Category: Articles

First Published Costa News Group December 2012

PULLTEX WINE ACCESSORIES

AND OTHER STORIES

 I don’t know about you but it’s about this time when my mind starts to consider Christmas presents. In truth that doesn’t always mean that I get around to doing anything about it, but hey, thinking about it is a start, right?!

 It’s therefore the time of year when I think about any wine related items that I can recommend Cork Talk readers to buy as Christmas presents for friends and family, and maybe a well deserved wine-orientated Christmas present for yourselves, just in case others don’t come up with the idea! And why not -after all you’re probably the one who has the year-round responsibility of making sure that there’s wine on the table, and particularly for the Christmas period (for Christmas Wine Recommendations + The Costa News Top Ten Wines of the Year, watch this space).

 When I was in Barcelona for the Alimentaria Wine Fair last March I was impressed with the array of Wine Accessories displayed on the Pulltex stand. It seemed to me that whatever one needs for wine, short of the actual wine itself, was there to see and , if required, to have demonstrated too. I made a mental note to ‘re-visit’ Pulltex (time was pressing as everything was closing early because of the National Strike, which in fact marooned me several kilometres from my hotel – but that’s another story!).

 An e-mail some weeks later resulted in a Press Pack of example accessories for me to road test (must try that with Mercedes sometime!) and a brochure detailing all that this successful international company has to offer the wine enthusiast. Be it happy amateur or dedicated professional – there’s something to offer everyone.

Stylish & Practical - Pulltex Wine Accessories

 The utilitarian name ‘sacarcorcho’ here in Spain is known in the UK as ‘The Waiter’s Friend’ – it’s a simple but indispensable part of any wine lover’s armoury. I have one always in my car, my luggage and not just in the kitchen of our house! I’ve trialled a number over the years, some haven’t passed muster and have been unceremoniously dumped – in the correct recycling bin of course!

 Pulltex has been making “Wine concepts for wine lovers” for over twenty years is the market leader and makes a range of Waiter’s Friends from the simple, functional and reliable to designer-style, elaborate but equally easy to use.

 But that’s not all! In the Press Pack there are bottle stoppers of two different types –  both of which are in full time employment in my house! A simple but amazingly efficient stopper that can keep the bubbles in cava/Champagne et al for days – an excellent idea for those of us who like a glass to fizz to perk us up but who don’t want to drink a whole bottle. This is ideal also for the professional wine-taster as a glass of sparkling wine before the onslaught of several wines that need to be tasted is an ideal start as it freshens the palate perfectly.

 There’s also an excellent oxygen extractor stopper which again allows one to open a bottle of wine for just a glass a day, for example. Extracting the oxygen ensures that the wine doesn’t spoil if kept in the fridge with this most useful stopper.

 There’s a an elegant wine cooler too – which, if kept in the freezer, can be wrapped around a bottle of white wine to keep it cool throughout dinner, but can also be used to quickly chill down a bottle when one isn’t enough and you’ve been caught unawares without a second bottle on the subs bench in the fridge! Etc . . .

 But that’s not all either – Pulltex have a large brochure of wine accessories which includes some lovely decanters (an essential piece of equipment for the wine lover, in my view), elegant glasses, sommelier-style aprons (some in a very stylish denim!) and much more – all of which can be seen by visiting www.pulltex.com well before Christmas!

 AND A WINE ON WHICH TO PRACTISE PULLTEX?

Well you might like to try the 100% Chardonnay M&Z 2011 Chardonnay 2011 (no, Madam, that’s not M&S!).

 Readers may remember two articles of a few months ago which lamented the reluctance of Rioja bodegas to take advantage of the newly approved grape varieties for white wines from this honoured zone of production. One bodega (of two that I could find – I know, it’s baffling why are they so slow on the uptake when there is such great potential to improve white Rioja’s flavours, aromas etc and therefore the bodegas’ cash-flow and profit?!), bucks the trend.

 Bodegas Finca Manzanos have a Viura/Chardonnay (25%) blend which elicited the following tasting note in one of those articles:

 “Typical warm climate, southern hemisphere Chardonnay notes of exotic fruit are very understated, if in fact present at all. There’s only 25% Chardonnay in the blend and its presence is more of a subtle French style. There’s an added roundness to the wine, a greater depth and a longer finish. On the nose, perhaps the faintest whiff of banana and butter.”

 However this bodega also has an outpost in nearby DO Navarra, called Bodegas M&Z. Here there are two wines only, a red and the aforementioned Chardonnay. The 2011 is a joven, young, wine without any oak ageing. The winemaker captures the essence of Chardonnay, which can of course work wonderfully with oak, but which doesn’t have to (unlike Viura from Rioja – oops, there I go

Chardonnay from Navarra

again!).

 There are some creamy notes (my guess is that the wine has been kept on its lees before bottling), some mild butter aromas and a slight reference to banana – it’s subtle, Old World Chardonnay, rather than blustery, blousy and big, as can be the case with some Aus and Californian wines using the same variety.

 I’m sure Pulltex will cope very well with it, and so will you, if you can find it!

 THE LATE JOHN RADFORD

 Sad news for the wine world generally and particularly for that of Spain – recently John Radford, world renowned Spanish wine writer, critic and broadcaster passed away. John was the author of several books and hundreds of articles, many specifically about the wines of Spain. He sat as Co-Chair of the Spanish Panel for Decanter Magazine and has worked for many years promoting wines made in the country he loved and visited frequently.

 I first met John when he was a guest speaker at the Costa Blanca Wine Society and most recently last year when he co-chaired the Decanter Panel on which I too sat when judging the 2007 vintage from La Rioja in November 2011. In the meantime I’ve read many of his missives re innovation and further developments here in Spain and we’ve corresponded over various wine matters, and not always with the same opinion! Most recently through the Comment Page of Decanter’s Internet News Service, where we disagreed about white Rioja, which Cork Talk readers may remember (see above?).

 I didn’t always agree with John’s opinions but I certainly respect the fact that he has been a major luminary regarding the Spanish wine industry. I still use his book ‘The New Spain’ as an excellent reference source and will no doubt continue to quote him, acknowledging all that he has done for Spanish wine.

First Published Costa News Nov 2012

BODEGAS LOS FRAILES

TERRES DELS ALFORÍNS

I remember with some embarrassment the dreadful faux pas I made quite a few years ago, when I visited, with a coach load of people, Bodegas Los Frailes, near Fontanares, inland from Gandía. Standing in the beautiful and tranquil vineyards I was talking to the group about the favoured grape variety of the region and also of Bodegas Los Frailes – Monastrell.

I had just explained (in error, as I was soon to find out!) that Monastrell is the Spanish name for the French variety, Mourvèdre. The hand of Miguel, the owner of the Bodega, whose family had in fact worked the vineyards for generations having bought the estate at auction as far back as 1771, gently but purposefully landed on my shoulder:

“No, Señor Colin – Mouvèdre is the French name for the Spanish grape variety, Monastrell!”.

Of course it didn’t really matter to the group who were probably more interested in tasting the wine than listening to a lengthy discourse on the provenance of the vines which supplied the grapes for that wine. And I have to admit that I smiled in apology to Miguel, thinking – no matter, it’s probably just a parochial disagreement, some friendly(ish!) cross-Pyrenees rivalry!

Well, when I returned to my office I looked into the matter and yes, Miguel was quite correct of course and I thanked him for pointing it out to me.

I thanked him recently too, this time for giving me several of his wines for a tasting to be included under the association banner of Terres dels Alforíns after we had lunched together with the three other founder members of this group of leading DO Valencia winemakers. Regular readers will remember a number of articles I have written about the impressive wines made by members of the group, and the wines of Bodegas Los Frailes are no exception!

The entire production of this bodega is organic. When I asked Miguel all those years ago why it was that he had decided to change to strictly organic production he simply pointed to a photo on his office desk.

“I want the land I leave to my children to be good, clean land. I want to put back into the soil what I take out if it, not with chemicals and fertilizers, but with organic matter. We are all but caretakers of the land with which we work and it is our duty to pass on perfect soils to the next generation.”

Gone are the days when organic wines were drunk solely by tree-hugging, Earth-loving, long-haired, wooly-jumpered Bohemians who accepted anything as long as it was produced organically. The quality of Organic and indeed Bio-dynamic wines is self-evident and, whilst there are wine competitions solely for Organic wines, most of these wines are entered in competitions that are open to all – and they do very well too!

Indeed the wines of Bodegas Los Frailes are of very high quality, full stop!

Blanc Trilogía, which as you might imagine from its name, uses three varieties – Sauvignon for lovely fresh gooseberry, nettle and asparagus notes; Moscatel for grapey, raison perfume; and the indigenous Verdil for extra body.

The grapes undergo a five-day maceration at low temperatures to extract the maximum aromas, then half of the must is fermented French Oak with regular stirring of the lees. After fermentation this portion joins the other 50% which underwent stainless steel fermentation.

You’ll find tropical fruit with citrus too and a touch of vanilla. It has a certain weight in the mouth but with fresh acidity too, and maybe just a passing whiff of wild fennel and thyme.  

Trilogíca Tinto (yes, three varieties!), includes Tempranillo with Monastrell (of course) and some Cabernet Sauvignon all of which have enjoyed a long maceration period where colours, mature tannin and deep flavour are extracted. Mature fruit sits on an integrated bedrock of Hungarian oak vanilla aromas and flavour. Super.

Bilogía (yes, you guessed it!) has a 50/50 blend of Monastrell and Tempranillo. It too has had a long maceration followed by 12 months in Hungarian oak to add some vanilla, depth and complexity, though the wine is very pleasant easy drinking.

f (that’s the name, not a disguised swearword!) Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon is as dark in the glass as you might imagine from these particularly black grapes. It’s had just 4 months in oak, to mellow the Cabernet and add some extra flavout to finished product. Like it’s stable-mate f Monastrell Monovarietal it’s meant for tasty easy drinking and both serve this purpose very well! 

Finally, I was wholly enamoured with Miguel’s Moma 2008 – an excellent wine! It’s made with old vine Monastrell and the superb very new variety, Marselan, which is a man-made cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache, first bred in 1961 and first vinified (used for making wine) as recently as 2002!

It’s painstaking elaboration, using modern and old, traditional methods, including finally a lengthy time in medium toasted French Barricas with its lees and then in bottle in the cellars, this wine is outstanding for its under 20€ price tag. Mature fruit mixes with some spice, dark chocolate and a touch of tobacco and stony mineral notes on a long finish.

An outstanding bodega making a significant contribution to the Terres dels Alforíns group, which is causing something of a stir in the DO Valencia – because of the sheer quality of its autocratic members’ wines!

PS Wednesday 5th December is a date for your diary. I’m presenting five super wines to partner five gourmet tapas at Moraira’s Olive Tree restaurant when we’ll also be enjoying the beautiful music of Dolce Divas throughout the evening! And check out the price – only 25€ for all this!! You can call into the restaurant to reserve; or call me on 629 388 159; or e-mail colin@colinharknessonwine.com It promises to be a special night!

colin@colinharknessonwine.com & www.colinharknessonwine.com

First Published Costa News Group, November 2012

BODEGAS TIERRA HERMOSA

HIGH QUALITY WINES FROM THE SIERRA NEVADA

A COSTA NEWS EXCLUSIVE!

It’s a long way from the City of London to the beautiful mountains towering over one of Spain’s most enigmatic cities, Granada – both physically and culturally,  too!

The difference between the frenetic fast-track life of Public Relations where blue-chip clients, and their potential clients, are pampered with top quality wines in the major metropolises of the world, and the actual making of those fine wines in the rural, high altitude bucolic bliss of the vineyards of DO Vino de Calidad de Granada, is immense.

However those who have walked the tightrope suspended between success and failure in the dynamic world of PR are perhaps well equipped to cope with taking that life changing step. Harry Hunt, ex-Managing Director of a successful Public Relations Company, headquartered in The City, hasn’t downsized, he’s sideways-sized! The challenges he and his wife, Katie (and their young children), now face are at least, just as demanding.

Katie and Harry first travelled to Andalucia in the early 90s and although it was unknown to them then, the seeds of discontent with their lifestyles of the time were sown, along with the budding and nurturing of a lasting love affair with the stunning beauty of Southern Spain.

Harry, owing partly to his time fine wining and dining his PR clients, was also developing an interest in wines, and although he didn’t articulate it at the time, in wine-making too. He took an interest in the differing styles of wine emanating from the varied topographies that are available to wine-makers in Andalucia.

It was something of an epiphany when the opportunity to enrol in the University of Brighton’s Plumpton College, Viticulture and Oenology course presented itself. Harry signed up!

After an extensive and demanding course, which included practical experience, not only in the college vineyards but also with stints in UK vineyards as well as in Bordeaux and the Rhòne valley, Harry was handed his degree in Science in Wine Production in 2010. Fully qualified and nicely experienced, all he needed now was a winery!

Or was it? What about the creation of a negociant-style wine business in Andalucia, an area where no such enterprise existed? This novel idea became a reality after meeting a young up-and-coming winemaker in the Granada area, Alberto Villarraso Zafra. Although a local lad Alberto also had the crucial (to Harry’s business plan) experience of international wine making, including vintages in the Southern Hemisphere, in New Zealand to be precise.

Harry’s experience in the business world told him that whilst it was a super idea to make distinctive wine in Andalucia, it was also going to be necessary to sell that wine, not just locally, not even just within the boundaries of Spain, but also internationally. Harry was looking for contemporary wines that had a foundation in the tradition and practise of their homeland including a sense of that place, but also the added value of modern, international thinking.

Harry’s fledging Bodegas Tierra Hermosa owns no vineyards, no wine making facility, none of the trappings that one would normally expect for a wine business. And yet Harry has just released their first two wines and Cork Talk has the honour of being the first to revue them!

Following the classic French negociant model, Harry, along with his advisor, Alberto, identified various vineyard plots whose soils, micro-climates, altitude and grape varieties fitted their requirements. Bodega owners were approached and a deal was made where Harry would buy the grapes from the targeted plots, supervising every aspect of wine production, from vine to bottle.

Thus the wines of Bodegas Tierra Hermosa are wholly theirs, with the exception of ownership of the vines whose bounty they use – and to such good effect!

Neblerío 2010 DOP Vino de Calidad de Granada has the unmistakeable soft red fruit combined with darker, brambly berries that are characteristic of wines made from 100% Tempranillo. The vineyards used for this wine are at a very high altitude where night time

Neblerío, quality red wine from Bodegas Tierra Hermosa

temperatures are dramatically lower that those of the daytime, when the sun beats down mercilessly. The sunshine and consequent high temperatures allow the grapes to ripen perfectly, but the significant heat loss of night time insures against a flabby wine, increasing the acidity so necessary in fine wine.

However Neblerío also has another advantage, indicated perhaps to those who have an understanding of Spanish, in the name. Neblerío is the local name for the mists that form in the early hours of dawn and beyond, until eventually chased away by the rising sun. This mist provides added moisture to help grape production as well as some respite from the sun.

The wine enjoys a short ageing period in small French oak barrels which gives it some added depth with vanilla, slight coffee and dark chocolate aromas and tastes. The oak is handled judiciously, an indication that Harry has not only learned his craft well, but that he is also aware that the modern wine drinker is not keen on wood hiding primary fruit flavours. This is a juicy wine with a mineral quality, drinking well now but with time on its side too. There’s mature tannin, acidity of course, plenty of fruit and a sufficiently high alcohol level making it a wine that can be aged to mellow further.

The name Veinte Grados (20º) 2010 VdlT Laderas del Genil, their other wine, is a reference to the 20ºC drop in temperature between night and day time. Harry has taken the decision to opt out of the DO for this wine’s production. Years ago this might have been considered either brave or foolish as there was a time when DO approval was supposed to be the only the mark of quality. Cork Talk readers will know of course that this is no longer the case as there are many wines that are not DO approved but are often better than some which are!

Essentially, if a winemaker wants to have his wine listed under the DO he has to abide by their rules. These are many and can be

Top Wine celebrating the 20ºC difference between night and daytime temperatures!

tiresome. If a winemaker wants to make his wine in a way not approved by the DO he must have it listed by another name (smelling just as sweet!).

20º is made from three grape varieties – Tempranillo, Garnacha and Syrah, and it’s the Syrah that is the reason for opting out of the DO system. Veinte Grados is a 2010 vintage wine, but the 20% Syrah included in the blend is from the 2008 harvest which has subsequently been aged in small French oak barricas, adding to the complexity and structure of the finished product.

This super Priorat-esque wine, perhaps because of the similarities in soils and altitude between the hallowed Priorat vineyards and those above Granada, was made from vines that manage to grow at 1,200 metres above sea level, amongst the highest in  Spain!

There’s an abundance of dark fruit with damsons particularly noticeable but that’s not all. Look for some spice, from the Syrah along with a faint black olive taste too; there’s a whiff of bay leaf and some pleasing, slatey mineral notes with a blackberry fruit, lengthy finish. Again this wine will also be suitable for ageing.

For sales go to www.tierrahermosa.com and click Contact Us.

First Published Costa News Oct. 2012

BODEGAS TORREVELLISCA DO VALENCIA

A MEMBER OF TERRES DELS ALFORÍNS GROUP!

Some of the wines from Bodegas Torrevellisca

It can’t have escaped your attention that there are increasing numbers of Russians moving to the sunshine of Spain, and in particular to the various Costas. However, like many British ex-pats, there are also those who eschew the clamour of the coast, preferring instead more tranquil areas inland where they find that the real Spain hasn’t yet disappeared under the weight of foreign cultures.

It would be difficult to find an area more tranquil than Fontanars dels Alforíns. An extensive plain of flat arable land inland from Gandia home to the sleepy agricultural villages of Moixent and Fontanars where in many respects time has stood still. Such an area though has for centuries been producing wine and, since the latter half of the last century the quality of said wine has been gradually increasing, to the point where wines from here are often voted the best in the DO Valencia!

I can only see the wines from this area going from strength to strength, the more so now that a new group (spotlighted in Cork Talk over a number of months now), Terres dels Alforíns, has been established. This group is dedicated to making top quality wines whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on the environment and the soils, sustainability is the key.

Fontanares’ Bodegas Torrevellisca, now enjoying Russian investment, is one of the member bodegas and I’ve been tasting several of their offerings over the last few weeks. My advice is to look out for them – but take your magnifying glass with you!

There are two wines that are clearly targeting the younger generation. For a number of years now there’s been a sustained attempt to enfranchise, in wine consumer terms, the jovenes of Spain. Youngsters have disposable income (albeit it earned sometimes by their parents!) and wine producers, understandably would like to convince them to dispose if it by buying wine, rather than beers, cocktails and spirits.

The wine marketing people don’t pretend to any altruism here, though it is probably true that, taken in moderation, wine will be better for young drinkers than the rest. They are simply trying to increase their sales. And it’s marketing techniques that are being used, of course, one of which is label design.

Now I’m all in favour of making labels interesting and accessible and I think the labels on the Embrujo Range have their attractions – where the two ends of the label should join to fully encircle the bottle, it doesn’t quite make it. But it does make a rather clever silhouette of a wine glass. Nifty. The problem is though that the minuscule writing on the label (even to the youngsters who were with me when I tried the wine – I’m not just talking about my bespectacled eyes!) is so small it’s illegible!

A shame. as the wine in the bottle is actually rather good. Their white is made with Malvasia, following a nocturnal harvesting – meaning that the grapes were picked after dark to avoid uncontrolled fermentation. It’s a dessert style wine which will please those who have a penchant for sweeter wines, perhaps as an aperitif or to accompany desserts. It’s fragrant too.

Their red wine has a similar label, though purple/pink in colour (an attempt to include young ladies in red wine drinking circles?). It’s made with Monastrell, the darling grape of the area, and a favourite of mine, along with Syrah – which as I’ve said before can be so good here in Spain where it can fully ripen.

Blackberry and Victoria Plum aromas arise from the deeply purple coloured wine along with the merest hint of oak after a very short one month only in French wood. It’s a wine that is meant to be drink in its youth. It has not airs and graces, no great complexity, but it’s not any lesser for it. Vibrant fruit driven wine is what they want (the producer and the young consumer) and that’s exactly what they get!

Torrevellisca’s Zagromonte Range has a different approach, in terms of labelling and wine style. These wines are meant to grace a dinner table – and that they did, with a certain aplomb.

Argentum 2009 Crianza won a Silver Medal at the Bacchus 2012 Wine Competition – and I’m not surprised. Made with Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon this darkly coloured wine has a good depth of flavour following its fifteen months in French and American oak. Blackcurrant on the nose and palate but some soft light red fruits in there too. It lasts quite a while after swallowing too.

At 86 Peñin Points Aurum de Zagromonte Crianza 2009 made with a Bordeaux style blend of Merlot and Cabernet has perhaps a little more to it than the above (it has two more Peñin points for a start!). It has mellowed nicely with time in bottle and the 12 months in French and American Oak have given the tannic grip of youth a soothing hand, whilst retaining its power. A very good dinner wine, this.

The slightly higher Peñin scoring Brundisium 2008 Crianza has had a whopping 20 months in French and American Oak, but not to the wine’s detriment at all. The fruit is still to the fore with a depth and enviable complexity to boot. A triumvirate of varieties: Tempranillo, and the two Cabernets – Sauvignon and Franc, make this a many layered wine which changes over dinner giving a slight surprise each time you take another sip!

So Bodegas Torrevellisca – wines from Valencia with a Russian influence!

colin@colinharknessonwine.com and www.colinharknessonwine.com