Vilarnau Brut NV

March and April are my favourite months of the year. Not only is the weather starting to get cool so you can drink red wine again, but it's also when a lot of the new release Spanish wines arrive in Australia. The tasting pile (which is really just a shelf in my wine fridge) is full of top names from excellent vintages. I've had a smile on my face for days.
 
So to get back into the swing of things I pulled out this cava, I have 5 different Cavas to taste over the next little while. This is an entry level wine from Vilarnau, who are part of the Sherry giant Gonzalez Byass. Made from 50% Macebo, 40% Pardellada and a dash of Xarel.lo, its aged on lees for 24 months.

Fine nose of lemons, yeasty bread and apples. Focused on the palate with a creamy, sherbet texture and refreshing acid. Pure, fresh apples and lemons on the palate with a touch of bitter herbs and some orange sherbet and minerals on the long finish.  Refreshing with a purity keeps you interested to the last glass. 88 Pts

Back from NZ

New Zealand is such a hard place to leave, great weather, food, views and a big range of Spanish wines at much lower prices than Australia thanks to a much more reasonable tax structure. Oh well, back to work. I should have a bunch of new stuff in to look at later in the week, so more notes will go up next week.

Feliz Semana Santa

I'm off to New Zealand over Easter, hopefully without Internet or a phone. So their will be no posts on Tinto y Blanco until next week. Anyway have a safe and happy Easter.

Pleno Tempranillo 2006

La Perla del Priorat ‘Noster’ 2004

Quinta do Noval Maria Mansa 2005

I spent saturday diving in and out of air condition spaces, hopefully we'll get some relief later this week. I dropped over to a mate's place for long overdue catchup on Saturday night. Thankfully he has air con, so it was quite comfortable to sit back with a couple of reds. I have a stack of good wines on the way (Mostly 05s: Clos Mogador, Numanthia, Flor de Pingus, with Roda 04s being released soon too), but I won't get the them until after Easter I think, its just too hot. Anyway this went down well.

A fairly straight forward, but quality Douro red, aromas of plum, mulberry and cherry with pepper and clove.  Warm and inviting in the mouth, a bit rustic with big, soft tannins and a lick of acid on the finish.  The palate is more toward the plum end of things, but also shows cherry and mulberry with some earth and clove.  Very enjoyable, it would do well with a good lamb dish. 88 Pts.

La Perla del Priorat ‘Clos les Fites’ Crianza 2003

The problem with long weekends is that you end up trying to fit 5 days of work into 4. I had one of those this week, loads on at work, plus an unexpected trip to Adelaide and the 35+ degree days have made it a fairly slow week for wine tasting.  Anyway, I managed to get to this one on Wednesday night when it was a bit cooler. Its a blend of Garnarcha, Crineña and Cabernet Sauvignon from 5 to 30 year old vines. No mention of the oak treatment, but I'd say a mostly older American oak is in use here.

 
Source: Ce Soir Imports Price: $59 Closure: Conventional Cork

Tar and Roses Miro 2004

You may have seen a story about this wine in Epicure if you're in Melbourne, perhaps on theage.com if not. If not here's a quick summary: Don Lewis of Mitchelton fame and his partner, Narelle King, scored a gig making wine for Merum Priorati and in 2004 could get their hands on some fruit to make this wine. And its a beauty, and one of the most cost effective ways to introduce yourself to Priorat from the very good 2004 vintage. I've gone with with my raw tasting note here, it just seems to work for this wine.

Nose: Soot, blackberry,raspberry, roasted meats. Light nose, but well flavoured palate. Juicy fruit on the palate: blackberry, raspberry, rosella, mint, liquorice jelly beans, cocoa, fine dusty tannins good length and acid.  Pepper. Smooth mellow and refined, chilled out rather than tough and manic. Medium bodied.  Needs at least a couple of hours in a decanter to show its best. A great value intro Priorat. 91 Pts

Source: Rathdowne Cellars Price: $44 Closure: Conventional Cork

González Lara Fuente del Conde Rosado 2006

Given the heat, this was a choice pick over the weekend. I believe this is the first wine from Cigales that I've reviewed. This DO sits just north of Ribera del Douro and is traditionally the land of the Rosado, with some reds and whites also being made. This is 70% tempranillo , 10% verdejo and 20% garnacha and shows more depth than many rose wines in both colour and flavour intensity. I'd prefer this with food, but its fine on its own too.

Dark pink/light red in colour, the tint is quite dark for a rose. The nose has sweet notes of Strawberry and fennel bulb, but the palate show ripe, savoury strawberry and raspberry. The palate adds some wintergreen herbs and a rocky/stoney note. A bit of grip in the mouth and a short finish. One for the BBQ, would be refreshing with some BBQ'd poultry. 88 Pts.

Lusco Albariño 2005

It looks like the weather gods are having one last go at making it uncomforably hot here in Melbourne. 37 Today and plenty of 37-40 degree days for the rest of the week. So don't expect many tasting notes of big Reds from Spain this week, although thats mainly what's in the tasting pile at the moment. It cooled down a bit this afternoon, so I popped the cork on this one. The price from the importer is a bit steep, there are plenty of other Albarinos around for about $20 less.

Holding a pale straw colour in the glass with aromas of white peach and lemon with a bit of shaley minerals. In the mouth its more lean and steely than generous, showing some tidy acid and a long finish. Tight fruit on the palate, lemons and peach with some apples that add complexity. There is some sage towards the finish with the swirling minerals. I like it, but its been priced quite above the growing market of Spanish whites. 90 Pts