Bodegas Beronia Reserva 2001

If you’re inclined to indulge in a bit of traditional Rioja, you’ll know all about this house and this wine. I’ve been working through the range over the weekend, starting off with this Reserva from the great 2001 vintage.

A blend of Tempranillo (89%), Graciano (5%) and Mazuelo (6%), this Rerserva follows the usual pattern of aging in the bodega for at least 3 years. In this case, 18 months of that are in french and american oak, the other 18 months is in bottle.

The nose comes over smooth and confident with cherry and plum, with cinnamon, star anise and a bit of cigar box. Its full of beans in the mouth, with velvety and refined tannins. Cherry and blue fruits on the palate with subtle cinnamon and anise. A fairly robust wine that shows plenty of class. It went really well with my lamb racks, it even went well with a slab of fromage de meaux. 90 Pts.

Con Class Verdejo 2007

This is another of the Vintage Cellars imports and personally, I’m very impressed. I get to taste a load of stuff with some of the importers, a lot of it is in search of a cheap white like this. Unfortunately not many reach this standard, and at this price. For sure, it’s not the best wine on earth, but it really over delivers and offers a real alternative to the cheaper NZ Sauv Blanc that seems to be the big seller in bottle shops.

Up front and fresh on the nose, pears and a little peach with some white flowers. A bit more air shows the classic fennel bulb. The palate show some guava, pear and passionfruit plus some musk stick. Its not that textured, which is something I look for in good verdejo, it’s lean with acid drive. Excellent for the price, I’ve tasted quite a few ‘inexpensive’ wines from Rueda and this has to be one of the best cheapies around. 87 Pts.

Source: Vintage Cellars Price: $12 Closure: Screwcap

Martin Codax ‘Burgans’ 2006

A month or so ago I bought a bottle of this wine and the screwcap was faulty. I had the replacement scheduled for tasting on Monday night, when I got an email from the wine buyer for Vintage Cellars followed by a chat on the phone about closures and their range of Spanish wine. It turns out that there was a bit of a problem with this batch, about 1% of the batch had a faulty or loose screwcap. Still better than cork according to most failure statistics. The fault has been noted and action is being taken to resolve the fault.

So on to the wine. This is the entry level wine for Martin Codax and its probably the only Spanish Albariño available under $20. And its a good wine too.

Aromas of white peach, lime, white flowers and a subtle muskiness. Its got texture in the mouth, its a bit flabby and sweet in the middle, but the acid balances this out for a clean finish. Apple and white peach on the palate with a bit of flint and lemon oil. It’s a well priced drink, It’s not going to knock you off your feet, but you can now afford to drink Spanish albariño any night of the week. 87 Pts.

Bodegas Hidalgo ‘Pastrana’ Manzanilla Pasada

I stopped by Rathdowne Cellars on Saturday morning in search of Manzanilla and found this puppy. It comes in a full 750ml bottle so you can have two binges from the one bottle. For our non-Australian visitors, the Australian Government is about to release new alcohol guidelines that assert that more than 4 standard drinks in one day is a ‘binge’ on alcohol, and that any more than 2 drinks a day is harmful. 4 standard drinks is about 3 glasses of wine.
Its an unusual sherry for more than just the bottle size, its a single vineyard wine which is quite rare but not un heard of. Like champagne, most sherry is made from a range of vineyards and then blended. The whole story is on the front label, so I won’t spoil the read for you.
Apples and chamomile on the nose with some almonds and light flor notes. Very delicate, mellow and smooth in the mouth, quite nutty but refreshing. The palate shows plenty of typical manzanilla notes of apple, almonds, a bit of salt and yeasty bread. Less salty than expected.  A warm finish that lingers for quite a while. Highly drinkable and an excellent with food too.  92 Pts

Source: Rathdowne Cellars Price: $34 Closure: Cork Stopper

Web: www.vinicola-hidalgo.es

Don Aurelio Crianza 2004

There’s not much to say here really, this is a good wine from Valdapeñas made from Tempranillo and given a bit of time in wood. It’s correct, it’s savoury and it’s good QPR. Wine from Valdapeñas is often confused for Rioja when served up blind, so that will give you some idea of the style.

A cheery red colour in the glass, with a nose of earthy cherry pie, followed up by some wood and smoke in the background. Pretty much the same in the mouth, but add some blueberry, plum and liquorice. A good little unit, cheap but very enjoyable. 87 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $21 Closure: Conventional Cork

Mas d’en Gil Coma Vella 2002

It is this kind of wine that leads to a few of the comments I made on the post about the Clos Fonta. In vintages like 2002, which wasn’t a great vintage, the producers still have the high costs of everything in the vineyard being done by hand, plus lower production and quality to boot. So all these costs (and some profit) get passed on to consumers, which would make this wine a hard sell at $90. Then again the 2004 will probably fly out the door. The punters expect something special at this price range, unfortunatley nature doesn’t always play along.

A bit of coco, cherry and sappy plums with a bit of pez and sawdust. A bit more air show raspberry, slight violets, white pepper and sooty earth. Yeah its complex and enjoyable on the nose. Unfortunately, its a bit flat and clinical on the palate. The tannins are a bit hard on the finish, but overall it has good balance. A bit medicinal tasting with some clove and pepper, plum and rosella, cola. There’s plenty there to like and its quite a good wine for the vintage, but it just doesn’t come together for the big points. 89 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $90 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.masdengil.com

Mas d’en Gil ‘Clos Fonta’ 2001

I’ve been a big fan of Priorat in the past, but the price rises over the past couple of vintages have pushed these wines into a whole new price bracket. Plus they can be challenging, confronting wines that are more for the head than the heart. That doesn’t sound like fun, does it? Well, maybe in a fetish kind of way. Actually, the cheaper wines can be much more enjoyable than ultra expensive ones. At times I think you get much better value over the other side of the Iberian Peninsula in the Douro Valley.

Of course, as soon as I take such a bold position this wine turns up on the tasting bench. It’s $150 a bottle, which is by no means cheap, but it’s a spanking, complex wine that is worth the money if you like you’re into wine from Priorat. This is clearly up there with the top wines of the very good 2001 vintage and is drinking really well right now.

A classic Priorat nose of soot, hot rocks, raspberry, cherry pie, plum and bramble. Its a pleasure in the mouth, its well integrated and shows superior balance. Subtle tannins towards the finish and none of the heat that you can find in some Priorats, but it does weigh in at 15%. The palate shows plenty of minerals with some clove, raspberry and plum, cola, hot cinnamon and musk sticks. There’s enough here to restore my faith, its a little wild but that’s the point. 94 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $150 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.masdengil.com

Don Aurelio ‘Tierracalar’ Tempranillo 2006

Easy drinking, affordable wines are one of the main reasons exports of Spanish wine to places like the UK, Germany and US have been booming over the past 10 years. To be honest, we haven’t seen a lot of the sub $20, but good Spanish gear here in Australia but that is starting to change. Many importers are looking for quality, low cost wines and this is a good example of how to get it right.

Nose of cherry liqueur, coco, a little raisin and day leaf. Rich and textured, with enough acid to keep everything moving along nicely. In the mouth it’s fairly straight forward, musky dark cherry and plum fruit with good balance and a long, spicy finish. Plenty to like here, especially the price. 87 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $18 Closure: Conventional Cork

Auroch Toro 2006

I’ve got a couple of inexpensive wines in this week, I’ve been drinking a bit too well of late (not that I’m complaining). Not too many details here, all you need to know is that its an unoaked joven wine made from 100% tempranillo that’s juicy and fresh. It’s made by Ana Martin.

And yes the label does look like a pair of boobs….I’m assuming its supposed to be a pair of bull horns.

Earth, spice, herby undergrowth, lavender, cherry liqueur and Irish pipe tobacco. Juicy, gamy fruit in the mouth followed by a healthy finish. On the palate there is roast meat juice, savoury cherry, cola and sage. The end of the bottle comes all to fast, excellent with some stewed ox tail too. 88 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $20 Closure: Conventional Cork

Mar del Frades Albariño 2006

This albariño is a little bit different to many of the wines we have seen here in Australia. And even though most albariños are food wines, this one is especially so. These guys really emphasise the relationship between the sea and the food and wine traditions of Galicia, right down to the blue bottle with waves at its base. There is also a little gimmick here, if you look at the larger image there is no blue ship on the front label. If you bung the bottle in the fridge for a bit, a blue ship will appear when the wine is cold enough to drink.

Something a bit different on the nose: honeysuckle, lemon, ripe melon and seaside undergrowth. In the mouth its an acid forward style, showing some minerals followed up some apple, peach and apricot fruit in the middle. The finish shows off more crunchy minerals and tangy acid. A big bowl of mussels is in order when you’ve got a bottle of this in the fridge, but maybe a bit too much acid for drinking by itself. 89Pts

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $40 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.mardefrades.com