Articles – Page 57 – Colin Harkness on Wine

Quantitative Easing – a Wine perspective!

QUANTITIVE EASING

No, my Economics ‘A’ Level of years ago (too many, don’t ask!) does not furnish me with the credentials to write anything at all meaningful about financial matters – as my bank manager will surely endorse! So, as we are constantly hearing at the moment that ‘Quantitative Easing’ is all the rage in the lands of the Euro, you may wonder why I have the audacity to head this week’s Cork Talk with such a title.

Well, my version of Quantitative Easing is entirely different and, I hope, makes far more enjoyable reading than that in the Financial Columns of Europe’s newspapers.

I remember, when a student so many years ago (I told you, don’t ask!) my fellow PE (Physical Education) types and I took part in far too many ‘quantitative easing’ sessions. These sessions might have come about after a certain sporting loss, or after the stress of exams (believe it or not, when I was at College our PE Department was in fact the best qualified, in terms of ‘O’ and ‘A’Levels). Although, it has to be said, such sessions also manifested themselves simply because it was Wednesday (mid-week match day) or the weekend!

You’ve perhaps cottoned on now that the quantitative easing to which I refer was the, well let’s be honest, drinking sessions in which most other students indulged as well, and not just those bent on, eventually, becoming PE teaching pillars of society!

Now, before I’m castigated by those on the moral high-ground, I’m not, of course, advocating that we should ease our worries by engaging in quantitative drinking sessions. Not at all. Perhaps I should coin a word in it’s place, ‘qualtitative’ might fit the bill.

In other words, I think it’s safe to suggest that a glass of quality wine, or sparkling wine, can very often help us unwind. And it seems that statistics are on my side.

Returning to the ‘quantitative’ once again, but remembering the Disraeli quote:

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”

I am encouraged to see statistics, from many different quarters (which is why I don’t wholly go along with Benjamin) proving that wine consumption (yes, all right, responsible consumption!) in Europe, and indeed the World, is increasing.

For example, but without quoting the exact figure (largely because I’ve lost it!), Spain’s ‘en granel’ (bulk) wine exports have increased over the last year. Now that’s quantitative easing, and how, as ‘bulk’ means huge containers full of wine. Those in the Europe (and further afield) who require some Spanish sunshine in their wine are being satisfied.

Furthermore, the financial situation of many bodegas is thus being quantitatively eased. And make no mistake this has been crucial to the industry. During the crisis there have been many bodegas that have been close to going under and lots have joined forces under a conglomerate banner as a means of protection.

I’m also delighted to see that exports of bottled wines have also increased during the last two years. Also the number of different countries importing bottled wines from Spain has increased, as the Asian market, including the now major player, China, has opened up . I’ve seen that a number of Denominaciónes de Origen (DOs) have been quick to publicise the fact that their particular sales have increased in the domestic markets as well as internationally. For example one in three bottles of wine sold in Spain is from DO Rueda! So, some quantitative easing for sure.

But let’s return to my new word, qualtitative easing. I was pleased to read some statistics recently advising that it’s not just any bottled wine whose sales have been increasing. There has been a slow, but regular increase in the number of bottled wines sold in Spain and abroad that are priced in the mid-price range, and significantly, above that price.

Of course, the ‘mid-price range’ is a phrase open to interpretation. One man’s ‘cheap’ is another man’s mid-price; whilst a totally different man’s mid-price can also be another man’s ‘expensive’! However the point is that it’s quality wines that are enjoying a surge, albeit gradual, in popularity.

So it all bodes well for Spanish wine producers, and for consumers, of course.

So for quantitative easing you may like to consider the following few wines, which are I’m sure going to help with the stress of life, such as it is, here in Spain. There are of course many more!

Bodegas Vicente Gandía is local to the Valencia region, but nowadays also makes wines in several different DOs. I’ve recently discovered their aromatic and flavoursome DO Rueda Organic Verdejo. Priced at under 4€, it’s a clear pointer as to why it is that Rueda wines now have such a large market share.

You’ll find faint whiffs of Sauvignon-esque gooseberry fruit as well as fennel seeds on the nose and perhaps a little exotic kiwi with some green pepper spritz too. It’s fairly rich and there is just a touch of slatey minerality.

I first tasted Bodega Bajoz, DO Toro, wines 15 years ago, when we chose it for our second wine of the month for our small wine club of the time. I was impressed then, and I’m pleased to say that I still am.

The bodega is now under the new ownership of Bodegas Félix Solís, one of the ‘conglomerates’ referred to above, which has been acquiring bodegas to add to their DO portfolio. Made with Tinta de Toro (aka Tempranillo) the Bajoz Joven 2013 has a picota cherry nose and flavour with a little earthiness too. On the palate it’s really fruit driven and has a mid-length finish. Easy drinking but with some body too.

And for qualtitative easing, also just one red and one white from a huge choice that is available in Spain. Firstly, I’d recommend the Bodegas Castaño Detrás de la Casa 2011, DO Yecla. A wine made with Syrah harvested at optimum ripeness and aged for 12 months in a selection of three different types oif French oak.

The rich Syrah fruit is to the fore filling the mouth with damson and a touch of pepper spice. The blend of different oak has added some flavour, but greater complexity and depth, providing a long finish, and the resulting desire for another glass! Priced in that upper mid range(?!) at about 15€ – an excellent buy.

And the white? Try the lovely Pezas da Portela Fermentado en Barrica from Bodegas Valdesil, DO Valdeorras. This wonderfull white wine is made with Godello (remember the name of the variety, if you don’t already know it!) grown in slate strewn soils at altitude in Galicia.

It’s white peaches and magnolia on the nose with a rich depth of creamy fruit on the palate and a little discreet oak on both nose and palate. One of my favourite Spanish whites! Priced at around 20€ – which is going towards the expensive, I know – but what a wine, and what a way to experience qualtitative easing!

PS There are just a few seats left for the Gourmet Tapas/Spanish Wine Pairing Evening at Vintage Gastro Bar & Restaurant, Albir. Vintage is owned and run by Dani Bowler who shot to fame on UK TV’s Masterchef Programme, and his precise and imaginative cooking is now enjoyed by all who visit his new restaurant. Proceeds from this event will also go to the: Asociación Espanola contra el Cáncer (AECC)! Please contact Colin to reserve your places!

PPS Don’t forget to view my weekly YouTube videos on Spanish wines, accessories, news etc. Simply go to www.Youtube.com and search Colin Harkness On Wine.

Contact Colin: colin@colinharknessonwine.com & please also visit www.colinharknessonwine.com for all the latest news on Spanish wines, bodega trips, tastings, wine/food pairings etc!

Report – Liberty Wines Portfolio Tasting

LIBERTY WINES ANNUAL PORTFOLIO TASTING

@ THE KIA OVAL, LONDON

The imposing home of Surrey County Cricket plays host to Liberty Wines Grand Tasting

London’s Kia Oval is the world famous home of Surrey Country Cricket where of course England also play many Test Matches, including those testosterone-charged games versus Australia. However the Aussies I met there recently came bearing gifts, and the only sixes scored were cases of wine.

Each year Liberty Wines, the large international wine distributors, hold their Portfolio Tasting amidst the hallowed portals of this impressive temple to cricket. Essentially, all the producers on their portfolio, world-wide, are asked to attend, bring their wares and share them with those in the trade. This year, I was invited to attend.

This invitation, which came right out of the blue, was from our friend Daniel Castaño, of Bodegas Castaño, DO Yecla, whose wines have appeared several times in Cork Talk over the last eighteen years. It was an opportunity that I really couldn’t turn down and I accepted with alacrity, as you might imagine.

I was to be part of a three man delegation from Bodegas Castaño: Daniel, Head of Exports, and bear in mind that this bodega was the first to export wines from DO Yecla and in fact exports a huge 95% of its total production, to Europe, USA, Asia and more; Mariano the Head Wine-maker, who has been responsible for all the Bodega’s wine success (as well as that of the once sister bodega, Bodegas Sierra Salinas, now sold on); and me, with a rather less impressive CV!

Delighted to have been co-opted onto the Bodegas Castaño Team!

However, I had my uses! Mariano’s English is not perfect and it was thus my role to accompany him around the tasting, translating the details spoken in English by all the exhibitors. Now, it would be being extremely economical with the truth if I were to tell you that my Spanish is fluent, far, far from it. However, my wine-Spanish isn’t too bad.

Looking back now over my notes I see that we tasted over 70 wines so we didn’t do too badly!

Mariano has an amazing knowledge of wines and an exceptional palate and nose for wine appreciation. All of which enables him to identify strengths and weaknesses in wines as well as the grape varieties from which they were made. So whilst I was translating for him as quickly as I could, I was also taking note of his comments as well as those of mine re the multifarious wines we tasted.

Liberty Wines had taken over two whole floors of the Conference Centre of the Kia Oval, plus the dining room on the bottom floor where an excellent lunch was served, yes, with wine! The ‘Ashes Suite’, the ‘India Suite’ and the ‘England Suite’ evoked memories of gargantuan battles of the past with walls adorned with photos of cricket legends. With huge windows in each suite that looked out over the tranquil and almost blindingly green square, well it was all rather stirring – and this from a football man!

Liberty Wines are very strong on Italian and French wines, but their extensive portfolio also more than adequately covers many other countries. South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Austria, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Armenia, Germany, Spain of course and England are all represented and others too! So there was an interesting mix of Old World and New World wines to be sampled. We set about our work resolutely!

Clearly, there is not enough space here to describe all the wines we tasted, so here are just a few of my favourites from a truly excellent field.

I was impressed with the English Sparkling Wine. Time restricted us to tasting fizz from only one of the producers on hand. I would have liked to have tasted them all, but the one we did taste is perhaps the most famous of all English Sparkling Wines, Nyetimber. Award winning and now served on BA First Class flights, when this fizz hit the headlines Champagne producers started looking over their shoulders!

The Classic Cuvee 2009 uses the triumvirate of Champagne varieties, Chardonnay (the highest proportion) and the black grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with the latter perhaps adding a sort of youthful fruitiness to the overall flavour. It has spent three years on its lees adding a depth and richness to the finished product.

Nyetimber’s Blanc de Blanc is, of course (the phrase means white from white and as Chardonnay is the only ‘white’ grape in the traditional gang of three, it has to have been made with Chardonnay), made exclusively with Chardonnay. This wine is a different animal. It’s still vibrant, still has what we want from a Sparkling Wine, but its five years on its lees have given it greater complexity, richness and depth of flavour. Super, with a trade price of 32 pounds!

We started with white wines and some of my absolute favourites were in attendance. Condrieu from Maison Nicolas Perrin is a stunning wine. It’s made with 100% Viognier with notes of apricot and honeysuckle flowers. It’s an iconic wine, with everything that is best about this marvellous variety. It’s not cheap with a trade price of 27 pounds, but it’s sooo worth it!

If asked what my favourite wine, or why style, is, I always explain that it’s impossible to say. I’m so lucky to be able to taste incredible Spanish wines, but of course there are equally wonderful wines made all over the world. However, if cornered I’d have to say that white Burgundy wine has to be up there with my all-time favourites.

Chablis, of course, would be a contender. Chablis 1er Cru ‘Les Vaudevey’ was lovely! Good acidy with a little butter on the nose, good length, rich fruit, lively. From the same producer, Domaine Laroche, I thought the Chablis Grand Cru ‘Les Blanchots’ was outstanding – though at 38 pounds, it jolly well should be.

I also loved Rully, Saint Roman, Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet and Mersault – marvelling at how diverse the flavours and aromas of Chardonnay can be.

For reds (I told you I’d have to be brief!) I was very impresses with all the wines made with Syrah/Shiraz. Côte-Rôtie, again from Nicolas Perrin, was wonderful, and for me this is not surprising – it also has a touch of Viognier in the blend. I also really enjoyed the Crozes Hermitage and the Ermitage from the same producer, though the last was very expensive at 43 pounds a bottle.

Perhaps understandably, given that I am so accustomed to Spanish wines that have had the benefit of so much sunshine, I tended to warm to the Australian Shiraz a little more than the French. The Clonakilla Canberra District Shiraz/Viognier (yes, that blend again!) is magnificent with rich Shiraz fruit and a little white pepper with added aromatic value coming from the small percentage of white Viognier.

Also Mitolo’s Jester Shiraz and Gam Shiraz were outstanding.

Contact Colin: colin@colinharknessonwine.com and via the website www.colinharknessonwine.com where you can see all Colin’s wine events, articles etc; and via Twitter @colinonwine

Palacio de Bornos where Verdejo is Queen!

TANINIA BODEGAS & VIÑEDOS

My guess is that the above won’t mean a lot to you? And yet, I’m fairly certain that you will have tasted and enjoyed, perhaps all, but at least, some of the wines made by this wine-making group.

I remember clearly the first time I tasted a Verdejo white wine from DO Rueda. I was with friends at Hal’s house and, like all present, including our host, I was challenged by one of our number to identify the wine that had just been poured, blind, into our glasses.

We had just arrived, had enjoyed the obligatory palate cleansing glass of Cava and were chatting amongst ourselves anticipating the lengthy tasting that was one of the reasons for our being there! A silence descended as we took up Pepe’s gauntlet.

By its stem, we held the wine against a white background and scribbled our ‘visual phase notes’. Swirling the glass and then sniffing the contents, a faint light dawned on some of our faces whilst some, including myself, had brows furrowed alternately in perplexity and in the light.

On the palate the perfectly chilled wine refreshed our taste-buds, as we swept it over the tongue’s receptors to detect any: sweetness; bitterness; saltiness; and acidity. As we allowed the wine to warm slightly, tiny vaporised molecules were released like illuminating Chinese lanterns, to float towards the olfactory passage on their journey of discovery to the brain, to tell us: what we were tasting; did we like it; which fruits could we identify; was there any oak involved; etc etc.

Silence prevailed. Over ten minutes we all drained the glass, making occasional additions to our notes, and crossings-out, until, as one, we held it out for a refill! The one thing on which we were all agreed was that the wine was delicious! Vociferous discussion followed and there was a collective ‘shame’ cried aloud when Pepe informed us that it was the only bottle!

We were, in fact, all wrong – but we were close, although it won’t immediately sound like it! I had concluded that the wine was a blend, with Sauvignon Blanc adding the lion’s share, with perhaps another two varieties in the mix. And the other two? Well I’d guessed some high altitude Chardonnay and maybe the slightest touch of Albariño. Then again, maybe some ripe Macabeo with a little Airén that had been left on its lees a while, was the background to the Sauvignon?

Nah! It was a monovarietal Verdejo from Bodegas Palacio de Bornos! Now, here’s a wine that you’ve tasted, no?

Thus started my passion for quality Verdejo, a variety that had been around in Rueda for hundreds of years, but essentially only in Rueda, and with only a small group of enthusiasts enjoying the wine. Verdejo’s metamorphosis from such a state to being now the most bought white wine in Spain is a rags to riches story par excellence. A variety which many commentators, myself included, shares some of the same taste and aroma characteristics as the ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc.

Bodegas Palacio de Bornos also makes Sparkling Wine made with 100% Verdejo! And, with a view to writing my second article for the UK based international Sparkling Wine magazine, Glass of Bubbly, I wrote to the bodega to ask for a couple of samples.

My letter brought a dividend – several more wines from the various bodegas within the same group, Taninia Bodegas y Viñedos. One such wine was my old friend, Bornos Verdejo, the very wine that Hal, another great old friend, now sadly no longer with us, and I tasted together on that eventful day years ago!

But, as we did at the aforementioned tasting, I’m going to start with the Fizz! Spain’s most famous Sparkling Wine is, of course, Cava. But, as many Cork Talk readers will know, quality Spanish Sparkling Wine is not just about Cava, lovely though it is! And one of the delights of fizz made in other areas of Spain is that such wines are made with a plethora of different grape varieties.

When these other grapes are some of the most aromatic in Spain they can add another dimension to the finished article. Look for example at the Sparklers made in DO Rías Baixas with the Albariño variety and, of course, look also at those made with Verdejo in DO Rueda.

The aroma profile of Palacio de Bornos Brut Nature, the driest style of Sparkling Wine, carries the usual panaderia, yeasty brioche notes that we expect from Fizz, but there is also the fragrance we know and love that is central to Verdejo. You’ll find delightful gooseberry and kiwi fruit notes, with a passing nod to the aroma of grapes too!

Then on the second phase you’ll be able to identify blanched almonds and a little scorched green herb in the mix. Hold the wine on the tongue and enjoy the tiny prickles as the bubbles move, invigorating the palate!

The Brut version, still made with 100% Verdejo, is similar, though you’ll also be able to identify the spritz that emanates from a green pepper as it’s sliced, with a lovely fennel seed aroma adding the herby nature of the wine. It’s still a dry wine, of course, but there are a few more grams of residual sugar per litre in the Brut version and this makes it a super partner to Asian, SE Asian, Chinese and Indonesian cuisine with, again, an endearing freshness.

Finally, for now, as I’ll be writing about other wines in the Taninia portfolio next week, a brief word about Palacio de Bornos Verdejo. There’s quite a pale, straw-yellow colour with some very light lime coloured notes too as the wine is poured into the awaiting glass.

The first thing you’ll notice, even without having to put your nose to the glass, is that give-away gooseberry/kiwi/fennel perfume that I guarantee will have you licking your lips in anticipation. Served chilled, but not too cold, the wine will be fresh in your mouth while it fills the taste-buds. Lovely, dry white wine!

Contact Colin: colin@colinharknessonwine.com and via Twitter @colinonwine.

It’s also advisable to visit Colin’s website www.colinharknessonwine.com on a regular basis to see the events he organises, his articles, client comments and a lot more. Plus, if you join his e-mail list you will receive, direct to your computer/iPhone/iPad etc details of his wine tastings, wine pairing dinners, bodega visits etc. Just contact Colin!

The Rising Tide of Prosecco – Why?

SURFING THE SPARKLING PROSECCO TSUNAMI

Everybody had the notion, across the U-oo-K

to use Prosecco, to start and end the day . .

Paraphrasing the Beachboys, 60s – come on, you remember bopping away to them, and there is a link, I promise!

Ok, hands up – I agree these are probably Cork Talk’s worst ever opening lines, since its inception eighteen years ago! However, I plead mitigating circumstances – please blame it on my Prosecco pickled brain!

And the link? Well, did you make it back to the UK over the Christmas period? If so, I’m prepared to wager that you tasted, no doubt on several occasions, the current darling sparkling wine fad. I’m talking Prosecco, Italy’s de riguer fizz. Am I right?

Thought so! The UK is awash with it at the moment. Marks & Spencer and the Co-op, for example, have reported spikes in Prosecco sales over the Christmas period, with Lidl delighted to brag that their Prosecco sales have tripled! Other retailers are also reporting increased sales.

All this equates to the UK being the world’s third largest importer of Prosecco, buying five million bottles annually with an ex-cellar (cost directly from the producer with no taxes added) value of approaching 25 million pounds! So it’s not surprising that when we were in the UK we were always offered Prosecco as an aperitif, with many no doubt employing this less expensive sparkling wine on Christmas Day and to bring in the New Year.

My apologies to our Italian friends, but, why?

I’ve taken a quick, wholly unscientific straw poll amongst several friends in the wine world as well as fizzaholic family and friends – no names, to protect the innocent! It seems we are in agreement – most of the Prosecco in the economic to mid-price range is just too sweet! And this is Prosecco labelled as Brut, which according to EU regulations means that it should be dry!

prosecco tesco — Tesco Prosecco Brut – Dry?

The EU is specific about how many grams of residual sugar there should be in the various styles of Sparkling Wine produced in Europe. This ruling applies to all – Champagne, Cava, Sekt (German Fizz) Prosecco et al.

However, there is room for manoeuvre. The driest style of fizz is Brut Nature – in fact my favourite. Here producers can so label their sparklers if it has fewer than 3grms of sugar per litre. Therefore, 1grm, 1·5grms etc all qualify. The next driest style is Brut, but the margins here are wider.

Brut Sparkling Wine can have between 3grms – 12grms per litre. Herein lies the problem. If we take the starting point as 3grms (were it fewer, it would be labelled Brut Nature) and the maximum as 11·9999grms that gives the producer a lot to play with.

With a mid point of, more or less, 7·5grms, this is where we might expect most Brut Sparkling Wines to be, hedging bets between those who like a slightly sweeter dry and those who like it close to the bone! When I first started drinking Cava here in Spain, I found that most were at about 8grms – just right. But Cava, too, seems to have started to up the ante in terms of its sweetness over the last few years, although only slightly – 9grms to 9·5grms is now common.

This is why I now prefer to go for Spanish Sparkling wine that is designated Brut Nature as I feel it goes better with aperitifs as well as remaining a super, fresh, palate awakening celebratory drink – but this, of course is simply a matter of taste.

But back to Prosecco. The Italian sparkler is made with different grapes, of than Cava, and Champagne. In fact the grape goes by the same name, Prosecco. In times long gone this grape, sometimes harvested as late as November was used to make still wine in covered vats. It had the habit of stopping fermentation when the ambient temperature dropped, leaving a relatively high level of residual sugar. When the temperature rose, fermentation would restart. The end result would be quite sweet slightly sparkling wine.

Prosecco, the sparkling wine, had been born. Modern day producers tried to replicate that which had happened naturally in the past and as such most Prosecco today is made by a different method than most of the rest of the world’s sparkling wine.

The method invented in Champagne, and now termed ‘The traditional Method’ for fear of being sued by the powerful liturgy-happy lawyers of Champagne, is how Champagne, of course, is made, Cava and most other Sparkling Wine. Here a second fermentation is provoked in the bottle, causing of course, the bubbles and the famous ‘pop’ as the cork flies.

Prosecco also has a second fermentation, but this is induced, not in the bottle but in the large, sometimes, huge, fermentation tanks. It is called the Charmat process. My worry is that, in trying to replicate the ‘accidental’ sparkling wine of the past, producers are also making the wine too sweet, in the mistaken belief that this is what the consumer wants. If it’s legal, it must be below 12grms of sugar per litre, as we’ve seen, but how much below?

Sainsbury Prosecco - how close to the 12grms/litre max for Brut Sparkling Wine? — Sainsbury Prosecco – how close to the 12grms/litre max for Brut Sparkling Wine?

Another word of caution, and this very much on the side of Prosecco. There is a concern amongst Prosecco producers that much of the sparkling Italian wine that is dispensed from kegs in UK pubs, is in fact not Prosecco. But other (in their view, lesser) Italian (perhaps!) sparkling wine. In law Prosecco can only be sold in bottles, so if the slightly sweet sparkling style is for you, then be warned!

Contact Colin: colin@colinharknessonwine.com and via Twitter @colinonwine

Please also remember to regularly visit www.colinharknessonwine.com to see all Colin’s wine related events, articles, promotions etc. Plus, so you don’t miss out on events you can also join Colin’s e-mail list – simply contact Colin!