Pazo San Mauro Albariño 2007

Of the main regions of Rias Brixas, Condado de Tea is the least represented in Australia. The region is a bit more challenging than Val do Salnés and O Rosal, its a more inland with river valleys, a touch warmer and the soils are more solid and slatey. This wine is made by Cristina Mantilla, who also makes Valmiñor. Expect classic Albariño with plenty of flavour and a touch of minerals.

Fairly much text book albariño on the nose: freshly sliced lemons, a shake of white peaches, a bit of jasmine and lime blossom. A convincing mix of texture with a tight acid backbone, gives good mouthfeel. It’s very long on the finish with some rocky minerals and a lemon tang.   Clean, fresh, and direct, the palate mirrors the nose for the most part. A classy act. 90 Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Salvador Poveda ‘Borrasca’ 2002

A ‘high expression’ wine from Salvador Poveda, who you might know from their Toscar range. Low production from older Monastrell vines that are grown at high altitude. Very sensible use of big 500l french oak barrels too.  Production is limited to 7,000 bottles. Being from the 2002 vintage, its spent a bit of time in bottle which hasn’t hurt either.

The nose is quality monastrell: juicy plum, blue berry and honey with the trademark animal notes, a little dark cherry and nutmeg. Soft and rounded, but a few firm edges give interest as do the dusty tannins that are light and fluffy. It starts off all blueberry and violets on the palate, with some blackberry and plum with a touch of raisin. A bit of chewing tobacco too. Highly enjoyable, this one classy monastrell. Good value too. 91 Pts.

Source: Ce Soir Imports Price: $35 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.salvadorpoveda.com

Bodegas Beronia Tempranillo 2006

The designation on the bottle is Elaboracion Especial and it’s a tricked up straight Tempranillo from Rioja. Most of the wines made by Bodegas Beronia are fairly traditional, however this is modern in its approach. Its made using barrel fermentation, but using high toast American oak rather than the usual French.

Deep and intense on the nose, plenty of mocha, toasted bread and vanilla with earthy cherry and mulberry. Supple and rich in the mouth, textured by plenty of soft tannins and a cheeky bit of acid on the finish. Plenty of get up and go on the palate, fresh plum and cherry with some mocha and sage. The fruit stands up to the wood well. A highly likable wine that shows a different approach to modern Rioja. 90 Pts.

Bodegas Beronia Crianza 2005

I traveled up to Canberra for a day last week, damn is it cold up there. No time to look around at the wineries or drinking anything local unfortunately. Actually, I think my main achievement for the day was getting home on Qantas, what with cancelled flights and delays. Luckily I had Bar Lourinha waiting for me when I got home.

Anyway, here’s a tidy crianza from the 2005 vintage in Rioja. It leans towards the traditional in style and shows plenty of refinement at 13% alcohol. Its a blend of 82% Tempranillo, 14% Garnarcha and 4% Mazuelo that lives in oak for 12 months.

Mocha anise and cookie dough with some black berry and cherry fruit. Its friendly and well rounded, with some plush, juicy fruit. Plenty of savoury cherry and mulberry with bushy undergrowth. Some earth and anise thrown in for good measure. Solid winter drinking. 89 Pts

Bodegas Finca Vaqueros I’Corus ‘Vendimia Seleccionada’ 2003

I reviewed the two entry level wines from this bodega a month or two ago and this is the big daddy of the range.Older vines (80 years old) and some special oak treatment (16 months in a mix of French and American oak) give this more ompphh for long term aging. I think anyone would have a hard time picking this from any of the Mauro wines.

Wild and thrilling is a good summary for this wine. It starts of with a nose of brambly cherry, mulberry and plum, adding some vanilla bean and mocha with some barnyard undertones. Supple with fine edges, quite charming and rustic tannins that build to give impressive texture. Its juby and meaty in the mouth with more cherry and black jelly beans, a touch of blackberry and black currant as well as some earthy herbs. I really enjoy drinking these wines, highly enjoyable and drinkable. You could keep it for a while, but I’d have trouble keeping my hands off them. 92 Pts.

Source: Broadway Liquor Distributors Price: $50 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasfincavaqueros.com

Altozano Tempranillo 2006

If you read Gourmet Traveler Wine, you would have seen this wine receive big wraps and (94 Pts) in a blind line up of Spanish and Aussie Tempranillos. While, I’m not as enthusiastic its great at this price and now comes in screwcap.

Its a media-crianza that sees 4 months in a mix of American, Hungarian and French oak. The grapes are from Toledo, hence the VDlT Castilla label.

The nose is full of blueberry, dark cherry and blackcurrant, with a hit of mulberry in the middle. Plenty of warm climate tempranillo character here, rich and generous mouth feel and soft tannins. Earthy blackcurrant, plum and dark cherry fruit, with some sarsaparilla. Complexity isn’t the name of the game here, its all about the bold fruit. The wood is really well handled too. At this price you can’t go wrong. 87 Pts.

Bodegas Beronia Viura 2006

I’ve been flat out lately, both at work and home, with the start of the new financial year and all. I’ve got plenty of tasting notes in my notebook, just no time to write them up. I’ll hopefully clear out the back log this week. So, on to the wine. This is a fresh and zippy white Rioja, perfect with something fishy or lemony. I like the traditional style label too.

light in colour, the nose shows lemon with some white flowers, candied lemon and lime peel and some musky grapefruit. A fairly serious drink, not the kind of thing you can ignore. It’s textured to start, but with a zippy acid backbone on the finish that leaves a tangy finish. Minerally and complete, there is some lemon and nettle too. Perfect for snacking on small fish or something salty. 88 Pts.

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.