Morcilla de Burgos (left) and Morcilla de Leon (right)

Blood sausage is certainly one of those foods that sorts the men from the boys.  People either love or hate, or more truthfully hate the thought of it. Personally I love the stuff, but then again I’ve been eating lamb’s brains since I was a wee tot. While there are lots traditional blood sausages made around the world, unsurprisingly the  Spanish versions are the closes to my heart, or belly more accurately. I find the English stuff is a bit plain for me, the French do a good job at times, the Germans make some great blood sausages, but morcilla satisfies my craving for an injection earthy, spicy flavour every time.

At it’s most basic, morcilla is made from fresh pigs blood and pork fat with something to add a bit of flavour, such as onion and spices like pimenton (paprika), cinnamon and cumin. Something is then added to thicken this mixture up. While there is huge variation in recipes from village to village and region to region, there are two basic ingredients to do this: onions and rice. The most well known and popular version is using rice, which is generally known as Morcilla de Burgos. This produces a firmer texture (not that firm, it is kind of like a solid risotto) and when cut into slices and grilled will provide a bit of crunch. Of course there is a whole range of producers of Morcilla in Spain, ranging from industrial to artisan. If you are lucky enough to have some friends who still slaughter their own pigs, you might even get to try some home made stuff…

The other way to do things is to add onions which adds a) a lot of flavour and b) a very soft and silky texture. This method is used to make Morcilla de Leon, which may or may not be an actual sausage, rather it is a kind of soft, pungent onion and blood dip that is usually eaten with potato. You are unlikely to come across this unless you are traveling in the hills around Leon and into Gallicia, it usually made fresh in the restaurants and kitchens in the villages up in these regions.. You might also see it in a delis and shops in Madrid, but usually in a can or a jar.

For those of us here in Australia, there are rather limited choices for quality morcilla. Importing is generally not an option, most Spanish makers don’t add nitrate which is required by the food standards here, but there are some good local butchers making some excellent morcilla. Without doubt the best I’ve had here has been from the Rodriguez Bros in Sydney, which unfortunately doesn’t have wide distribution (I think you can buy them from Vic’s Meat for those not in Sydney, if you know of someone selling at retail in Melbourne, let me know!). There is also some good stuff available from Casa Iberica. Or you could always make it yourself…if you’re game!

Here are some ideas to get you going:

Scallop, morcilla and apple stacks

This is a classic combo, morcilla, scallops and apples, but with a slight twist.

Ingredients:

• 1 Morcilla
• 10 Large scallops
• 1/4 piece of Celeriac
• 50g apple sauce (homemade and unsweetened without spice if possible)
• 50g Allioli (garlic mayonnaise)

This is really simple. Grate the celeriac and place into a bowl. Mix in the Allioli, season with salt. Cut the morcilla up into slices and clean up the scallops so you have a tube like bit of scallop. Heat a fry pan to a high temp, add a tiny bit of oil and fry the morcilla and scallops  for about 30 second. Now assemble a stack: scallop on the bottom, celeriac mix next, a little apple sauce, morcilla, apple sauce, celeriac mix and scallop. Use a tooth pick to hold it all together if you like, but try to eat them in one bite if you can…

Fat boy breakfast

This isn’t really a breakfast dish, great hangover cure though. You will need a medium sized cazuela, a Spanish clay dish, for best results with this. If you’re feeding a bunch of hungry booze hounds, triple the quantity and make it in a oven proof frying pan.

Ingredients:

• 2 Eggs
• 1 Morcilla
• 1/2 a Chorizo
• 4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped  (or one 400g tin)
• 1/4 of an onion, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
• Parsley

Heat your oven to 180C. Peel, dice and de-seed the tomatoes. Fry the onion in a saucepan with a little olive oil. Add the tomatoes, paprika and a little salt after a minute or two. Cook these until they are soft, not quite until they are a sauce, you want it to be a little chunky. Cut up the chorizo and morcilla into slices and bang it into the cazuela, add the tomato mix on top leaving a bit of room for the eggs at the top. Into the oven for 15 minutes. Pull it out of the oven crack the eggs over the top, back into the oven for a couple of minutes (I like the eggs to be runny, leave it in for 5-10 minutes if you want hard eggs). Out of the oven, parsley on top and its ready to go with some toasted bread.

Bachelor lentils

This is a dish I make when I’m home by myself for two reasons a) it’s quick and easy and b) you’ll be farting like a bear that’s eaten a week old salmon about an hour after eating it.

Ingredients:

• 1 Morcilla
• 1 400g can on brown lentils
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of random veg (peas, peppers, that kind of thing)
• 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
• 1/2 teaspoon smoke paprika
• pinch of Piment d’Espelette (mild chili powder from the French Basque country, use mild chili powder if you don’t have it)
• Salt and Pepper

Chuck the veg, onion and garlic in a pot with a little olive oil, on to the stove at a low heat. While thats cooking away, mix up the spices. Add these to the pot after a minute or two. let this cook until everything is soft and then add the tin of lentils (liquid and all) and the morcilla. Whack up the heat to get this up to boil, then let it simmer until its reduced to the point where it’s a bit saucy (i.e. not too much liquid) and serve with some bread.

Miquelagel is one of those winemakers you just know you are going to like on first sight. Stocky with crazy hair, he looks like a man who spends a lot of time out in the vineyard. Bucket loads of charm and energy, plus he can spin a good yarn. A real character, plus he has that great Mediterranean hospitality of making everyone feel welcome, especially the ladies! While I’m a believer in the whole terroir concept, there should always be something of the winemaker in the wine as well. And you will find a burst of  Miquelangel in every one of his wines. These are charming, thoughtful wines of the kind that get wine geeks all warm and fuzzy: highly enjoyable but they seem to tell a story of Mallorca and it’s people, the grapes do the talking and the winemaking tricks are kept to a minimum.

These are the only wines that I’ve ever seen from Mallorca, so I can’t make any comment on the place in generally, but if these wines are anything to go by there is a big future here.

2005 Tribal Wines ‘Virat’ Callet - Bloody beef stock and beetroot, earth and an old packet of African spice mix. Juicy fruit but medium bodied in the mouth, with strong tea like tannins. It’s got a touch of heat on the finish, but this add something rather than detracts. Cherry fruit with a slight touch of sars and a lick of herbs. Ideal for grilled meats at lunch! I could see myself drinking a lot of this…Made by Ana Martin in conjunction with Miquelangel. 91 Pts

2006 Anima Negre ‘AN/2′ - 65% Callet, 20% Montenegro, 15% Syrah. 12 Months in 40% new oak. This one goes a little deeper and richer, but it’s still clean and fresh. Black jelly beans, some blackberry liquor, sage and cherry. Earthy and Fleshy, grippy tannins and a long finish.  91 Pts

2005 Anima Negre Callet - 95% Callet, 5% Montenegro from 50 year old vines. 17 Months in new French wood. Now this is more more my speed: woody spices over the top of just ripe red cherries, juicy, fresh and full of life. Finer boned than AN/2 with perfect line and length. A step up in structre too, plenty of fine tannins give texture and nice acid on the exit. My pick of these wines. 94 Pts

2005 Anima Negre ‘Son Negre’ Callet - This is all old vine fruit and it shows. Juicer, deeper and richer than the standard Callet, it’s also showing more spice, minerals and rocks. Purity is the word I’m looking for here. Excellent wine, but I prefer the joyfulness of the standard Callet. 94 Pts

In other news, I’ve been nominated (or the site really) in the Best Single Subject category in the Wine Blog Awards…if you’re inclined to vote you can do so here: http://bit.ly/aVCpdd or just click on the icon

With a bit of background from my last post, we can get on to the wines in more detail. I was lucky enough to visit two different producers and drink a number of wines from other producers at local restaurants and bars. The thing that is common to all of these producers is that they are looking to the older mencia vineyards on the high slopes that centre around the villages of Cruillon and Villafranca del Bierzo at the west end of the valley. There is an amazing diversity of climats here, a slight move 10 meters left or right on a hill can make a difference to the amount of sunlight that a vine will receive and the soil composition. Similarly, elevation changes the character of the resulting grapes. With elevation ranging from 500 to 1100 meters, there is a wide variation in the character and class of the wines produced here. The single vineyard wines of Descendientes de J.Palacios show this really well, but more on that in another post.

Now Menica can be a tricky little beast, it is very high in tannin, moderate in acid, and has a number of traits that some will see as overbearing, at the least undesirable. A herby green tang, smoke and excessive blackcurrant to name a few. As such it is fairly easy to make hard, tanninic monsters with green notes and there are some tough decisions to be made in both the vineyard and bodega depending on the desired style and source of grapes. Many modern producers belive that a mix of tradition with a healthy dose of modern methods is required to get the best out of these hills.

Vineyards in Bierzo, like many other areas of Spain, have traditionally been small plots owned by a family for their own consumption with the left overs sold off to either a local co-op or larger producer. This hasn’t really changed too much, so many of the wines are a made from a collection of small, old vine vineyards that are still farmed by their owner in conjunction with whoever they are selling their grapes to. A number of producers are buying up small plots and working them with organic or biodynamic methods, however this is still not too far off the way people have been farming here for generations. There are also broadacre vineyards on the river flats that have been planted in the past 15 years, these are generally for bulk production and are farmed as they are anywhere else.

The majority of the quality vines are grown in the traditional gobblet or en vaso style, so no trellis or and only minimal training. Driving around the region you will see some newer vineyards with trellis, these are mainly on the lower, flat land for bulk wine production, however some newer quality planting have also use trellis. In terms of rootstock, most vines are on their own rootstock, however newer plantings are using phylloxera resistant rootstock. I haven’t done a lot of research into it yet, but I’m told that there is a huge number of clones of Mencia available. From what I can tell most people are replanting with cuttings from similar sites or with clones they prefer from long experience in the vineyard.

So, moving on to the  wine making style of Bierzo in general, the modern producers tend to like largish (2,000 to 10,000 litre) french oak fermenters for oak aged wines, while the young wines are fermented in stainless steel. There are some using old open top concrete fermenters (or legares) and holding tanks, however the use of these seems to be on the decline. I’m told many of these old tanks were hiding places for republican supporters during Franco’s purges in the 30s and 40s. A bleak reminder of Spain’s past.

There are a few things here that are common to many other regions of Spain. In just about every red wine producing area in Spain there seems to be three main styles of wine: carbonic maceration wines, young wines with or without oak, and mature wines with extensive oak treatment and aging. I am simplifying of course, and you could lump the first two together if you like and there is lots of diversity in each category.

Carbonic maceration is quite popular here. At it’s best it can produce fresh, fruity blueberry bubblegum flavored wines with that retain a savory note and they match excellently with the local food. Now, I am not often a fan of wines made with carbonic maceration, but when done well it seems to suit Mencia from Bierzo quite well. The young wines step this up a little in terms of structure and generally have some time in wood, french oak seems to be the popular choice, although many wines have a blend of american and french oak.

Mature wines, or ‘raised’ wines, don’t really follow a defined trend in terms wood treatment or aging here and the crianza system is not prescribed by the DO. So there is no fixed minimum time in wood or bottle (there are lots of other rules that govern the production however). As such producers are free to do what they like with wood aging. There are wines with full on new oak for 18 or 24 months, wines with only old wood, fermented in old lagres and everything in between. In general these are the wines that are causing all the buzz on this region and they range from huge, taninic big oaky wines to smooth, almost Burgundian styled wines. As always producer is important to pick the right kind of wines for your taste.

To my mind the leading producer in terms of quality is Descendientes de J.Palacios (lets call them DJP for short), a collaboration between Ricardo Palacios and his uncle Alvaro. I’ll give a full report on these guys later on, but the work that is being done by these guys is inspiring and they have brought significant muscle to the table, both in terms of experience and know how coupled with smart investment.  Focused on very high quality, DJP produce wines on a similar model to burgundy: there is a regional wine from a blend of their own and bought grapes, called Petalos, a ‘village’ wine from the vines around the village of Corullon, called Corullion strangely enough, and a range of single vineyard wines of high up on the slopes surrounding  Corullion. Similarly, Martin Codax are making some great wines here and have really worked hard to capture the essence of Bierzo and Mencia. Other producers to look out for here in Australia are Domino de Tares and Luna Beberide. Given these four producers you should be able to see a good cross section of what is going on here and get a good feel for the region.

Anyway, I’ve got plenty lined up over the next few months: a couple of tastings, loads of tasting notes, plus another trip back to Spain in late January/February. The this time the idea is to head to a couple of regions that I haven’t been to before: Rueda and Bierzo. Then up along the north coast, Asturias for cider and cheese, Cantabria for the seafood and picos de europa and into the Basque country to have a look around DO Getariako Txakolina. Finishing up with a week in Rioja to chill out and have a look at the latest vintages. Thats the plan anyway.

Anyway, on with the notes…

First up, Jorge Muga from Rioja:

Winter and spring was humid and cold, ideal warm and extremely dry Summer (very abnormal situation in this latitude), in part compensated by the enormous reserves of water accumulated in the subsoil, thanks to rain in the previous seasons. The nocturnal thermal contrast gave relief to the vines (several mornings with temperatures less than 10ºC) accompanied by refreshing dews. At the moment the vineyard is in stressed situation, the lack of water has held up the ripening for ten days, that maybe reduced if we do not have some rains in the next days (the weather forcast does not indicate it will rain). The vineyards with lots of pebbles are suffering from the most from this situation to the point in which they begin to lose leaf, the same thing occurs with the young vineyards that have a less established root system. The lands with more than 1 meter of topsoil, i.e. clay, those with altitudes over 500m or with North orientation have no problem and they present a fantastic ripening. Especially evolving well are the Garnacha and Graciano. Statistically the dates of grape harvest are the following (Valley of the Rio Oja)

Viura (6 October)
Malvasía (6 October)
Garnacha Blanco (8 October)
Tempranillo (10 October to 5 November)
Garnacha Tinta (15-25 October)
Mazuelo (25 October - 5 November)
Graciano (20 October - 3 November)

For the moment all presents an advancement of some 10 days.
Jorge Muga© (reproduction authorized)

Then this from Pablo at Compania del Vinos de Telmo Rodruigez:

“The year is being good in general, with a rainy spring and a warm and very dry summer but with fresh nights that favor the ripening of the grape. The grape harvest seems that will advance 15 days in Rioja. In Malaga we have already begun with the Molino Real and with the Basa in Rueda. Probably Gaba do Xil will be harvested next week. The grape harvests of Toro, Ribera del Duero and Rioja will be a little further on.”

This is a note that has been in draft mode for about 6 months now. Not because the wine is bad or anything like that, its just an increadbly hard wine to describe. Reading an article in the NY Times, I thought it was about time to post it. I bought this bottle after coming back from Rioja and visiting López de Heredia and literaly being overwhelmed by how these people make this crazy wine. By all logic is should be well past it by the time it’s released, I mean who has heard of white wine kept in casks for nine and a half years then in bottle for another 13 or so years before its released?  The people who make it say the secret is the acid, and you can clearly see that when you taste it. It looks oxidized, but tastes like it could do another 10 years standing on it’s head. It sounds like it should be musty and mouldy, but its fresh and floral.

They also make a load of red wines and age them just as long, or longer in some vintages, but for my tastes, its the white wines that are king here. The reds follow some form of noble decay it seems to me, while the whites are on the up and up, dramatically evolving into these highly polished, aromatic wonders that thrill in so many ways: colour, flavour, and scent. They continue to unwrap themselves from years in the dark while in your glass, a touch of orange rind here, some vanilla there, lillies, then lemon, more white flowers, toffee, and on it goes. I’m told they go with rich white meat dishes and fish in heavy saucese, but you’d have to be crazy to drink this wine with food. It demands respect and there is plenty of depth to explore on its own.

A tasting note defeats the purpose here, this is an experiance wine.. There is nothing else like it the world of wine, so what do you rate it against? Other vintages of the same wine, I’d guess. Pitty I’ve only seen 4 vintages and they are all different, but all great, so I couldn’t call one 93 points or the other 99 points. You could pull hundreds of descriptors out too, a bit boring to read really. Your best bet to get any idea of what this wine is about it to buy a bottle, kick back with a book and a nice big glass and drink it over four or five hours. It’s not a difficult wine to like, but more for your wine geek than for your average punter, so why not drink the bottle yourself?

The thing I really like about these wines is that they are actually inovative, but the inovation was done 100 years ago and processes and method have just stayed the same. The family has held fast to the idea and watched many of the other wine trends pass by, and return in some cases. Single vineyard wines are still uncommon in Rioja, but are seen to be a modern thing.  Lopez de Heredia have been doing it for 100 years. There are many modern things going on at the bodega too, but tradition rules.

Source: Toro Wines Price: $180 Closure: Conventional Cork and Wax

Web: www.lopezdeheredia.com

As this was a fairly hastily organised lunch session, I jotted down a few notes on the wines after lunch as an after thought. But as there has been some interest, I thought I’d write them up.

2002 - This was a clear winner from the word go. The nose was full of aromatics: violets and field herbs, bright red cherry, a touch of plum and a little blueberry. Savory and earthy on the palate.  Superb balance and integration, as well as some finely textured tannins make this very pleasurable drinking right now. I’d say that this is drinking at it’s peak, but will hold for a good 5 year or so yet. 94 Pts.

2003 - This was looking a bit blocky and had a darker fruit profile than many other wines in the line up. Otherwise a classic cherry cola, wild herbs, a bit of coffee and chocolate. The tannins are still quite firm, if anything I would say this needs more time in the cellar.  91+ Pts

2004 - Now this was a bit a odd ball. When I opened these bottles, this was the only one with a question on both cork and storage. Initially a bit musty and not giving up much at all. However, we returned to the glass after an hour and a half and it was singing. Very much like the 2002 at this stage, it hints at being a more complete wine when it wakes from a long slumber in 3-4 years. Looking great. 93+ Pts.

2005 - To be honest, this was in a bit of a weird place. Not showing as generous or as complex as the other wines at the moment, we agreed to put this down as a slightly off bottle. NR

2006 - This is more like it. Impetuous youth in all its glory, plenty of lush fruit, with violets and roses, but at the same time super savoury and earthy. I reckon this is going to be a great wine in a couple of years, it has all the boxes ticked so far. 93+ Pts.

A glass of manzanilla and some boquerones (white anchovies) was just the thing much on while I flipped through the wine list. The guys have one of the broadest lists of Spanish wines getting around, lots of different stuff from all over Spain, plus good stuff from Chile, Argentina and Portugal. While that was impressive, the stand out of the day was the new scallop and morcilla dish that’s in the running for the best thing I’ve eaten this year, and that includes a couple of weeks in Spain. Four little stacks of scallop and morcilla with the thinnest pastry envelope of creamy, yogurhty goodness, plus some finely chopped cauliflower sprinkled over the top. All that on a bed of braised cabbage. The piquillo peppers stuffed with salt cod were rock’n too. Definitely worth getting up at 4am to catch the plane for.

On the rumour front, we had a quick chat about the new Toro venture. The highly successful Numanthia bodega was sold to LMVH for a tidy sum that has allowed the group to both expand it’s operations in Rioja, hence the new bodega, and to concentrate on a new property in Toro. The new bodega is called Teso la Monja and can be found just across road from Numanthia, apparently you can wave to the new owner of Numanthia. A three tier structure of wines will continue here, look for new releases in the next couple of years.

Now these guys have a huge range of wines, so we sampled a range of their Rioja wines - including some of their best wines.

Sierra Cantabria Crianza 2005 - Sierra Cantabria is the more traditional range here and is made in a bodega in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Full of fresh fruit and plenty of character. The wood is hardly noticeable and flavor profile is the classic red cherry, cola and wild herbs of Rioja. 88 Pts.

Sierra Cantabria Reserva 2004 - while this is the ‘traditional’ range, there has certainly been some work done to bring this wine up to date. You can see that french oak on the nose but it’s not intrusive. Fresh red cherry, herby undergrowth, a bit of clove and cinnamon with some licorice. There is a minerally edge to this wine that really makes it stand out. Excellent value drinking here. 90 Pts.

Sierra Cantabria Cuvée Especial 2005 - This wine doesn’t make it out to Australia, not sure why, but it was my pick of the Sierra Cantabria wines. Its 100% tempranillo from 30+ year old vines with some deft oak work. Lush and fresh with plenty of character, the nose is quite aromatic with violets and earthy notes, long length and good balance. A very smart wine for the price. 91 Pts.

San Vicente 2005 - Now this guy took a while to come around, but when it did it was well worth the wait. For me, the main thrust of this wine is the aromatic nose: violet, rose, cherry, raspberry and blueberry, vanilla, freshly cut wood and subtle herbs. The palate isn’t anything to scoff at either, fine knit tannins, a very long finish and the excellent balance that seems to be a trademark of the house. 94 Pts.

El Puntido 2005 - We had a couple of bottle of this wine during the trip, one at the excellent Restaurante Héctor Oribe in Paganos itself. Gutsy and potent, this shows sappy plum fruit with bright cherry, earth and spice. Definitely full bodied with plenty of oak work that suits this style. This is full strength Rioja, but it’s not over done and everything is impeccably balanced. 93 Pts.

Sierra Cantabria Organza 2007 - This is a white wine made from old Viura, Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca vines and aged in brand new french oak. A very modern style of white Rioja that drinks really well. Textured, but fresh and zippy. Notes of white melons, lemon peel and nutty spices, this is something quite different and shows you can do good things with the traditional Rioja white grapes. 90 Pts.

Actually, it’s too big for just one street, it’s more of an area of the old part of town. The streets are lined with small bars, each place specialising in one thing. Most places will serve a range of food and drinks, while some just serve the one tapa with some beer and wine.  You can come for lunch or dinner, but the important thing to remember is to stop in, have a drink and a snack, chat with the locals (even if you don’t know any Spanish!) and move on to the next place. For the full experience, turn up on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night at around 9:30pm and bring your sense of fun. The streets will be full (and I mean full) of all kinds of people: whole families, young punks, famous winemakers and gitanos (gypsies).

The tourist office in Logroño (in the big square at the top of the old town) puts out an excellent little book of who does what, and everything is on offer: pigs ears, mushrooms, top level jamon, pork, artichokes, seafood and tripe. The same goes for drinks, anything goes: from very top end red wines from Rioja to a glass of water. if you want the small beers that the locals are drinking, ask for a corto. A larger beer is a caña (pronounced ‘can ya’).  The thing that makes the food here special is the produce, it’s fresh and full of flavour.  Here are a couple of my favorites: 

Bar El Sabas: Famous for the Tortilla de patata, and it is very good. Choose from a couple of different versions, salt cod is my pick. They also have a good list of wines, one of the better ones on the strip. Calle Albornoz, 7.

Taberna de Correos: This little joint at Calle San Augustin, 8, specialises in skewers of Iberian pork cooked over wood and drizzled with a honey reduction. Ask for La Pluma to order these.

Bar Plan B: Another on Calle San Agustin (No. 41), this one specialises in Foie, the best one is Foie al Pedro Ximenez washed down with a glass of young red wine. Amazing stuffNot everyone gets this one. I go here for the Esparrago frito, white asparagus wrapped in ham and cheese, then battered and deep fried.On Calle Laurel

La Universidad:These guys are the pulpo (octopus) kings on the street. Go in for Pulpo a la Gallega and a beer. Travesia del Laurel.

Bar El Soriano: This is the best of the best. It must be one of the most popular and smallest bars on the strip. So simple but oh so good. It’s a couple of mushrooms drowned in garlic oil, with a tiny prawn on top and a bit of bread on the bottom. To look like a real local, don’t eat the bread. All of this with a corto will cost you 1 euro. There is a guy here who always tells me it’s the best tapas bar in the world…he may just be right. Oposite La Universidad.

Javier Ausas gives the low down on Toro

This was actually billed as a master class, so a bit more than a new release tasting. And seeing as the next vintages were also available was a big bonus. Three days after returning from Rioja, a tasting of wines from Ribera del Duero and Toro was a most welcome change of atmosphere. It is great to see the guys from a major Spanish producer coming out to Australia every year or so to show their new release and have a chat to the guys drinking and selling their wines here.

The full range of wines was shown, including the Tokaji wines from Hungry (which I won’t write up here, as far as I know they are not available here at the moment). There was no news of the Vega Sicilia Blanco that has been in the pipeline for a few years now, when I asked after the presentation I got a smile from Javier Ausas (the wine maker) and that was it. Not sure what that means…

Anyway, there are some top vintages here. I am amzaed by Alion 2004 and Valbuena 2004, these are must have wines if you into Spanish wine at all. I was not too fussed with the Unicos from 98 and 99, both fine wines to be sure, but at these price levels ($500+) I would buy back vintages from 94 and 96 or wait for the 2000 if you find the need to buy Unico. On to the notes:

Pintia 2006 - High tone vanilla oak, caramel and coffee grind kick things off on the nose, with some deep, dark cherry, earth and christmas cake.  Highly concerated dark fruit that has plenty of texture thanks to plenty of plump tannins. Good acid tannin balance here.  91 Pts.

Pintia 2005 - More elgant than the 2006 with a little boot polish and VA, not overly fruity or oaky on the nose at this stage, a little olive and black fruit was the main thrust. Quite juicy in the mouth with some peper and spicey fruit. This just didn’t hold my interest on the day, I had suspected a dud glass or bottle at one point, but no such luck…88 Pts.

Alion 2005 - Ahhh here we are. Deft oak work, olives and undergrowth, violets and mulberry backed up by some dark cherry. The nose shows very little obvious oak characters, but there is some coffee there if you look hard enough. Well strutured and balanced, the palate shows juicy red and black fruits and with layers of herbs, earth and fruit. Excellent wine, and only just pipped buy the 04 Alion as my favourate in this tasting. 94 Pts

Alion 2004 - Now this is the real deal, the nose opens up all floral with roses and violets, very well intergrated oak  over the top of red and black cherries, mulberry and some blue highlights. More structured in the mouth with simply gourgus tannins and the kind of balance that makes the wine highly drinkable now and in 20 years time. As per the 05, juicy red and dark fruit with layers of flavour and complexity. It just keeps going on and on. A modern classic. 95+ Pts

Valbuena 2004 - A classic Vega Sicilia nose of VA, violets, a little funky barnyard, plums and red berries with some dusty earth. The palate shows structure and is quite tannic for this style. Loads of mulberries and red cherries with a slightly under ripe plum note (this is a good thing). Lip smacking acid and a big ol’ finish complete the picture.  94 Pts.

Valbuena 2003 - Now unlike many, I really rate 2003 in Ribera del Duero, mainly for the purity of the fruit produced. And this is no different. It seems strange to be talking about primary fruit flavours in this wine, but that is what its all about, ripe and fresh cherry, mulberry and plum fruit with a few earthy touches. I think it will many years before really see what this wine really has to give, but I’m betting it will be an excellent long termer in the cellar. 93 Pts.

Unico 1999 -This shows all the classic Vega Sicilia notes: VA, a bit of barnyard, nutmeg, cinnamon and earthy bramble with some mulberry, dark cherry and blackcurrant. Driven by its acid, this does impress in terms of texture: smooth and refined with barely noticable tannins. Plenty of fruit to round out all of that acid. Nice stuff, but not a outstanding vintage. 90+ Pts.

Unico 1998 - Coffee, smoke and touch of green capsicum, with plenty of red cheery and mulberry on the nose. If anything this seems a little reducded, which is crazy for a 11 year old wine! The palate shows some nice plum and berry fruit with some earthy complexity, however the wine seems a bit subdued. Fresh acid and a big tangy finish. 91 Pts.

Making up just 5% of the harvest, you couldn’t say that white wine is a priority for the region. There is some decidedly dodgy white Rioja around, but there some great stuff if you look for it.

First up is R.Lopez de Heredia’s Vina Tondonia Reserva and Gran Reserva Blancos. These wines are just plain crazy, aged for 6 (Reserva) years and 10 years (Gran Reserva) in barrel, then another 10 or more years in bottle. The current release here in Australia is 1989 for the Reserva and 1981 for the Gran Reserva. Made from mostly Viura with a splash of Malvasía (10%), these wines speak of old nobility and hamfisted adherence to the tradition for long barrel aging. The nose on these things is amazingly complex, they have layers of flavour and constantly evolve in the glass, even hours later. Acid is the key here, and this is what drives these wines. They demand to be served with excellent fish or white meat, but excel with wild mushrooms. I am not so much a fan of the red wines here, but the blancos and rosados are amazing.

Next up is at the completely opposite end of the scale. Remelleri Blanco. There is not a lot of this made, we happened upon a couple of bottles in a wine shop Laguardia and jumped at the opportunity to enjoy this wine back at the hotel. The only native grape in the mix is Garnarcha Blanca, which is very rare in Rioja anyway. The rest is made up of Vigonier, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Moscatel, Marsanne and Roussane. Again, it’s a fairly crazy wine that has layers of flavours that start of kind of vegetative, moves on to floral then on to fruit. This is one very out there wine.

And finally the surprise wine of the trip. In the little village that we stay at in Rioja Alta, Abalos, there are just 3 bars. They are usually filled with the blokes who tend the vineyards and cellars of the village’s bodegas, a few kids, a dog or two and loads of cigarette and cigar smoke. I would usually drop in for a quick glass before dinner, mostly ordering vino blanco as I’d been tasting young, extracted red wines all day and wanted something fresh. This cheap (65 Euro cents is the cost for a small glass) white wine was amazingly fresh, with just a hint of lemony fruit but excellent acidity and minerality that revived my tasted buds and burnt off the post siesta fog swirling around in my brain. Amazing stuff, and I’m sure not much of it makes it out of the region. It was so good, I bought a bottle back with me.

Like most things in Rioja, I find there is room for both the traditional and modern. But there is so much in between those two extreames that when I’m asked to describe white Rioja it tends to be a very long conversation….

The idea isn’t to write tasting notes, but to try and find the best wine match with roast chicken. But as there is no real score and, well, its not really a challenge, I’ll choose my favourate from the year in December and nominate that as the winner.

This week it was a simple roast chook (smashed garlic, rosemary and a lemon up the date, oil, salt and pepper on the skin and into the oven) with some Coliban potatoes and green beans. The wine for the night was a white burgundy: Oliver Leflaive Chassagne Montrachet 2005. Now I tend to think that village white burgundy and roast chicken are a combination made in heaven, and this was not far off.

The wine is still quite young and fresh with plenty of acid to cut through that salty chicken wing, but with the body to deal with the lean breast meat. Well balanced and just the right level of flavour and body to suit the mild flavour of the La Ionica 1.8Kg chicken (we normally buy a 1.4Kg organic free range bird, but a jetlag induced sleep-in keeped us from the butcher til 1pm on Saturday). There is some smoky/caramelly oak in there that really sets off the flavour in the chicken too. Just coming into the start of its drinking window, this 2005 looks much better than it did this time last year and has changed my mind on this vintage for white burgundy (at this level anyway). Overall a good start to the roast chicken season.

• Wine tourism is a huge focus for both the region and the bodegas. Every second bodega we visited is planing either a hotel,  a spa, a restaurant or a new architect designed bodega. There are road signs everywhere now, so its much easier to find those out of the way bodegas and hotels. The guys are doing a great job in making it easier for tourists to come and see what Rioja is all about. This is a big turn around from 3 years ago. However, you need a good deal of Spanish to make the most out of the trip.
• The whole traditional v’s modern thing is a bit of a non event, people are trying to make the best wines that they can, in a style that suits their view of what Rioja is.  I talked to a number of winemakers who make very modern wines who go on to priase the very traditional wines of Lopez de Herrida for their unique style, yet say nothing of  ’supermarket’ producers who don’t seem to have a style.
• Rioja is changing a lot at the moment and will continue to as the older growers pass their land onto the younger generation. This is leading to very small bodegas that produce a couple of barrels worth of wine a year, where the watch word is quality, not quantity. There are loads of very high quality vineyards that are not being used to their full potential at the moment, so this will only increase as time goes on.
• The quality of the food in the region is very high and is very consistent. Opposed to more touristy regions such as San Sebastian, you can find good food just about anywhere here. New restaurants have popped up all over the place and the quality of the local produce is outstanding (as it always has been). The photo on this page should be enough for most foodies to get on a plane.
• Biodynamics and Organic methods are gaining popularity with the smaller producers, even some of the larger ones are getting in on the act.
• Vintages: 2004 and 2005 are spectacular, but both very different. As a broad brush statement, 2004 is more structured and tannic, 2005 is more elegant with lush fruit and more typical Rioja structure. 2006 is very good as well, just lacking some of the high notes of  04 and 05. 07 and 08 are years to pick by producer. Most of the stuff I tasted from barrel looked very good for both years, however both years were quite good for whites.
• As much as I love drinking and aging the wines of Ribera del Duero, I think Rioja is the most spectacular and livable wine region in Spain (maybe Jerez should get a mention here as well).
• PR and media awareness is really front of mind here. Not that I would really class myself as media, many of the people I talked to regularly read the site (one winemaker took me to task on a review!). This may be an old region, but they are definately onto the new media thing.