MGWines Group

CASA CORREDOR/FINCA LA LAGUNILLA

MGWines Group

 

The MGWines Group, the brainchild of Señor Luis Miñano San Valero, an Alicante businessman, is intent on producing wines of a Mediterranean character, which simultaneously also reflect the distinct terroirs of the various areas of wine production in which the bodegas concerned are located.

MGWines Group has bodegas in DOs: Alicante, Bullas, Bierzo; as well as the Vino de la Tierra de Castilla however, the management, whilst imparting this objective to the staff in each individual bodega, very sensibly leave them to their own devices. Thus, included in the package, is a certain autonomy where the wine-makers, bodegueros and other integral members of the team are able to simply get on with the job.

My first article on this Group was a few months ago. I wrote then about a leading bodega making its wines in D.O. Bullas, an area which, although it has been making wine for centuries, may now be considered an up-and-coming Denominación de Origen as its wines are now forging ahead in the International Markets as well as in Spain.

A more established Denominación de Origen, D.O. Alicante, was once in a similar position. Thanks to the good offices of one particular bodega, and more to the point, the excellent wines they produced, D.O. Alicante is now one of the stars of the Spanish wine making firmament. This week’s MGWines bodega makes its wines under the auspice of D.O. Alicante.

However Casa Corredor/Finca La Lagunilla (the names seem to be interchangeable) also make wines classed as Vino de la Tierra, in this case VdlT Castilla. Now, regular readers will already know of this term – Vino de la Tierra. But for initiates to Cork Talk (Welcome, by the way, and I hope you stick with me!) VdlT wines, in times gone by, were considered to be of a decent quality, but not good enough to be given the esteemed title D.O. In modern parlance, wannabe D.O. Wines!

Times have changed. The majority of wines made under the title Vino de la Tierra are wines that winemakers want to make, according to their style, and not under the strict supervision of the D.O. police, with their rules and regulations. VdlT wines can rock, along with D.O. Wines – as indeed they do here.

Semsum2 is going to attract the ladies, for sure, and that’s before you pull the cork. It’s the blue bottle with what looks like a white painted eye above some white and light blue writing that will catch the consumer’s eye. The wine inside with ensure a return, too.

Made with Macabeo ans Moscatel it’s as aromatic as you’d expect, considering the aroma profile of Moscatel. It’s an interesting grape variety, this one. As I’m writing there is in process a Moscatel Festival in Teulada. However this Moscatel is a wholly different animal from the clone used in making Semsum2.

MGWINES CASA CORREDOR semsum21-217x600

There are different clones of Moscatel, some are perfect for sweet, dessert wines, as in the sticky (for me, cloying) wines enjoyed in the Teulada area; and some are better equipped to make wines of a dry and off-dry character. It’s this clone that has been used here. This Moscatel brings the same grape and raison aroma with a slight exotic fruit note too, but without the sweetness.

This dry style is emphasised by the addition of Macabeo, one of the DO Cava triumvirate, and known also as Viura in certain places in Spain. Common tasting notes often refer to apple fragrance and flavour and the wines are almost exclusively dry. The combination in Semsum2 works.

You’ll find those grape notes along with ripe apples, perhaps cooked apples, but without the sugar. There is acidity to keep the palate fresh and the finish is dry with just a touch of fruit driven off-dryness.

Casa Corredor Tempranillo Syrah is made with quite young wines, the former having seen just 10 summers and the latter 15. In both cases that’s enough to make a good quality, easy drinking wine – proven here. However, I also think that this wine is a work in progress.

As the vines grow older we will see the resulting wine develop. There’ll be more depth and some complexity to add to the up-front red fruits, e.g. strawberry, typical of young Tempranillo and the finish will be longer.

MGWINES CASA CORREDOR TEMP SYRAH

But that’s in the future – now we can enjoy a rounded, fruity wine with some vanilla notes from its 6 months ageing in oak and, courtesy of the Syrah, a little peppery element which will also make the wine a good food match. We are not talking g of an expensive wine, but we are talking of a red wine that delivers.

Now, the final wine for this week, is the one referred to earlier, the VdlT wine. Casa Corredor Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 comes, perhaps perversely, lovers of French wine will think, in a Burgundy shaped bottle. (Cabernet is considered a Bordeaux variety and Bordeaux wines have a different shaped bottle).

It’s not typical in another way too – Bordeaux wines, made with Cabernet Sauvignon need a few years (sometimes a decade and more). These colder climate wines can be austere in youth, too astringent with fruit promising, but not yet being delivered. Cabernet is a good traveller though and vines planted in more southerly climes can deliver those super blackcurrant fruit aromas and flavour much earlier.

MGWINES ALTERNATIVE RED PHOTO fll-tempranillo-269x741

I really enjoyed this wine. There’s a nose of blackcurrant sweets when the cork is first pulled – don’t worry, it’s not sweet! This aroma is joined by just a slight waft of undergrowth, some disturbed leaves beneath an oak tree on a forest walk. Stick with it and if the blackcurrant doesn’t completely fill your senses you may discover the dark green herby fragrance of bay leaf.

Easy drinking +, which is the way I’d describe the whole range from Casa Corredor. Enjoy! (www.mgwines.com ).

Contact Colin: colin@colinharknessonwine.com and through his wine services website www.colinharknessonwine.com , where you can also subscribe to his newsletter (free of charge, of course) and therefore have first-hand and early news of the various wine events he organises, most of which are sold out very quickly! Colin is also on Facebook; Plus you can follow him on Twitter @colinonwine for the latest on the Spanish Wine scene!