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More Spanish Table Wines
- LÓPEZ DE HEREDIA
 This
is one of those "old world" producers which is truly "old
world." Though it's in the hands of the 30's-Something
Generation, not much has changed at this venerable Rioja estate since they
got indoor plumbing back in the...well, whenever they got indoor plumbing.
While we live in a hurry-up, fast-paced world, these folks still cling to
something called "tradition." And it's a wonderful
tradition, at that. But I daresay it's not a style of wine that is
easily understood by today's "gobs-of-fruit" or "hedonistic
experience-seeking" wine drinker looking for in-your-face wines with
plenty of extract (and then some) and a forest-full of new wood.
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So this property is one of those rare "keepers of the flame,"
so-to-speak. Old time Rioja wines. Here is it: 2008 and they're
selling a 1981 vintage wine...
That
is : 1981 WHITE WINE!
In this day in age when most 3 year old California Chardonnay is considered
"old," it's amazing to have just received a 27 year old white
from Spain! (I tasted their 1964 white and it is still in tip-top
shape!)
I'd tasted the Viña Tondonia Blanco from 1981 on numerous occasions.
It's a curious wine and, frankly, maybe "practice makes perfect"
because I only recently was able to understand and appreciate this
wine. It's predominantly Viura with a small percentage of
Malvasia. The wine spent some 6 years in barrel and then they give it
another long "rest" in bottle. There's a smoky element I
found quite alluring when I tasted this in the Fall of 2008.
Another new arrival is their 1998 Rosado. Yes. 1998.
Nothing happens quickly at Lopez de Heredia...
The Rosado is made from Tempranillo (30%), Garnacha (60%) and Viura
(10%). In a time when Napa vintners leave a dark, big Cabernet in wood
for 12 months, Lopez de Heredia allows this slumber for four years in
barrel. It's bottled unfiltered, too. The wine has an onion skin
color and, as you might expect of a ten+ year old "pink" wine,
it's not especially fruity.
Their wonderful Viña Tondonia reds are a marvel. If you have an
appreciation for old Barolo or old Burgundy, this is a wine you may find to
be to your taste. The color is brickish, along the lines of old
Barolo. This spends about 6 years in wood and they lay it away for
another 6 in bottle before seeing the light of day. Yet for all that
time in oak, the wines are not woody.
We have some bottles of their 1985 Gran Reserva in stock. These are
best paired with simply-seasoned red meats or a selection of cheeses.
I also recently obtained, directly from the winery, a few bottles of some of
their library wines. They are listed below. These are all mature
wines.
We recently hosted a dinner and opened a 1954 vintage...mighty fine and it
blossomed nicely with airing.
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- Currently in stock: 1981 VIÑA TONDONIA BLANCO $99.99
1985 VIÑA TONDONIA $119.99
1964 VIÑA TONDONIA $249.99
1970 VIÑA TONDONIA $162.99
1978 VIÑA TONDONIA $99.99
1998 ROSADO $27.99
OSSIAN
 We knew
the wine we were tasting was from Spain, but it reminded us of white
Burgundy.
Leflaive? Sauzet??
From Madrid, you would drive north towards Segovia. From there,
continue north and a bit west to Nieva and there you'll find an old
monastery called El Parral.
"Ossian" is a relative new venture, but the vineyards are older
than "old vines." These might legitimately be termed
"ancient vines," since some of them are, according to the winery
web site, 150 years old. The importer's representative used the number
"160" and this has grown on the internet and some will tell you
these Verdejo vines are 180 years of age. Wait another week and
someone will post the vineyards were planted during time of Christopher
Columbus.
I'm a skeptic, so you can say whatever you like. I want to
"see" it in my wine glass. I can't say for certain how old
the vineyards are. I can tell you, however, the wine is magnificent.
And Burgundian? Well, it turns out the two Spanish partners in
this venture (one is the former head of the governing body of the Ribera del
Duero appellation and owner, these days, of Bodegas Aalto and the other is
the owner of the ancient vines) were smart enough to hire a talented
winemaker from Burgundy.
Pierre Millemann brings the French know-how to this small Spanish
outpost. We understand this fellow is a prominent winemaking
consultant in Burgundy and has or had affiliations with Lequin-Colin, Dujac
and some little estate called "Romanée-Conti." In fact, we
are fans of a Morey-Saint-Denis Blanc (premier cru) from Dujac and this wine
has some elements in common with that $90 bottle. Except this one is
$34.99.-
You can see how tiny the berries are...
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- The fragrances offer some stony, minerally notes and there's a nice
toasty element, partly, we suspect, from some lees-stirring and some from
French oak barrels. The wine is dry and quite crisp. The
aromatic features show up on the palate, making for a thrilling bottle of
wine. It shows well in its youth and we suspect this will benefit
from a year or two (or more) in the bottle.
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- It's a real discovery!
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Currently in stock: 2007 OSSIAN $34.99
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LOSADA
 On the map
posted above you'll see the 'red zone' area of Bierzo. We've, for
some time, been hearing about the red wines made of the Mencia grape
coming from this region. We've tasted some of the highly-rated
bottlings from the region and wondered what we were missing.
We purchased a number of bottles recently and found some
perfectly pleasant wines, but still nothing which had a 'particular'
character. Some liken the wines of the Mencia grape to Loire Valley
Cabernet Franc wines. We have perfectly good Loire Valley Cab Franc
already and those typically have $15-$20 price tags, so paying $30-$50 for
Mencia of similar quality did not make much sense to us.
Losada produces two wines. Altos de Losada and the 'regular'
bottling. We have the 2007 Losada in the shop and we like this because it
tastes Spanish and not like a Loire Valley wine. Further, this wine avoids
the over-ripe notes we've found in some of the Mencia wines we've
purchased. It is nicely balanced and immediately drinkable. The wine
sees a bit of time in both French and American oak...we detect more the American
wood on the nose.
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Currently in stock: 2007 LOSADA "Bierzo"
$19.99
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"TXAKOLINA"
- There's a small town by the Bay of Biscay in Basque
country called Getaria. The only hotel in town has but about four or five rooms.
There are numerous restaurants scattered around town, all serving incredibly fresh
fish. Getaria is a fishing village, well-known, it seems, in the gourmet community.
The small fishing fleet departs every night, returning in the morning with their
catch.
The recipe for preparing the fish is simple: an open wood fire, the fish, salt and
olive oil. The fish is set on the grill, cooked for the appropriate amount of time
before being dished up and topped with a drizzling of olive oil.
We paid something like $60 (this is ten years ago) for a two-pound fish.
The wine to go with this marvelous
seafood is called "Txakolina" or "Chacoli."
Most Txakolina wines are made from a blend of red and white grapes, the red
being vinified as without skin contact so as to make a "white"
wine.
The Spanish drink most of the Txakoli produced in this small Basque
area. Only a few bottles of the million (or so) are
exported.
So...you know the people of this region are Basque. Do you know what their kids are
called?
Basquettes!
We do have some bottles of the Txomin Etxaniz 2007...lovely, crisp, but
seemingly less dry seafood white.
- Currently in stock:
Txomin Etxaniz 2007 Txakolina $23.99
GUELBENZU The name
Guelbenzu may appear to you as similar to the bottom row of the eye chart at the eye
doctor's office, but it is the name of a famous winemaking
family in Spain's Navarra region.
The family history in the wine biz goes back to the mid-1800s when a Guelbenzu
graduated from a French wine school and made wine, amongst other things. He
encountered some success but the next generation was not interested in continuing with
vino. In the late 1980s Don Miguel Guelbenzu's great-grandchildren re-established
some vineyards and in 1989 made their first wines. Located in the
Queiles River Valley, you'll find the winery in the sleepy town of Cascante. The
cellars were converted from an olive oil-producing venture to wine.
The place is exceptionally clean and organized.  Ricardo Guelbenzu (in the photo to the left)
is the head-honcho, assisted by winemaker Yoseba Altuna. We met Señor
Guelbenzu at
the winery and he is a most engaging, thoughtful fellow. He pays attention to the
little details and this shows up in his wines.
Especially fine is a wine called "EVO." The name has several
significances. First, it is said to have been shouted by Bacchus at his
"Bacchanalias": "Evohe! Evohe!!" This was a cry to
"let the party continue!" Secondly, the letters "evo" are found
on the Spanish words "nuevo", "medievo" and "longevo."
We bought a bottle of the current vintage of EVO and we, too, yelled out an
exclamation: "HOLY S**T!" It was a stinker, frankly.
- Currently in stock: Special order - Please inquire
ALION This is the property adjacent to Vega Sicilia in the Ribera del Duero
region. It's wines are far more modern than Vega Sicilia and anybody with half a
palate is certain to appreciate the wine of this estate. Unfortunately the modest
production is highly-regarded by anybody who knows anything about Spanish wines. We
receive a small allocation each vintage and this is snapped up by savvy wine buyers.
On a recent to Europe, our pal Norbert opened a bottle of the 1992 vintage....a fabulous
wine. This was still deep ruby-red in color and had the woodsy, cedary notes we
found when we first tasted this wine in 1995 at Vega Sicilia. Paired with
pan-roasted lamb, this bottle was quickly emptied by the trio in attendance that fine
evening. Good thing Norbert has another bottle or two in his cellar near Frankfurt!
The 2004 has recently arrived here. We immediately purchased a bottle
from the importer to taste and found this to
be excellent. Woodsy, cedary, deep in color, deep in fruit. It's
probably going to be at its best over the next several years, as it doesn't
seem to be made for extended cellaring.
The only problem here
is with supply. Delicious!
- Currently in stock:
2004 Alion $89.99
There are usually a few older vintages in stock, too...
Please inquire...
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VEGA SICILIA
 Much
like Sassicaia was one of the first Italian wines of "serious"
quality to make a splash in international markets, Spain's Vega Sicilia has
long been that county's wine ambassador as an elite red wine.
The property traces its history back to the 1860s. At that time, the
owner ventured to France's Bordeaux region to buy vine cuttings. He
returned with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and, curiously, Pinot
Noir. For many years, however, the estate was perhaps more devoted to
cattle than it was to viticulture and wine. In fact, they produced
brandy from their vineyards and table wine was not, apparently, of
significant importance.
Wine from this estate in Ribera del Duero made a bit of a splash in 1929 at
the World's Fair in Barcelona. Prior to that, however, wine was made
for home consumption to share with friends and family. The estate had
a succession of owners and until 1982 it was in the hands of a Venezuelan
fellow.
At that point Vega Sicilia (it was originally called Pago de la Vega
Santa Cecilia y Carrascal) was purchased by the Álvarez Mezquíriz
family. And they've invested heavily in the vineyards, winery and its
wines.
We first tasted wine of this fabled winery just about the time the ownership
had changed...we were driving from Portugal into Spain for a small tour and
our first night, stumbled into a fancy restaurant which had Vega Sicilia on
its wine list. In those days, there was the top bottling, "Unico,"
a Reserva Especial and two reds given less time in wood, both called
Valbuena (the estate was, in 1840-something, owned by the Marquis de
Valbuena).
They made a Three-Years-in-Wood Valbuena and a Five-Years-in-Wood bottling.
I was so excited to see these on the wine list, I ordered two. We sat
in an empty dining room in a 1950s-fancy restaurant and I suppose the waiter
thought we were out of our minds ordering a couple of bottles to drink there
and then asking if we could buy one "to go." But the wines
from Vega Sicilia are hard to get and finding them is not easy.
A decade, or so, later, I was touring Spain with some friends and we
had an appointment at this fabled estate. We'd just visited Alejandro
Fernandez' estate of Pesquera, the "new kid" on the Ribera del
Duero block at that time.
We drove up to the Vega Sicilia estate and found the place to be fenced in
with a security office and crossing gate at the entrance. I went up to
the fellow and presented a business card, explaining we had an appointment
with the export manager. The security guard then demanded I hand over
my passport!
Huh? I'm visiting what I thought was a winery, not the
Pentagon.
I showed him the fax from the export director, figuring that ought to be
sufficient and he again insisted upon my passport. Had I been by
myself, I may have driven off, but my friends were intent upon seeing this
place and tasting its fabled wines and showing my passport was a small price
for this.
It turns out the owners of Vega Sicilia, the Alvarez family, owns a
humungous company which provides security guard services, landscaping
services and janitorial services around the world. Apparently they use
their own services at the winery and so the doorway is blocked by a
professional bouncer.
Well, we visited the estate, seeing lovely vineyards, a spotless cellar and
we tasted some remarkable wines.
They had also just invested in a Hungarian property and were making a Tokaji
called "Oremus." The export manager was positively shedding
tears of joy as he told us of the glories of this new acquisition and the
fabled sweet wine being made there.
The Cellars of Vega Sicilia...
So...
They make a number of really good wines.
Valbuena comes only in one bottling, whereas years ago they had a three year old
and a five year old version. Today it's basically a "five year"
cycle. The wine comes from younger vineyards (currently averaging about 25
years of age) on the estate and it's predominantly Tempranillo with a percentage
of Merlot and a drop of Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2004 Valbuena is a lovely wine...a bit of dark red fruit and a mildly
leathery note on the nose and palate. It struck me as a somewhat more
interesting wine than the cherryish 2005 Valbuena which seemed to have more
Merlot-like notes.
The 2000 vintage of Unico is approximately 93% Tempranillo and 7% Cabernet
Sauvignon. It comes from low-yielding vineyard and older vines, at
that. It was matured first in those large wood vats for 15 months...then
nearly 2 years in small barrels, followed by 15 months in what they describe as
"semi-new" cooperage (your guess is as good as mine) before another 2
years in those large wood vats. So...yes, more than 6 years in cooperage
and then it's given about 3 years in bottle before being offered to the
market. And then you have to know someone to be able to make a purchase
and drop hundreds of dollars for a bottle.
Is it worth its lofty price?
Well, it is an expensive wine, but then I'm shocked these days to see how much
one must pay to acquire a bottle of Lafite or Latour or Mouton. I guess I
can rationalize it in that perspective.
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Currently available: 1998 VEGA SICILIA UNICO
$399.99
2000 VEGA SICILIA UNICO $379.99
2003 VALBUENA $169.99
2004 VALBUENA $149.99
2004 ALION $89.99
2006 ALION $84.99
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