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More Spanish Table Wines
The Lay of the
Land...Backgrounder on Spain's Wine Regions
- ABADIA RETUERTA
 We're
fans of the entry-level wine of this large estate, a property located in
Sardon de Duero within the province of Valladolid.
The vineyards and winery are owned by a Swiss firm, Novartis. They
hired Bordeaux winemaker Pascal Delbeck to consult (his background is at a
little St. Emilion estate called Ausone, along with Château
Belair).
Delbeck and the Spanish crew at Abadia Retuerta analyzed each vineyard
parcel (there are more than 50 vineyard sites currently planted) for its
soil type, exposure and climate, determining what grape variety is best
suited to a particular terroir.
Tempranillo is the main variety, however, with a modest amount of Cabernet
Sauvignon, a small bit of Merlot and experimental patches of Petit Verdot
and Syrah. A number of high-priced bottlings are produced and these
routinely garner good reviews from various wine publications. I but a
bottle of them from time to time to taste and evaluate and I wonder what I
am missing.
Frankly, I think the entry level bottling, Rivola, is very fine and
dollar-for-dollar, the best of the bunch.
The current vintage is 2007 and this is a marvelous, medium-bodied
red. It's approximately 60% Tempranillo with the balance being
Cabernet. French oak and American barrels are used to mature the wine
and this wine shows a nicely 'woodsy' element. It's a medium-bodied red
and reasonably ready to drink. Good value, too, at its sale price.
Currently in stock: 2007 ABADIA RETUERTA "Rivola"
(List $16) SALE $11.99-
- BIELSA
 The
Campo de Borja appellation in the Aragon region of Spain. The
principal city is Zaragoza and if you drive north towards the Rioja region
on the highway, you'll see signs for Borja, a major center for the Garnacha
or Grenache grape.
Vineyards have been cultivated in this region since the mid-1100s and today
Garnacha accounts for nearly 70% of the vineyard plantings in the
region. And think of this remarkable statistic: roughly 5,000
hectares of Garnacha alone (that's 11,000 acres) and a mere 17
wineries!
We have a couple of wines from the Campo de Borja region and this Bielsa is
one of them. And a wonderfully fruity, charming rendition it is!
The wine is labeled as an "old vines" bottling, but in the Campo
de Borja, something like 40% of the Garnacha vines are 30 to 50 years of
age.
The 2008 vintage is the current release and this offers all the charm of a
good Beaujolais but with the fruit character of Grenache (raspberries, dark
cherry and a hint of spice). I've served this lightly chilled and it's
aromatic, flavorful, smooth and dry. It's best in its youth, so don't
leave bottles of this in the rack for aging...
Currently in stock: 2008 BIELSA Garnacha $9.99-
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CLOS DE L'OBAC
- This outstanding little winery is located in the village of
Gratallops in the Priorato region of eastern Spain. This is amazingly rugged country
and you have to be crazy to want to spend your life making wine here. The
mountainous terrain is steep and the vineyards are typically terraced. The rocky
soil means the vines really have to struggle to exist and they produce small quantities of
fruit, if you're lucky.
Owned by the Pastrana family, they've got some 50 hectares
planted at the present time. These are about a thousand feet above sea level.
When we first visited some years ago, they had but 14 hectares!
The winery is called Costers del Siurana and they make a few different
wines, including a sweet red of Garnacha, Cabernet & Syrah! But
the famous red wine is called Clos de L'Obac, a blend of Garnacha, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Cariñena.
The 2004 is a huge wine...deep and dark in color...lots of black fruit
aromas with some spice tones on the palate. It's one of those wines
which will certainly appeal to those measuring it on a numerical
wine-tasting score-card. We had a bottle with a prime rib dinner and
the wine showed marvelously. It's nice now, but we suspect it needs a
few years to really blossom and come together.
While they do
fine with egg whites, Clos de L'Obac is bottled unfiltered. New barrels are the
rule, being of Limousin, Allier and Nevers oak.
- Currently available:
- 1994 Clos de L'Obac $49.99
2004 Clos de L'Obac $76.99
MAS MARTINET
 A neighboring winery to Clos de L'Obac,
Clos Martinet is a 6 hectare estate. It's owned by Jos Luis Pérez, who also was
involved, apparently, with Carlos Pastrana at
Clos de L'Obac at one time. The planting of Cabernet and Syrah is, apparently, a
relatively recent issue, as they started this sometime during the 1980s.
Today Pérez is assisted by his daughter Sara, who's an enologist (and
philosopher!).
Pérez makes two
wines, the Clos Martinet being the best of their production and amounting to 40% of the
output. That wine is about 35% Garnacha (as the Catalonians write it), 35% Cabernet
Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 15% Syrah.
The little brother red vino is called Martinet Bru and this
has less Garnacha and Syrah and a bit more Cabernet and Merlot.
The Clos Martinet is a big, deep wine and the 2004 vintage is one of the best.
It's more elegant and refined, showing 'finesse', which is unusual for the
powerful Priorat wines. It's quite lovely now, having sweet oak notes
(all new French barrels were used to mature this wine) and it should cellar
nicely for a decade.
Currently available:
Clos Martinet 2004 Priorat SALE
$79.99
- CLOS MOGADOR
- This property is owned by the large firm of Rene
Barbier. The vineyards from where this comes are in Gratallops, near Clos de
L'Obac. It is a lavishly oaked red wine, typical of these showpieces from this
incredible area of Spain.
Garnacha is the base of this wine, augmented with a substantial contribution from Cabernet
Sauvignon and a bit of Syrah. Very nice, modern and, to my taste, an
improvement over wines made in the early 1990s.
The 2002 is not as massive as the 2001, but it's still quite good. I
suspect this will arrive at its peak before the 2001, as well. It's
nicely oaked and gets a high "score" from Spain's top wine
guide...
The 2003 is a big, deep wine. I tasted it once, shortly after its
arrival and the wine was good, but not quite "together."
I'll have to have another taste to see if it has bounced back from its
travels from Spain. Other's tasting notes I've read have been
encouraging, though.
- Currently available: 2002 Clos Mogador
Priorat (List $82) SALE
$71.99
2003 CLOS MOGADOR $89.99
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CVNE or "CUNE" if you prefer
 The abbreviation stands for
"Compania Vinícola del Norte de España," this is another old Rioja winery. It's a very old and
traditional property, having been founded in 1879. They
own some 1200 acres of vines, which accounts for about half their production.
They also own an estate called "Contino" from which they make
estate-bottled,
single-vineyard wines of the same name.
The style of the wines is rather traditional and given the taste preferences
of today's wine critics, the CUNE wines tend to be somewhat
unheralded. They are not deep in color, hugely alcoholic, massive red
wines, so using the measuring stick of a hundred point scale, the wines
merit good to very good scores, but rarely are they weighing in as
"exceptional."
On the other hand, if you're looking for an impressive wine to serve with
grilled meats or a roast of beef or lamb, you might treat yourself to the
2000 vintage of CUNE's "Imperial." I found this wine
to be most impressive. It's Tempranillo, of course, with about 10% of
Graciano and 5% Mazuelo. Nice oak this vintage...cedary, woodsy,
toasty and a hint of vanillin. The wine is quite drinkable now and
should be good for another 5-12 years.
- Currently available:
Imperial Reserva 2000 $47.99
- Available by special order.
Rosado $9.99
Monopole Blanco $15.99
Imperial Reserva 2000 $42.99
Imperial Gran Reserva 1996 $59.99
Via Real 2004 Crianza $16.99
Via Real 2000 Reserva $29.99
Via Real 1996 Gran Reserva $46.99
Contino 2000 Reserva $39.99
Contino 1996 Gran Reserva $59.99
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- BODEGAS FAUSTINO MARTINEZ
Their wines are rather "standard" in quality and the current
line-up is okay. I did not taste anything spectacular, but we can, of
course, order their wines with ease.
Another "old time" producer of Rioja wines, Faustino
is located in the town of Oyn.
Their wines are rather "standard" in quality and the current
line-up is okay. I did not taste anything spectacular, but we can, of
course, order their wines with ease.
Currently available: By Special Order
Faustino VII (Crianza)
Faustino I (Gran Reserva)
Faustino V (Reserva)
Faustino Rosado
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