Wine
Balbas Barrica 2008
Some Spanish wine law is a bit out there. Media crianza, semi joven, or barrica are all names for wines that have seen less than 12 months in oak, making the wine not quite a crianza or a joven wine. Now this isn’t an official term, people just make it up, but Barrica (which just means barrel in Spanish) seems to be winning out in Ribera del Duero and Toro. Confusing or what? Not a particularly great marketing plan, many Spanish people don’t know what it means either. Anyway, this puppy is all tempranillo that has 4 month in oak. It works quite well this wine, rather than adding unneeded wood it adds a nice edge to the wine.
Balbas Reserva 2004
The big daddy from Bilbas. Reservas from Ribera del Duero are one of my favourites wines to drink, old or young. The juicy fruit with plenty of complexity is super satisfying. This is along similar line to thecrianza, this is perhaps a little more traditional in its focus. The vintage shows through here: big flavours, big tannins and lots of potential in the cellar.
Mount Majura Tempranillo 2008
There was a little pile of foam wine mailers in my office when I got back from the US, a couple of bottles from Mouth Majura was stashed away at the bottom. Complete with a hand written note (I haven’t had one of those in years!) from Frank, the winemaker. I’ve had a couple of bottles of this wine, of various vintages, over the years and I’ve always been impressed. But this is taking CanberraTempranillo to another level. Canberra has a couple of features that make it, on paper at least, an ideal proposition for growing Tempranillo: climate and limestone in the soil. There is an old wifes tale in Spain that the best Tempranillo grows in soil rich in limestone…
Balbas Crianza 2006
This is a new one from Ce Soir, part of a range of wines from Ribera del Duero. One of the older bodegas in the region making very smart wines. Well worth seeking out. There is a dollop of Cabernet in here is well, which is quite typical and traditional for the region…I’m not usually a fan, but there is always an exception to the rule.
Granbazan Albariño ‘Amber’ 2007
From the fairly classic, but low yielding 2007 vintage comes this funky bottle of Albarino. I do like the packaging on this stuff, very old school but some how appealing. I always seem to come to the late in the game, the 2008 should almost be here by now. The amber bottling is from the first free run juice, there is also the green bottle which I think includes a bit of pressings…but I’m not sure if its imported these days.
Remelluri Reserva 2005
This is another wine that shows the differences between the 2004 and 2005 vintages in Rioja. Both are great vintages in my book, but they are so for very different reasons. 2004 is a very long lived vintage, but it isn’t really giving a lot of joy at the moment. Its full of promises, but those bottles will have to survive the late night, drunken cellar raids and ‘I just want to see how it’s travelling’ trials. The 05 on the other hand is just a joy to smell and drink at the moment, but it has a long and full life ahead of it too.
Bodegas y Vinedos Alion 2004
Now that the academic year is over (well for me anyway), posts should be a bit more regular. And what better way to kick things back in to gear than a bottle ofAlion . As is usual with this wine, its a hard beast to tame when it’s young. Decanting helps but really this needs at least 5 year in the cellar to really start showing what its made of. This bottle was showing loads of oakinitially , and then closed up with a wall of tannins, which is fairly typical for the vintage. I’ve had a couple of bottles of this in the past year, and they have all been a little different, but all pointing towards a great, long term wine.
Condado de Haza 2006
I’ve been liking these 2006 wines from Ribera del Duero, I think this is the last for the moment. A couple of bucks cheaper that Pesquera, but every bit as enjoyable. Do decant for at least an hour, it needs a bit of time. I hear all this talk of 2006 being a poor vintage, it’s not 2004, but it’s not 2002 either. Every 2006 I’ve had so far has been tasty and the tannin/acid balance that makes these wines great with meat like lamb and pork..
Hermanos Lurton Verdejo 2008
A project by brothers Jacques and Francois Lurton in Rueda. They came to town looking to make outstanding Sauvignon Blanc and decided to stick to Verdejo. They seem a little obsessed with the place actually. They even make a sweet wine from verdejo called ‘de Puta Madre’. Which would be quite rude if you’re from South America. Only a Frenchman could call a wine “fuck that’s good” and get away with it…
Pesquera Crianza 2006
I thought I’d put this one to the top of the pile, its a popular wine and its one of my favourites year in and year out. The 2004 Reserva should also be around by now too, I’ll have to see if I can get hold of some. I am still a bit iffy on this concept that tempranillo from Ribera del Duero goes through some kind of oxidative phase that looks like brett after, bottling, shipping and about 10 years in bottle, but I can’t see anything like brett here…and the two bottles of the 2004 that I’ve had in the past 6 months have been fine too…weird.
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