Category: Articles

First Published Costa News SL February 2013

BODEGAS DANIEL BELDA

DO ALICANTE & DO VALENCIA

Bodegas Daniel Belda is practically synonymous with Denominación de Origen Valencia, from whence come most of its wines. Whilst nowhere near as large as that huge leviathon of a Valencian bodega, Vicente Gandía, Danelda Belda certainly isn’t plodding along in the wake of that far larger concern. Rather, it’s ploughing its own considerable furrow in a different, and yet at times, converging direction.

 

There’s nothing like confusing the reader with a heavy mixed metaphor at the beginning of an article, I always say! Stick with me though, you’re going to hear about some super wines, with sensible price tags too!

 

In the wine world there is much talk at the moment, and perhaps for the last five years, of the burgeoning market that is China. Robert Parker the world famous American wine critic is moving his extremely successful wine business ‘out East’; one of the biggest growth industries in Hong Kong currently is that of the temperature and humidity controlled fine wine storage centres (with spin off businesses such as security cashing in on the act too); the worlds most famous wine magazine, Decanter, now holds not one but two major and most prestigious wine competitions, the original in London of course, but also in the Orient.

 

Indeed there are now several French Chateaux owned by mega-wealthy highly successful Chinese businessmen, which is perhaps not so surprising considering that some of those purchases will have been made from Japanese owners who started the Eastern business ball rolling. Plus, as China’s economy grows as predicted, we can expect to see more acquisitions, not only in France, but world-wide!

 

Clearly European wineries including, of course, bodegas in Spain are suddenly making concerted efforts to get in on the act and sell their wines to Chinese people in China.

 

But a brief look at the business ledgers of Bodegas Daniel Belda will tell you that selling wine to the Chinese is not such an innovation – they’ve been doing it for approaching twenty years! In some parts of China, until this huge concerted European -wide sales push, European wine equals Daniel Belda!

 

I’m a little ambivalent when it comes to writing about the wines of DO Valencia and DO Alicante. There’s a continuous tussle going on inside my head, journalist v consumer! I’m both and and whilst the former demands that I tell all, the latter, selfishly, wants me to keep it to myself! You see the top wines of Alicante and Valencia are amongst the best in Spain, but they are not burdened with correspondingly high prices.

 

Moreover, it goes deeper than that as the value for money price/quality ratio creed applies to most of the wines produced here in South East Spain. So when I open my big mouth and tell those who are prepared to listen (through Cork Talk which isn’t just read by the 150,000 weekly Costa News readers but which is also picked up all over the world, according to my in-box, by internet) about the quality of the wines here and how they are sold at well short of bank-breaking prices I’m really risking a price hike following a probable increase in demand.

 

I’m sure you can see my dilemma! However it’s always the journalsit in the who wines the battle and this time it’s the wines of Daniel Belda which are under the spotlight.

 

I first tasted a Daniel Belda wine a few years after arriving here in Spain, which it’s true was rather late. My writing in those early days was to satisfy a reader demand for knowledge of wines from the more famous areas of production. But as my own tasting experience expanded so did my understanding of the quality that is here in Spain but produced by the underdogs to use yet another metaphor – but I aint finished yet!

 

I was delighted to see Blackburn beat Arsenal in the FA Cup recently – as is often the case, we British like to cheer for the underdog. So my writing took several tangents years ago where I tried to include of course the big names but also attempted to showcase wines from mother areas as well. And why not Valencia and Alicante.

 

Daniel Belda is a founder member of the Terres dels Alforíns group of a dozen or so bodegas whose aim it is to make fine wine, sold at approachable prices, with the benefit of modern technology and methods going hand in hand with tried and tested traditional practise, whilst at the same time keeping a careful eye of the environment and the soils they’ll be passing on to the next generation.

 

In this alone they are to be congratulated, but when you consider the excellent wines that they are making, well you’d be forgiven for turning congratulations into adulation!

 

The first Belda wine I tasted was a Pinot Noir (approx 6€) – a most difficult vine to grow, one that has to be mollycoddled and I was keen to see how such a grumpy old vine can adapt to conditions so different to those of its native Burgundy. It wasn’t half-bad, and has continued to improve as the vines have become older and more established.

 

However Daniel Belda also likes to use, and for this there should be more applause, indigenous grape varieties as well as usurping foreigners. Verdil is the white wine grap variety that has been grown in Valencia for centuries during which time it has adapted perfectly to the hash conditions that are common during the growing system in this one of the hottest, driest and most humid areas of Spain.

 

Belda’s Verdil (approx. 5€) is refreshing with herbaceous notes, some green apple and a lick of citrus acidity, some fennel and just a faint blanched almond character.

 

Ca Belda (approx 20€), the medal winning, modern style wine that still manages more than just a nod to tradition is a lovely very dark red wine, and no wonder as it’s made with the dark skinned indigenous varieties Monastrell and Garnacha Tintorera, which is also one of the very few varieties that has a red coloured flesh too!

 

The wine is aged in oak, but they are a little coy about telling us how time in oak – this is because each vintage will vary, according to the ripeness of the grapes and the resulting wine after fermentation. The oak ageing process is designed to add to the complexity of the wine and of course to its depth of flavour, but this musn’t exclude the primary fruit flavours.

 

It’s a fine wine, one of the best from the cellar and will grace any dinner table.

 

Migjorn (approx 10€) is a wine made from French Varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from  a particular vineyard (in the Alicante area, hence the wine is labelled DO Alicante) whose soils and micro-climate are considered best for these varieties.

 

Post fermentation, which takes place in French oak barricas, the wine is then aged for for a further 12 months in French Oak barrels. However the time in French oak, the more subtle of the oak varieties used by winemakers, is well integrated allowing the fruit to come though but with a depth of flavours and some pleasing complexity.

 

There are notes of bay leaf, fresh and torn in the hand, some endearing minerality too, but an overall rich fruit-filled mouthful with the oak’s influence adding to the significant length of the wine – i.e. the length of time tnhat you can still taste and enjoy the wine after swallowing.

 

These, of course are only a few of the large range of wines available at Bodegas Daniel Belda and I urge you to give them a try!

First Published Costa News Group, Jan 2013

BODEGAS AL ZAGAL

It’s mighty cold in winter at 1,135 meters above sea level in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Vines grown at this altitude have to be hardy, to say the least. Often covered in snow the vineyards slowly begin to melt as Spring gradually arrives (later than for most of us here in Spain).

The ambient temperature, and therefore the land too, start to warm as the wan winter sun gives way to crisply blue skies and bit by bit more intense sunlight and heat. Aided and abetted by warming Mediterranean breezes as Spring morphs into early Summer the vines throw off their overcoats, the sap begins to rise and once again the tender green shoots of a new growing season start to coyly appear.

It’s tough being a vine in the Province of Granada, way above the city that has been home to Muslims, Christians and Jews and is now, thankfully, a far more tolerant society than it has been over various historical epochs.

However such climatic extremes can be good for the wines born of these vineyards. In wine-making terms it’s good for a vine to suffer in its creation of the small berries, we call grapes. Furthermore if, as is certainly the case here, there is a considerable difference in day and night time temperatures, where often a drop of 20ºC is recorded, there will be still greater benefit to the resulting wine.

So, although it’s still early days, it’s clear that wines made by the fledgling Bodegas Al Zagal, whose vineyards are located at such nosebleed-inducing heights, have an advantage! When I received samples from Señor José Olea, co-owner and winemaker, I was keen to try them as soon as possible!

It would be wholly wrong to say that this is a rags to riches story – there aren’t many riches in wine production these days. Indeed the motivation for most bodega owners is first and foremost a passion for wine and if a few riches come along then that’s even better!

It’s really this passion for wine that was the starting point for a group of friends, at the beginning of the new millenium, who decided that they would club together and make wines for their own consumption. Their combined knowledge, finances and desire to make something good were driving forces that stood them in good stead.

Their first efforts were applauded (and not just by themselves!), raising the question – well, how about commercialising the wines? In this way they could at least but something back into the draining coffers whilst simultaneously showing what can be achieved by a group of enthusiastic amateurs.

Although not articulated on the pages of their website, it’s clear also that any success achieved would also reflect well on the wine making possibilities in the DOP Vino de Calidad de Granada. A pleasing example of altruism in such difficult financial times.

I’ve tasted, and am tasting, a number of wines from this area, as readers will, and will have, noticed and I have to say that for me it really is an emerging area of production which I’m sure will even more firmly establish itself on the Spanish wine-making map as time goes on. Watch out for wines from Granada – and keep your eyes peeled for those from Bodegas Al Zagal.

Of course Al Zagal wines are a limited production so they won’t be available everywhere – you could go to www.bodegasalzagal.es for distributor contact details.

And what of the wines? Well I certainly enjoyed them.

The white Rey Zagal Sauvignon Blanc is light in the mouth with only 12·5% abv (these days that is considered quite low as abv figures have been steadily rising since the onset of climate change and global warming). It could thus be considered a lunch wine, where it will be particularly appropriate with salads and fish, of course.

It’s not a big, block-busting Sauvignon as so many can be nowadays. Its aromas are a little closed, even after it’s been in the glass a while. But this is not necessarily a criticism. Some Sauvignons, often from the New World, are over the top in their gooseberry/nettle/asparagus/kiwi perfume, occasionally making them a little sickly.

Rey Zagal Sauvigon 2011 is more subtle, on the nose and on the palate too. There are varietal characteristics, but they won’t leap out of the bottle at you! I’d very much like to try the new vintage, the 2012, when it becomes available. The relatively young vines will be a year more mature, of course, and the 2012 growing season was extremely sunny with very high daytime temperatures ensuring that the grapes will have ripened perfectly. Expect more fruit and a longer finish.

The Rey Zagal Roble 2010 has the influence of oak, of course (roble is the Spanish word for oak), but only 4 months worth of wood ageing (American, Hungarian and French). Nevertheless this has resulted in a young wine but with some depth. It’s made with a catch-all blend of Tempranillo, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

It’s darkly coloured, with a mixture of black and red cherries, plus plums (the Syrah surely contributes here) but there’s also a faint moka/chocolate flavour in there too. The nose is again a little closed on first pour, but give it time to warm a little, and it will develop nicely in your glass.

It also has a hint of one of the common denominators of wines from DO Granada, there is minerality too.

This mineral note is more pronounced in the Silver Medal winning Rey Zagal Reserva 2008 whose back label advises that there may be some sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Don’t be put off by this, it’s a good selling point as the wine has been bottles without excessive filtration allowing it to develop more in bottle after its twelve months in American oak. Pour carefully, and enjoy!

Menthol and Eucalyptus notes join the minerality but the full, mature fruit isn’t lost, not a bit of it! Made with Tempranillo and Merlot, the fruit is more blackberry and blackcurrant than Tempranillo’s characteristic strawberry. There’s a medium to long finish which makes you reach once more for the bottle!

First Published Costa News Group, Jan 2013

THE CAVA REFUSENIKS!

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Since I first heard that no less a name than Raventos i Blanc had become one of the most prestigious of the fraternity of Cava makers to withdraw from the DO, I’ve been contemplating my reaction. Raventos i Blanc is one of several Cava producers who have recently elected to disassociate themselves from the DO Cava, of which they have been members from its inception and indeed for generations.

I’m not wholly decided but broadly speaking I’m in favour of the move – albeit with some reservations, not least of which is the undoubted fact that there is going to be considerable consumer confusion. So this article is an attempt to walk readers through the reasons for the split and the probable outcomes.

Raventos i Blanc took pains to explain that there had been no falling out with DO Cava, no harsh words and no hard feelings on either side. But I don’t buy it! It’s clear that there has been a long period of posturing resulting in a stalemate that finally prompted the abandonment of what they, and other deserters, see as a sinking ship.

It has all come about because of a concern amongst producers of quality Cava that the original good name of the DO and its produce has been besmirched by the veritable tsunami of cheap Cavas that really don’t deserve the name!

It can’t have escaped your notice that every supermarket has been chock-full of Cava during this festive period. Christmas and New Year have passed but the Three Kings celebration is just around the corner so huge sales will no doubt continue. In fact over 50% of all Cava sold in a year in Spain is sold at this time – that’s millions of bottles, literally millions!

Many outlets have offered tempting discounts in an effort to drive sales further, some have slashed them to what surely must be the loss-leader level in the hope that those clutching their bargain Cava will also buy other products whilst in the store. Nothing wrong in that of course – it’s business.

But I’d ask you to consider for a moment how it is possible to slash the price of a bottle of Cava that retails for less than a couple of Euros anyway? But the lowest end of the price scale has also been subject to this discounting and needless to say, sales have rocketed.

It is the belief of the Cava Refuseniks that there has been an equal and opposite reaction in terms of the quality of the Cava at this lower end. Whilst sales have gone viral, quality has plummeted. And it’s not just at Christmas.

There are many Cavas that I honestly wouldn’t touch. I’m not being a Cava Snob and I’m certainly painfully aware of the current and long-running financial disaster that is Spain and the consequent need to tighten belts. But these ridiculously cheap Cavas are nothing like the real McCoy. There are bubbles and that is the limit of the similarity!

These cheap end, tasteless, anorexic Cavas offer the same inviting ‘explosion’ as the pressure inside the bottle pops the cork but it’s an open and shut case of flattery and deception, of breach of promise! However no litigation will follow. The producers have obeyed all the rules – the approved grapes have been grown in the right areas and so on. Thus they have every right to call their produce Cava and sell it at whatever price they like.

The problem that the quality minded producers see, and have no doubt brought up many times in discussions with the Consejo Regulador (Ruling Council) of the DO, is that there is no quality control. If you follow the rules you can call it Cava, no matter what it tastes like, or more accurately in this case, if it actually tastes of nothing! In this, the Denominación de Origen Cava is not alone, there are other Consejo Reguladores who have been similarly apathetic as the good name of a specific area of production has been gradually eroded by a river of second and third rate wine.

The rebel band of ex-Cava producers won’t be able to call their wines Cava having withdrawn, Cava interruptous style, from the DO before it’s too late, and further damage is done to their good name! So they’ll simply call it Spanish Sparkling Wine, or more likely in Spanish, Vino Espumoso.

But this will lead to further confusion – there is already Vino Espumoso in Spain. Several areas (watch this space soon!) have made sparkling wine for years, using the traditional method (aka the Champagne Method, though one isn’t allowed to put that on a label!), but with different grape varieties than those officially approved by DO Cava and of course in areas different than those where Cava can be made.

Some Cava makers, and consumers too, have poured scorn on these wines calling them ‘wannabe’ Cavas, dismissing them as cheap, uninspiring copies. But hold on – there will soon be Raventos i Blanc (et al) Spanish Sparkling Wine, and as they’ll be made by such well respected producers it will be impossible to laugh these off!

My guess is also that there will be an increased interest in Vinos Espumosos, Spanish Sparkling Wine, which as yet doesn’t have the same cache as Cava, but probably soon will have. This will be excellent news for the current Espumoso producers, albeit ironic, and perhaps to their collective chagrin, considering that after years in the shadow of Cava it will be Cava makers who will be responsible for shining the spotlight on their produce!

What does it all mean for you and me though? Well, there will still be top class, Champagne-equalling, and beating, Cava. Many famous names are staying put, perhaps feeling they have more chance of effecting beneficial change from within, now that the whistle has been blown.

But there will also be first rate Spanish Sparkling Wine, as there in fact always has been, though, until now, it’s never been given its due. Plus of course there will still be the frankly insipid under two Euros end of the Cava market.

So something of a minefield for the consumer? Well the answer is in an old homily – when it comes to Cava/Sparkling Wine, you get what you pay for! If it’s priced at the lowest end of the scale, that’s what it’s worth! It’s still true to say that in Spain, up to a point, and that point is determined by the depth of your pockets, the more you pay, the better the wine.

I have a simple answer which would have saved all this gnashing of teeth, though I’m sure that the refuseniks have already mooted it. Why not bring in quality control to the DO Cava and have two levels – Cava Superior, of course for the better quality Cavas, and simply Cava for the others? Works for me!

Contact Colin: colin@colinharknessonwine.com and www.colinharknessonwine.com

First Published Costa News Group, Jan 2013

BARON DE LEY VARIETALES

RIOJA’S FAMED GRAPE VARIETIES FLYING SOLO!

There isn’t much to thank La Crisis for, here in Spain. But you don’t want me to list, yet again, the financial problems that we have been having for so long now. So I’m going to focus instead on at least one good thing that has come about because of the economic downturn.

From a wine perspective it’s been a super time to be here in Spain. Firstly there continue to be some truly excellent offers re wine prices and special deals on multi-buys and, when we’re occasionally feeling flush, on cases too. I’m sure that you, also, have taken advantage of this tiny silver lining, edging, if not surrounding, the metaphoric grey clouds of recession! I know I have!

But that’s not all. There has, I think, been a general ‘tidying up’ where bodegas have realised that in such a competitive market, quality is all! Thus, in an effort to drive sales, the standard of even the cheaper end of the market has improved. It’s very difficult to find really poor wine in Spain nowadays – would that this had been so when I first came here!

So that’s another plus. But the one that perhaps encourages me the most is the fact that Spanish wine-makers are experimenting more and more. Different blends are being trialled; varieties new to Spain are being planted; innovative wine-making techniques are being tested; and even some old traditional practises are being brought back to life with terrific results! The upshot is a vast expansion of wines for you and me to try. 

The prestigious, though relatively young, Bodegas Baron De Ley of DOCa La Rioja is one such producer who continues with its tried, tested and loved traditional style wines but who is also experimenting. Baron de Ley’s Varietals range is a case in point, and a very tasty one at that!

 

Most Rioja wine has been made from a blend of the approved grape varieties of the DO – Tempranillo, the most used, Graciano, Mazuelo, Garnacha and Maturana amongst others – for decades. Tempranillo is likely to remain the basic building block of La Rioja with it taking the lion’s share of most blends but there has, over the last few years, been experimentation with the other varietals giving them more leading roles than bit parts.

 

Baron de Ley has taken it a step further though. They have produced a range of three mono-varietal wines, Tempranillo (of course, if it aint bust don’t fix it!) but also Graciano and the far less well known Maturana. I was lucky enough to receive this triumvirate of, up to now, experimental wines, and if my taste buds are anything to go by, this range will swiftly move from the merely experimental and be added permanently to the Baron de Ley portfolio.

Considering that the Spanish word for law is ‘Ley’ it’s entirely appropriate as well as being quite striking that the labels on these series of wines look a little like a legal document, duly sealed in wax! Standing in a group the wines are impressive.

Varietal Tempranillo 2010 – initially a quite vanilla perfume on the nose, very Rioja-esque and therefore keeping in touch with its roots. After ten minutes the vanilla became more integrated on the nose with some super soft red fruit coming through and a delightful, meaty (roast lamb, appropriately, considering that this dish seems almost synonymous with Rioja red wine!).

 

It’s pleasantly chewy with a good balance of dark and light red fruit, plums and loganberry. There’s also a slight earthy, farmyard aroma with a good balance of acidity and tannin as well as the good fruit presence. There’s a slight bitterness on the finish endearing this wine to roast lamb, claro, but also, considering its refreshing acidic style, to rich game dishes in order to cut through the richness. 

Varietal Graciano – there are two tongue-in-cheek schools of thought as to how the name Graciano originated: one suggests that Graciano comes from the Spanish word Gracia, grace or joy in English, suggesting an elegant, graceful wine; and the other, rather more derogatory suggestion, is that it comes from Rioja growers of old whose response when offered this variety to grow in their vineyards would say, Gracias no!

Baron de Ley’s Varietal Graciano 2009 lies securely in the former of those two possibilities. There are gentle violet aromas and jammy, brambly dark fruit flavours with a good tannin/acidity/fruit balance. It has an initial slightly thin taste and feel which rallies on the mid-palate. On the finish there are dark chocolate notes with a slightly more bitter finish overriding the fruit. Drink this wine with game and cured meats and maybe some mature cheeses.

Varietal Maturana 2010 – highly purple coloured, this wine came a very close second  (by a cork head!) to the Tempranillo. It’s strength is its fruit content. It’s rich and fruity in the mouth with balanced acidity and sweet tannins. There’s a very slight varietal characteristic green pepper aroma blending pleasantly with some smoky menthol and earthy minerality. There’s also a touch of Mocha and coffee on the nose with some liquorice in there too

Innovation is the key at the moment and here is an example where a trial results in a success and we consumers can enjoy a different style Rioja, and not have to pay too much for it!

PS If you’re interested in learning more about Spanish wine, and having a super and very tasty time doing so, then why not join my e-mail list so that you hear about the many wine tastings I present and bodega visits I organise. I also present private wine   tastings for groups which are always informative and great fun! And, why not go further and enjoy a wine appreciation course, tailored to your requirements – either individually or in small groups? Please contact me as below!

colin@colinharknessonwine.com and www.colinharknessonwine.com