Capcanes ‘Lasandal’ 2006

lasendal-2006I had a craving for grenache on the way home last Thursday, a quick stop in at City Wine Shop turned up this little gem. The flash new label really stands out, I like the textured paper with bold black ink. Packaging is all well and good, but who gives a toss? It’s all about the wine, and in this case it’s agarnarcha/syrah blend (85%/15% respectively) with a spell in older American oak.I’ve been following this wine for a while now, this is the best yet.

La Perla del Priorat ‘Noster’ 2005

img_5302

I’ve got a couple of entry level on the tasting bench at the moment, this is the first. This was a big hit for me last year, a wine from Priorat at this price level and quality was quite rare at the time. But now wines in the $40-$60 price bracket are the must have item for many importers. And who’s complaining, seeing as the top wines from the region are going up again this year? There doesn’t seem to be one style at the price point, some are big rounded, easy drinking things, others are a bit tighter and focused. This falls into the later camp…

Bodegas Pirineos Mesache Tinto 2007

The first bottle of this was slightly corked, this one was singing however. I still find that the rate of corked Spanish wines is very low, about 2-3%. It does help that many come in Screwcap now too. I do tend to have bad luck with French wine however, 3 out 5 of the last french wines I’ve opened have been riddled with tca…

Torres ‘Salmos’ 2005

Torres started making wine in Priorat a couple of years ago, they aren’t just buying some grapes and renting some space, instead they built a new winery, bought some vineyards and have kept very true to the style and nature of this tiny region. This is the first release, it is cracking value. A blend of garnacha, syrah, carinena, and cabernet sauvignon bunged in new french oak for 9 months. This is much less structured and tannic than many wines from this region, otherwise all the trademark characters are there. Personally, I think it’s good to see the softer side of Priorat from time to time.

Font de le Figuera 2005

A super quick note today. This is the young vines wine from these guys, Garnarcha and Carineña planted in 1998. Surprisingly, this had huge amounts of sediment, so do decant just to get rid of the muck or be very careful pouring it.

Capcanes Mas Donis ‘Negre’ 2007

A quick note on what is a great little wine. It has some new funky, young and fun packaging and is secured under a screwcap. What more could you want? Mostly garnarcha with a splash of syrah for something different. 4 months in American oak too. These wines are very consistent from vintage to vintage, which is a great attribute in a house wine.

Les Terresses 2006

This has reinforced my position that wines from Priorat are better drunk within 5 years of release. It’s a cracking wine right now, minerally and bursting with flavours that make it well worth the price of admission. It’s not the they don’t age, it’s just that they don’t look as good old as they do young (kind of like the rest of us). Of course there are exceptions to every rule…

Acustic Cellars ‘Brao’ 2006

The big brother of the Acustic, Brao is made from 65+ year old vines. The old vine fruit really shows through, this is a step up in complexity, depth and minerality. 45% Garnarcha and 55% Samso with some slick oak treatment.

Acustic Cellars ‘Acustic’ 2006

I’m always very happy when a box of wine turns up in the office. Especially when it’s a couple of newly imported wines that I’ve been watching in the Spanish wine press for a couple of years. Every thing about these wines shows class, the packaging is unassuming but stylish and the smooth and understated wine in the bottle.

Mas Donis Rosado 2007

A great rosado with a seemingly girl friendly packaging makeover, including screwcap on top, plenty of fruit, great texture and a long finish. It’s as good as the 2006 and it should be flying off the shelves over the next couple of months…