Yates
First published in Costa News Group – September 2012
IF IN DOUBT LOOK FOR THE IWSC LOGO!
THE INTERNATIONAL WINES AND SPIRITS COMPETITION
– A SURE SIGN OF A QUALITY WINE
Last week’s article dealt with the impartiality (or not?!) of wine magazines, finishing with a similar point regarding the same, with respect to Wine Competitions. PlanteAVino, the excellent and prestigious Spanish Wine Magazine was praised for its uncompromising attitude to honesty and transparency when reviewing sample wines that have been sent by producers. (Still available at www.costa-news.com click Cork Talk).
This week I’d like to sing the praises of one of the best respected international wine competitions for the same reasons. It’s a competition with which I’m involved and I’ve therefore seen it from within as well as from the wine consumer’s position. You may suspect a little bias, but honestly, I’m telling it like it is!
Having been elevated to the Judges Panel of the prestigious International Wines and Spirits Competition earlier this year I was naturally delighted to be called upon to judge Spanish and Portuguese wines at the IWSC Headquarters near Guildford in April.
An extremely unprepossessing, long and low pre-fab building at the side of an airfield used by anything from Chinook Helicopters, micro-lites, RAF freight transport aircraft and Lear Jets doesn’t look like the nerve-centre of such a world renowned wine competition. Perhaps the more so when one learns that the often tongue-in-cheek Top Gear TV Programme with Jeremy Clarkson et al uses the airfield for its motor vehicle testing!
And yet once through the portals into the tranquil various lounges, offices and of course, tasting rooms, an ambience of almost academic professionalism envelopes visitor and official alike. I’ve never been to Oxbridge but I imagine the professors’ lounges to have a similar feel to them!
This feeling becomes even more pronounced when my fellow judges arrive – the eminent academics, authors and luminaries of the wine world, including several Masters of Wine and comprised of several different nationalities.
On edge as the new kid on the block, my nerves disappeared when the first raft of ISO (International Standards Organisation) glasses, filled to a third of their capacity, were brought in and judging started in earnest. Tasting is done in silence and marks out of 100 are awarded by each of the individual judges who have been given no details of the wines that are being tasted.
Thus wines are tasted blind and marked solely on their merits with no preconceived ideas brought into play. The average is calculated (I breathed a silent sigh of relief when most of my scores equated rather well with the group average!) and it’s only then that any discussion might take place – but still in ignorance of the wine details, which in fact are only learned months later when the results are published!
It’s the only wine competition which includes a chemical analysis of each wine, done by the chemist experts in another building. Plus, of interest to Costa News readers in particular. The competition was the brainchild of my friend, colleague and one time business partner Anton Massel, whose photo hangs in the lounge at HQ!
I have complete faith in the legitimacy of the IWSC’s awards – in the words of Welsh Rugby loving and celebrated Welsh comedian, Max Boyce, ‘I know, I was there!’
Plus I also know from a consumer’s viewpoint! I’ve just returned from a super three week holiday (with some wine work thrown in, claro!), spent mostly in Northern Portugal. Stunning locations in the beautiful lake district of the country surrounded by mountains, contrasting with the no less wonderful Atlantic coast – it’s a lovely country!
And it has a history of wine making that goes back thousands of years – don’t just think Port, though! Yes it’s a glorious drink that we certainly enjoyed whilst there, and still are doing so (including, and here’s a tip, White Port, chilled, or with tonic and ice!). But think also white, rosé and red still wines which have been increasing in popularity and indeed improving in quality over the last twenty years, to the point now where there is a huge choice of flavour and aroma packed wines.
And it’s that choice, if one isn’t familiar with wine names and producers that can be thoroughly bewildering when standing opposite the well stocked shelves of wine merchants and supermarkets – just how do you choose?
Well one answer is to look for the logos of the IWSC! Medal winning wineries are entitled to place a copy of the appropriate medal along with other IWSC promotional material if they wish. Of course many do so – what better accolade than to have won a medal in such a significant competition?
In a large supermarket one such wine stood out a red made with the varieties Touriga Nacional abd Castelao (super indigenous Portuguese varieties), and proudly sporting not only the IWSC Silver Medal but also with the Best in Class Bar. Cabeça de Toro Reserva 2008, DOC Dotejo thoroughly deserves the plaudits and at about 6€ it’s excellent value for money too!
So I recommend that when indecision strikes look out for the IWSC logos – I’m sure you won’t go wrong!
