Events

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Spanish Masterclass

I was lucky enough to get a seat at a couple of very good master classes last week.  Put on by the Australian Sommeliers Association and the Spanish Trade Commission, there were two sessions complete with a panel of local and imported personalities and lots of goodies in between the sessions.  A lot of work had obviously gone into setting up these tastings, the very nice upstairs room at Comme was the location and a number of hard to get wines where flown in from Spain. A lot of support from all the major importers as well.

Apart from the wine there were a number of good Spanish things to munch on, cheese, olives, bread etc.  But the real standout was the Jamon Iberico from Broadway Gourmet.  I think I ate about half a kilo of the stuff, so I feel qualified to say that this particular Jamon is the best I have had in Australia, really well flavored and textured, impossible to pass up. It not avilable at retail in Melbourne yet, so you'll have to go to Movida to try some.

On to the tastings.  The first session was titled "The New Spain" and was intended to show modern styles of white and red wines from a number of regions in Spain, as well as some classic sherries.  The second tasting was all about Tempranillo from three regions: Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Toro. I'll write that up separately. Each tastings had a panel of 5 up the front, including Jose Ramon Calvo from the renowned Mugaritz restaurant in San Sabasitan.  Each section started with a bit of background and history from Jose Ramon and Raúl Moreno Yagüe from SOS (now moving on to Vue de Monde), then a few comments from the rest of the panel.

There was some real contrast between the Aussie members of the panel (coming from more an Aussie/International point of view), Jose Ramon with a Spanish/European perspective and Raul with a bit of both. Some healthy debate and outlandish comments always makes for an interesting afternoon.  For me, the main benefit of the tasting was seeing some different styles and the interest from the crowd in many of these wines.  As with most of these things, there is never enough time for a full discussion.  As usual for tastings, this is just  my basic view of the wines without scores.

The New Spain

The panel consisted of  Tim White, Raúl Moreno Yagüe, Jose Ramon, Kate McIntyre and Max Allen.   3 brackets of wines, with a set of whites up front.  I was lazy and only took notes on those wines I haven't already tasted.

Flight 1: Whites

A good intro from Jose Ramon on how to drink Albarino, drink unwooded wines in their second year only, up to five years for wooded.  Max Allen had a quick chat about the history of white wine in Spain.

1. Albarino Fefinanes III ano, 2003, Rias Baixas (Barrel fermented Albarino): gun smoke, stone fruit, melon, light honey apricot.  Bright and fresh with apple, pear, light grapefruit minerals and apricot.  I like this a lot, the best wine of the non-sherries.

2. Valminor Albarino, 2005, Rias Brixas.  Lovely as always, a very good bottle at the right temperature.  Good contrast to the 1st wine

3. Belondrade y Lurton, 2004, Rueda (Barrel fermented Verdejo): I found this very interested but it was widely canned as being too international by the aussie members of the panel.  I like it, it’s very different for Spain and yes does have a bit of a worked chardonnay feel to it.  Nuts toast, butter, cashews and melon.

Flight 2: 4 red wines from 4 regions

1. Domino de Tere 'Pago 3', 2002, Bierzo (Mencia): earth, aniseed, coffee, chocolate.  Light and smooth with red cherry and blue fruits.  I thought it was ok, seemed to be well received by the panel with lots of talk of Cabernet Franc.

2. Bodegas Pirineos 'Marbore', 2003, DO Somontano (Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Moristel, and Parraleta): pepper, spice, earth, red and blue fruits, mint, herbs.  Red juby fruits, rosemary, plum, blueberry, tart sour finish. Long.  A really interesting wine, very intellectual, but not great drinking for me.

3. Pasanau 'Finca la Planeta', 2002, Priorat (Cabernet Sauignon): Sweet red and blue fruits, herbs, earth and rocks, violets.  Plum raspberry, grainy tannins, loads of acid, fruitcake and a long finish.  Very surprising, I liked this a lot but can't help thinking that it would be more interesting with some Garnacha in it.

4. Olivares Monastrell Dulce, 2003, Jumillia: Raisins, varnish.  Grapey, muscatels, aniseed, cinnamon and extremely strong tea.  I'm starting to come around to the style, but probably not well placed in this group.

Flight 3: Sherries

1. Alvear Amontillado, Montilla Moriles: Honey almonds, orange rind and spice.  burnt caramel, bitter oranges and more almonds.  I like this too, managed to grab a bottle for further investigation

2. Romate Oloroso "la Sacristia' VORS: Jerez: almost honey, some roasted nuts, and rancio characters.  Tangy salty, dry and nutty in the mouth.  Very good.

3. Lustau VOS Oloroso, Jerez: Something wrong with this, its all onions cooked in balsamic vinegar with old fish.  Should have been great, but drinks like its been open too long.

4. Gonzalez Byass Oloroso 1964:  A real marvel.  Good vanilla ice-cream, smoke, very fresh and complex.  Think of very good, smooth single malt and you've got it.  Huge length.  Wine of the tasting for me.