Tag: Cork Talk

COSTA NEWS GROUP AUGUST 2011

 

ALBARIÑO

LIQUID GOLD FROM DO RÍAS BAIXAS!

As you may have read in the Costa News and indeed at the foot of Cork Talk, I’ve recently been to Galicia, North West Spain, invited as one of the 25 panellists charged with the task of judging which wine should be declared the best young Albariño of the 2010 vintage. I can tell you, that’s quite a challenge – Albariño wine is often referred to as the best white wine in Spain, and not without reason!

 Each year the sleepy seaside town of Cambados hosts the most prestigious wine fair in Spain. In Winter wild Atlantic storms can batter the coastline spewing out bedraggled gulls, glad to make land and lubber for a while, but in Summer, fresh breezes cool the air, whilst chilled white wine, made from the Albariño grape variety, refreshes the hordes of visitors who arrive for the first week of August to sample this wonderful wine.

 The Albariño Fiesta turned 59 this year and for the past 23 of those years the festival has, quite naturally, also hosted the Cata-Concurso, the competition that decides which of the many entries shall be given the medals as the top three of the latest vintage. The Consejo Regulador (regulating council) of the Denominación de Origen invited 25 of the best known professionals in the wine sector of Spain and they came from all points of the compass.

 I was flattered to be on an equal footing as such luminaries as: Antonio Palacios, President of the Federacion Española de Asociaciones de Enologos, and his daughter Barbara, of the most famous wine-making family in Spain (watch this space for good news from their hunting ground, La Rioja); Jesus Flores, doyen of Spanish wine writers and author of several wine books, and probably the best wine-taster in Spain – the Spanish equivalent of Hugh Johnson; Pablo Amate, El Pais food and wine writer and broadcaster on all that is gourmet in Spain; David Barco, President of the Sommeliers Association of Galicia; and Cristino Álvarez, one of the most prestigious Spanish food and wine journalists; and many more.

 I have to admit I was also delighted to be fêted along with the other panellists: being taken out to Michelin Starred restaurants; having a wonderful six-hour catamaran cruise including a seafood lunch, the like of which surely couldn’t be beaten; and of course a place of honour at both the procession and ceremony following the final tasting, and the superb gourmet lunch where the medal winners were announced. Who wouldn’t?!

 However, the two wine tasting and judging sessions were taken very seriously. The Consejo Regulador had narrowed down the very large entry to 64 wines, considered to be the best of the vintage. The panel was split into two, with each group privately tasting 32 wines over three sessions. The results were entered into a computer and 12 finalists were determined.

 On the Sunday morning the 25 judges met again as one group judging the final dozen. All the wines were in chillers to keep the wines at the correct temperature and these large professional standard wine coolers had been sealed overnight by the be-suited Notario (appointed to oversee proceedings and ensure that there was no cheating) who cut the seals each morning, signalling the start of the judging.

 And the winning wines? Well please read next week’s column where you’ll be able to learn the results and also a little more about Albariño, the gold from the hills of Galicia!

COSTA NEWS AUGUST 2011

 

WHEN IS WHITE WINE FROM RIOJA

NOT IN FACT RIOJA?

 I used to like such little brain-teasing riddles when I was little – when is a door not a door; what gets wet, drying? etc. Well if you read last week’s article you’ll know that the answer to the title teaser is: when the white wine is made by Vintae.

 Fed up of mostly insipid and undistinguished white wine from Spain’s most famous winemaking area, La Rioja, the Vintae revolutionaries, not only decided to plant ‘foreign’ unapproved grapes, they even had the brazen temerity to call them Spanish White Geurrillas. Of course such wines will not carry the DOCa La Rioja seal of approval on their labels, but don’t worry, you won’t miss them on the bodega shelves – their distinctive label-design will attract you straight away!

 The cartoon characters dressed comically as would-be rebels may put off some serious wine lovers who might consider them gimmicky, perhaps designed to hide only average wine in the bottle.

 A wine writer must have an open mind and I tasted them without scepticism and was pleased I did. I feel it my duty to lend my weight to the revolutionary cause and reassure Mr. & Mrs. Serious Wine Lover suggesting that they put aside any misgivings about the label and enjoy the wine. Many certainly have, as I believe sales have multiplied. Consumers in fact are prepared to try the unusual and clearly are attracted to inventive labelling. The test of course is to see how many buy the wine again – the Spanish White Geurrillas have passed this test with flying colours as the wines are flying off the shelves.

 And no wonder. The new vintage, 2010, demonstrates that Vintae’s research has paid off. The likes of Albariño, Chardonnay, Viognier, Moscatel, Gewurztraminer, Verdejo, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling are perfectly happy in the sites chosen specifically for them. And at last some aroma and depth of flavour seeps into the profile of white wines from the Rioja area!

 My friend Ana, responsible for press communication, kindly sent me some samples of the 2010 vintage and I continue to be impressed.

 Viognier Barrica, whose label boasts a medal bearing Revolutionary General complete with bushy moustache and corkscrew in place of the regimental swagger stick, is simply a super, deeply flavoured white wine. I’m a great fan of fragrant Viognier with its apricot and sometimes mango aromas. Here, judicious use of oak as added depth and extra taste without masking the primary fruit flavours nor its floral perfume. A wine to grace the dinner table when serving fish, light meats and salads.

 Albariño is of course native to Rias Baixas, Galicia (I recently served on the DO Rias Baixas Consejo Regulador Judging Panel) where it has made wonderful elegant, fragrant and peach/paraguayo flavoured wines for centuries. It’s not accustomed to the different soils of Rioja, but it clearly means to become so! This wine is lovely, flavoursome easy drinking wine with white flour aromas as well as stoned fruit on the palate.

 Riesling is perhaps the most noble of white grape varieties. Grown in Germany and Alsace it has bracing acidity and yet a richness too. With lime and lemon on the nose and the palate it can also sometimes have a slight petrol aroma too. Here, so far, the Riesling made by Vintae, is a work in progress, displaying already those citrus notes with some richness (a touch more so than last two years ago). A lovely aperitive, the best Riesling I’ve tasted in Spain.

 Gewurztraminer is another German variety which makes wonderful, aromatic and exotically flavoured white wine. Tropical fruits, notably lychees, but with some citrus acidity the Geurrilla Gewurz. is developing into a super wine to accompany some Chinese, Indonesian and Asian food.

 La Vinoteca in Calpe, Costa Blanca stocks these wines – I advise asking your local bodega to do the same!

COSTA NEWS AUGUST 2011

 

GRUPO VINTAE’S INSURGENT WHITE GEURILLAS CONSOLIDATE IN THE

HALLOWED VINEYARDS OF RIOJA

Readers with long memories might recall two articles I wrote after my biennial visit to Spain’s greatest wine and food fair, Alimentaria 2010 (I’ll be there again in 2012 – watch this space!). They talked of ‘guerrilla warfare’ in La Rioja where Grupo Vintae prefers to use ‘foreign’ white wine grape varieties that they feel are perfectly suited to such vineyards, but which are not permitted by the ruling DOCa La Rioja Consejo Regulador.

 In recent months of horrific, rebellious unrest in several different parts of the world it would be tastelessly facile to continue the analogy – revolution and rebellion in Libya, Syria, Afghanistan et al is an altogether different matter, of course.

 Nevertheless there is change happening in La Rioja, that bastion of conservative tradition, where the old-guard is having to make way for revolutionary new-wave wines. The Vintae stand at Alimentaria 2010 was crowded to capacity for the launch of the so dubbed ‘Spanish White Geurrilla Wines’, a dramatic contrast to the Peñin presented traditional white Rioja tasting held at the same time, but feebly supported!

 It was the principal that first impressed me. With no axe to grind, just a genuine desire to tell it like it is, I have been something of a detractor of white Rioja over the years. Viura, the main grape variety used, has little or no character when grown in the hills of Rioja, in my view. It can be helped, to a degree, by barrel fermentation and/or some oak ageing. But not enough to make it a serious challenger to white wines from other areas – I never buy white Rioja!

 One or two years before the last Alimentaria there were signs that the old guard had finally turned a slightly sympathetic ear to those critics and, more pertinently, some Rioja producers who had been lobbying for change. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo were added to the list of permitted grapes, though it was declared that Viura must still make up over 50% of any blend, lest the ‘true Rioja character’ be lost!

 I was placated and looked forward to the results. Of course it takes time to develop a vineyard with new plantings so we couldn’t expect a sudden rush of new white Riojas. It takes time to change mind-sets too!

 In March 2010 there was only one Rioja bodega with whom I talked which was considering using, in this case Sauvignon Blanc, in its blend. It took plenty of time for Mrs. Thatcher’s Government to be defeated!

 It seems that Vintae, firstly wasn’t prepared to wait and, secondly, they required more anyway. Give them a small vineyard and they want a hectare! Varieties such as Riesling and Viognier were planted on sites whose soils and micro-climates had been strictly analysed (terroir, or terreno, the Spanish version of this all-singing-all-dancing French word that so perfectly describes a wines ‘place’!).

 Was I to be impressed by the wines as well as the idea? Well yes I was, in that at last there was some taste, some depth of flavour, some aroma, and plenty of potential coming from white wine from the Rioja area. The vineyards were yet young and would need time to develop, to consolidate, and I expected more next time I tried them.

 Nearly two years on it’s clear that Vintae’s research is paying off. The samples I recently received were all super, fragrant and flavoursome wines, exhibiting stronger varietal character notes as the vines become older. At the moment I can only imagine how good these wines will be in 10 and 20 more years when the new varieties will have adapted further to the site-specific terroir!

 Whetted your appetite? Well, next week I’ll tell you my tasting notes about these White Geurrillas plus a hint or two about another Vintae project, this time for red wines!

First Published Costa News Group June 2011

CELLER CAPÇANES

DENOMINACIÓN DE ORIGEN MONTSANT

I first tasted a Celler Capçanes wine fourteen years ago. It was a fine welcome for one who was intent on enjoying and learning more about the wines of my adoptive country. It helped confirm that I had made the right decision to emigrate! Some years later when my wine writer colleague, Tim Atkin, who, with others, was asked to declare the wine he had enjoyed most that year, he named Capçanes’ Cabrida as his favourite, to the surprise of his fellow commentators.

The Co-operative winery Celler Capçanes, though delighted of course, was also somewhat surprised! To be singled out for producing the wine that such a famous luminary preferred, in a year when he had no doubt been tasting wines from all of the ‘best’ wine producing areas of the world, was quite a feat. In some ways though, it didn’t surprise me.

Mas Collet, the Capçanes wine that I first tried, was clearly a memorable delight all that time ago, so it’s no wonder that their flagship wine, several years later, should receive such an accolade. Readers can therefore imagine how keen I was to take up their invitation to visit the tiny village of Capçanes, in the province of Tarragona, and see for myself how this remarkable winery operates.

With some of the vineyards being under 200 metres above sea level, and indeed not many kilometres from the tourist beaches of this southern-most Province of Cataluña, one might doubt the possibility that top quality wine can be made here. However the exceptional terroir, which boasts three different soil types; the advantageous microclimate (it was typically misty and cool in the vineyards on the morning we visited, having left glorious sunshine on the coast); the beneficial vineyard aspects to the sun; and the dramatic difference between day and night time temperatures, mean that any lack of altitude is insignificant.

Practically all of the villagers (pop. 400) agreed to group together and form a co-operative during the 60’s to redefine their identity from cottage industry to that of a corporate entity, thus empowering the growers, with a view to improving profit. All for one and one for all.

En Granel (bulk) wine was the name of the game as there were still not that many wine producing areas in those days which had foreseen the necessity to bottle wine. Whilst not exactly becoming a force in the wine world the co-operative survived, just about satisfying its members.

There was a change in the 90`s. Some of the heavyweight wine producers of the larger area, Torres for example, came searching for good quality grapes to help expand their wine portfolios, and of course their profit! Indeed in 1995 Torres was buying 80% of Capçanes’ grape production. The phrase ‘all eggs in the same basket’ comes to mind, and fortunately the co-operative’s management saw the possible outcome, as it noticed that Torres and others were also starting to buy land in the area. Would this mean that their main customer would soon forsake their grapes, preferring their own?

It’s a long story but the grape growers of this unique area of Cataluña decided to act to protect their interests. They lobbied the powers that be to have the area declared a Denominación de Origen and were successful in creating DO Priorat and DO Tarragona.

It was noted that wines coming from the area around Falset made under the auspices of DO Tarragona had a unique character. Falset was therefore made into a special sub-zone, with wines bearing this information on the label being the most sought after.

Celler Capçanes is in the middle of this sub-zone and whilst enjoying the extra impetus and renown they were also conscious that they were nevertheless still a part of DO Tarragona, which was very much in the shadow of the more illustrious DO Priorat. Back to the lobbying drawing board! They needed a third DO creating, recognising the individual character of their area!

The 2000 vintage, two millennia after the Romans had first planted vines in these rolling hills of Tarragona, was the first for DO Montsant – the new, distinctive DO of Cataluña!

 More wines from Celler Capçanes next week – including the Jewish Connection!