WTN: Saved by the Sherry

Lill and I went to a local tasting/party this past weekend. Wines from Vin Iberia Importer were being poured while an assortment of chorizo, spanish cheeses, a leg of jamon Iberico, various munchies, and the largest paella I've ever seen (48" pan) were served. The food was awesome. The setting was awesome. The people were pretty friendly and a few even talked about wine. The wines..well, did I tell you that the food was awesome?

The bubbly
NV Torreblanca Rosé Cava (Penedes) This 100% garnacha, lightly sparkling wine has some good fruit and perfumy aromatics but is really too acid deficient to be very refreshing.

The Whites
2006 Señorio de Cruces Albariño (Rias Baixas) Good bright fruit, tons of minerality but exceedingly soft.

2006 Javier Sanz Villa Narcisa Verdejo (Rueda) Forceful lemon citrus, anise, and grass that is too round and flabby to be enjoyable. There is a trend developing.

2006 Javier Sanz Villa Narcisa Sauvignon Blanc (Rueda) My first Spanish sauvignon blanc. Some citrus, some tropical elements with a decent balance of fruit sweetness and acidity. Not my favorite expression of sauvignon blanc but surprisingly good.

The Reds
2006 Artero Garrnacha (La Mancha) Candied cinnamon fruit bomb.

2003 Tritium Tempranillo (Rioja) Latin Liquidator’s nightmare. Chocolate covered cherry, wood infested monstrosity with lots of heft and very little structure.

2003 Alvear Palacio Quemado Crianza (Ribera del Guadiana) 100% tempranillo. Hot cherry cola with a very short finish.

2001 Alvear Palacio Quernado Reserva (Ribera del Guadiana) 100% tempranillo. Not bad at all. Good fruit, some earthiness, fine grained tannins, nice balance with a somewhat abrupt finish.

2005 Maius (Priorat) 40 garnacha, 40 cab sauvignon, 20 cariñena) Really inviting nose of roses, dried citrus and fennel. This is the first wine of the tasting with a nose that has me intrigued. Good fruit, well rounded body, some slate with a soft tannic structure. Decent enough to drink now but I really wonder if it has the stuffing to age.

2003 Bodegas Sietecerros Valdelazarza Crianza (Toro) 100% tinto del Toro. A light floral fruity nose with vanilla and balsa notes that has some decent elements but seems a bit disjointed right now. Maybe it’s young, maybe it’s the vintage but while the fruit is very tasty and there is pleasant acidity, it’s just all clumsy.

The Blessed Sherry
N.V. Bodegas Almocadén Fino Paquiro (Jerez) Now this is more like it. Light almond, sea breezy salinity, and clean crispness. Very very good.

N.V. Bodegas Almocadén Amontillado Almocadén (Jerez) Excellent. Full, rich nutty yeasty aromas, salted almonds and dried fruit flavors with a crisp, clean bone dry finish that just dances on the palate.

N.V. Bodegas Almocadén Pedro Ximénez Almocadén (Jerez) Sticky sweet raisin nut pie. Yes, the flavors are incredibly deep and incredibly delicious and there is a wonderful sense of balance but anything more than a couple of sips of this thick, viscous wine would put me into a sugar coma.

and a bonus TN from the previous night at home.
N.V. Bodegas Hidalgo Oloroso Especial (Jerez) L02305/1 Aromas of sweet dried apricots, nutmeg and raisins that follow with very rich, very dry nuttiness that somehow stays light on the palate and a finish of salt and sea mist. Very good stuff.

Bill,
I am sure that if Victor de la Serna was to look in here and see what I am bout to write, he would NOT swallow his tongue.

There was a time, and not too long ago, that one could buy a Spanish wine and be sure to get ones $$ worth. Sadly, those days are long gone. I broke my wine teeth on Spanish wines from the late 60's and early 70's, including even a lot of good cava. It seems to me that for the most part it is just the cava that has pretty much stood still quality wise, if not price, but they are still bargains. IMO the wine region(s) of Spain have grown so rapidly that the wine makers could not possibly have kept pace quality wise. Perhaps I should not hit the send button, but I think I will just sit back and await the wrath of VS.

Yes, there's a lot of dreck, some of it very high priced, out there that originated from Spain. The same can be said from every famous wine-producing region in the world.

There is also a lot of magnificent stuff from Spain. Including a lot of excellent Sherry. Lustau, for one, has not dropped their standards, as far as I can see.

Prices aren't what they once were, but that's as much due to the collapse of the dollar as anything else.

-Paul W.

Yes, there's a lot of dreck, some of it very high priced, out there that originated from Spain. The same can be said from every famous wine-producing region in the world.

There is also a lot of magnificent stuff from Spain. Including a lot of excellent Sherry. Lustau, for one, has not dropped their standards, as far as I can see.

Prices aren't what they once were, but that's as much due to the collapse of the dollar as anything else.

-Paul W.

Paul,
Of course my words were not meant to address Spanish sherries at all. there are not any new sherry DO's in Spain. But there are a heck of a lot of relatively new regions on Spain that are making wines from grapes Like syrah cabernet, and merlot, and charging more than I will pay for unproven wines. Even some making wines from tempranillo and monastrell, but want $20 and up for first vintages. I don't doubt that costs are up for them, but we have to crawl before we walk.

IMO the wine region(s) of Spain have grown so rapidly that the wine makers could not possibly have kept pace quality wise. Perhaps I should not hit the send button, but I think I will just sit back and await the wrath of VS.

So, Bob, what you're basically saying is that "Spain is dead to me"? No, Victor won't object, I'm sure!

Mark "The Masochist" Lipton

Bob, can you give us any specifics on what led you to your conclusions regarding Spain? Please let us know what you have been trying these days that you dislike so much.

So, Bob, what you're basically saying is that "Spain is dead to me"? No, Victor won't object, I'm sure!
Mark "The Masochist" Lipton

I didn't exactly say that now did I Mark? What I said is that there are so many new (perhaps just to me) Do's in Spain that produce wines that are not IMO worth what they are charging. If one looks at a wine map of Spain, one can quickly see that there are darn near as many wine regions in Spain as in Italy. Another apt comparison between those two countries is the number of wines coming from them that are from cab S, merlot, syrah, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and a few others. I have some of Victors Finca Sandoval wines in my cellar, so it is not that I am against the growing of syrah etc in Spain, but there are so many if these kinds of wines that honestly I just can't get through a glass of much less a bottle. So, if you or Bill have a list of wines from little known (outside of Spain) DO's that are real bargains I for sure will try them out. Mark, don't you sometimes also post on Therapy? What does Camblor have to say about these same wines I am speaking of?

Bob, can you give us any specifics on what led you to your conclusions regarding Spain? Please let us know what you have been trying these days that you dislike so much.

Bill, I could write up a list of wines available in my market and post them for you, and will if you would care. However, I must say that there are a LOT of Spanish wines that I like, and they pretty much run quite a gamut pricewise. An example is the 2001 and 2002 Riscal Reserva Rioja. at $14 that is one heck of a bottle of wine. I would buy the Mas la Plana cabernet from Torres if it were available even though it is now above $40. There are though, a lot of wines from some very hot (temperature wise) areas that are making wines from varieties that IMO are not suited. I mean we have an ocean of plonk cabernet from everywhere in the world, and I suspect better wines could be grown in those regions. Of course I was just joking about VS coming for me with a "cat o' nine tails.

There was a time, and not too long ago, that one could buy a Spanish wine and be sure to get ones $$ worth. Sadly, those days are long gone. I broke my wine teeth on Spanish wines from the late 60's and early 70's . . .

I feel the same way as you, only I broke my teeth on Spanish wines in the '80s. What I'm not sure of, though, is how much of this is due to Spanish wines changing and how much is due to my palate changing. Probably some of both, as my tolerance for oak has gone way down, while at the same time, the price of Spanish wines has gone up, a greater percentage of imports is from hot climate regions (Toro, Murcia, etc.), and more and more winemakers (or at least their U.S. importers) are chasing Parker scores.

I feel the same way as you, only I broke my teeth on Spanish wines in the '80s. What I'm not sure of, though, is how much of this is due to Spanish wines changing and how much is due to my palate changing. Probably some of both, as my tolerance for oak has gone way down, while at the same time, the price of Spanish wines has gone up, a greater percentage of imports is from hot climate regions (Toro, Murcia, etc.), and more and more winemakers (or at least their U.S. importers) are chasing Parker scores.

Thanks Bruce, you said it better than I did, or could, good to know I am not out in left field all alone.