WTN: Best Spanish Wine Tasting Of My Life So Far

Four flights, served blind. Thanks to Mike and Becky at DuJour Bistro for the fantastic spread.

Whites and Rose

* 2009 Bodegas del Palacio de Fefiñanes Rías Baixas Albariño D Fefiñanes - Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas
First bottle of the first flight.
Full bodied, beautiful greean apple, limestone, kiwi. Great acidity to brighten the dense fruit.
Enjoyed this one a lot, and it seemed popular with the group.
* 2009 Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis - Spain, País Vasco, Getariako Txakolina
Second bottle of first flight.
Nice Rosé, refreshing, lightly sparkling. Crisp berry flavors.
* 1990 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
A subtle beauty. Amber suggesting some age. Light bodied. Toasty nose. A little bit of nice mid-palate bitterness which increased its appeal. Big attack to a decrescendo finish. Still fairly youthful.

Riojas

* 1999 Nocedal Reserva Tempranillo Rioja - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
Started with raisiny aromas, but actually displayed more youthful fruit with airing. Strawberry and cherry, almost Grenache-like. Showing a little alcohol, a little age. Fine tannins towards finish.
* 1982 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
My co-WOTN. Aged nose, youthful palate. Red fruit, floral notes, black tea. Later, the nose displayed an appealing smokey quality. Lasted hours in the glass without decline.
* 2005 Bodegas Belezos Rioja Crianza - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja
Woody vanilla. Full bodied. Purple candied fruit. Firm tannins and crisp acidity. None of the subtlety or femininity of the previous Riojas.
* 1978 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Wonderful bottle. Not as much fruit as the '82 Montecillo Gran Reserva. I enjoyed the nose better than the palate, which faded as the night passed.
* 2000 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
A bit of oak; cinnamon. Stood up to the cumin and citrus black beans and pork, a dish I thought would be a wine-killer. Someone in the group thought it traditional, but I disagreed.
* 2001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Aro - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Modern styled. Dense. Chocolate and vanilla, dark fruit. Tannic, crisp acidity. Still quite young. Would be interesting to revisit in ten years. Will make old bones.

Mostly Ribera del Duero

* 2001 Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero Flor de Pingus - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Elegant adolescent, somewhere between youthful exuberance and maturity. Blackberries; tannins still prominent. Tight, needs a lot of time.
* 1998 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Tasted older than 12 years. Soft, tannins resolved and gone. Smokey; nicely balanced. Drink.
* 2006 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla
MODERN (sorry to shout, but this screamed "International style") This wine could have been from anywhere. Big everything; dark fruit, alcohol, oak. Despite earlier decanting and aerating, this was a bit brutish.
* 2009 Bodegas y Viñedos Tábula Ribera del Duero Damana 5 - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Someone said maltomeal, but this brought me back to toddler days and colloidal oatmeal baths for chickenpox. Yes, oatmeal and berries on the nose. Oaky and internationally-styled, I liked it more than some of the others in the group. Not great, not offensive.

Catalunya

* 2001 Clos Mogador Priorat Manyetes - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
Very ripe; leather and earth, a bit of heat. Seemed more advanced than its age.
* 1970 Jean León Penedès - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès
My Co-WOTN. Huge old wine. Wet leather, licorice, brown spice. You could pass this on to your grand-kids and it would still be drinking well.

Another incredible night. Great friends, sumptuous food, and wonderful wines.

[Jenise]

The Grand Crew assembled last night to sample a bunch of Spanish wines. One white and all the reds were served blind according to this pre-established order: Rioja, Ribera del Duoro, Priorat, Other, but not arranged within the category. As is the habit of this group, each person puts their own wine or wines into play as the moment seems right. I actually meant to do Other before Priorat since I had an Other I thought should go before any big fat grenaches, but it turned out we had only one Priorat and it snuck out there first, so there you go.

1) (mine) I served this cold 2009 Bodega del Palacio Fefinanes Albarino, which I've never had before, to sip on while everyone was arriving and settling in. What a traffic stopper: this was one of those rare wines where people looked at the bottle and went "oh yeah, Albarino, I've had Albarino" but then they poured a little, tasted it, and suddenly their eyes went huge and they remarked, incredulously, "THAT'S ALBARINO?" This is a game changer, an Albarino so much better than and unlike any other any of us have had that at the end of the night and in spite of the extravaganza to follow, this wine, intended only as a thirst-quencher, was mentioned by many as a favorite of the night. Very full bodied with kiwi fruit, honeydew melon, green apple on the acidity, complex minerality, sweet cream and just a hint of malt. I don't know how you can top this. Outstanding.

2) (Marc) Chaz observed rightly that it looked like a Sake bottle with it's flashy pink and gold label, this dry pink fizzante style 2009 Ameztoi Rubentis was wine stripped down to essentials, almost more about texture than flavor (especially, unfortunately for it, since it followed the Albarino). Loved the fine pin-prick bubble. Good.

3) (Lars). First blind wine. Instantly recognizable as an older white Rioja but this is my second experience with this wine in the last few months, and it lacked the multi-faceted yellow freshness and brilliance of the other so I did not recognize it as the 1990 Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Reserva. More straw-gold in color, with a bit of incense on the nose and a rich, haunting depth on the palate and finish.

4) So now Erik leaps up and passes this big, plush, modern style Rioja around. It's another from his 'Too Big To Fail' period. It's tasty, balanced and energetic; very good, and not showing its age at all. 99 Nocedal Reserva.

5) (Warren) Wow. First sniff and we're all swooning. Here's a rush of cherries, tea, dates, spice cake, and orange essence in a package that combines the leather notes of some obvious maturity with the sweet vibrant fruit of a perfect vintage. I guessed 91 first and 82 second. Which it was, and it was perfect, the wine to beat. '82 Monticello Grand Reserva. Co-WOTN for me and everybody at my end of the table.

6) (Basi) Young and woody with a bit of olive tapenade. Good, but just quaffer level. 2005 Belezos Rioja Crianza.

7) (Lars) There's mature and then there's old, and this one quickly goes from one to the other with smokey notes in the nose and fading tea and orange on the palate. This bottle (very crumbly cork) has not held up as well as one would hope. 1978 Vina Tondonia Grand Reserva. Purchased recently, along with the white above, from a store in Berkeley.

'8) (Me) Instantly prominent notes of dill and coconut along with a striking note of cinnamon, thank god, or it might not have been interesting at all. The plummy fruit was a bit on the green side and the wine overall presented as very very traditional. (Decanted for six hours prior.) Plus, it had the luck of getting passed around just before Becky placed before each of us a dish of pork strips on black beans that had a lightly sweet and tangy sauce that loved that cinnamon thing--a lucky coincidence to be sure. I brought home the rest of the bottle to see if it improves today or tomorrow--I actually think it will. Would wait a few years before opening another if I had more. 2000 Vina Ardanza Reserva.

9) (Chaz). Marc had been waiting since the moment he sat down to pronounce "This is a travesty!" about a wine, and here came his chance. Full-bodied, layered with lush oak and exuberant blackberry and blueberry fruit plus dark chocolate. Excellent plus for the big, modern Parker style, though not to my personal tastes. 2001 Muga 'Aro', apparently the top of the line in the Torre branch of the Muga family.

10) (Me) So I blew it here thinking all the Riojas were out and put my 2001 Flor de Pingus on the table. Will admit too that I saw some alarming similarities between the Muga and what I'd tasted earlier when I decanted this wine (no sediment), and was in need of some reassurance as I own more. My fears were promptly allayed: fantastic, aromatic nose, black fruits, elegant yet very structured. It's in a tight phase--the wine, if anything, only shut down tighter during it's decanting--and has lost the sexiness it had in April last year when Oswaldo and I were rolling around on our respective carpets over it, but the potential for a return to that is obvious and huge. Excellent.

11) (Marc) OOPS--another Rioja. Fresh fennel nose, complex spices, red fruit, some maturing evident but it feels like a younger wine. A younger, special wine. I'm thinking 90's and go to '91, but it's younger. And it's the 1998 Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Reserva. Excellent now and will improve. MUST BUY THIS.

12) (Erik) Sweet, saturated, massive, must be 100% new oak, blackberry fruit, vanilla coke, hot. We are not loving this. 2006 Clio.

13) (Basi) Vitamins and hot oatmeal, or Malt-O-Meal if your name is Warren. Starchy fruit, closer to sweet potato than anything that grows on trees. I did not care for this. 2009 Damana 5.

14) (Serge) Ooh--there's a lot of leather here so Serge thinks we'll all think it's older, but I went direct to 2001 because inspite of the good secondary nuances there's actually a lot of primary fruit here. Blueberry and plum pudding, in a good way, with some healthy whole grains. Delicious. 2001 Clos Mogador Manyettes, Priorat.

15) (me) So here's my 'Other', a previously-unknown-to-me wine that I bought on Winebid about three months ago on the strength of the vintage and all the stories I've read in forums like this about all these great lasting Spanish wines from little bodegas nobody's ever heard of. I decanted it at home just before leaving for the restaurant simply to remove any sediment (there was almost none). Condition: fill just at shoulder, and the cork broke into about 82 pieces when I attempted to remove it. Scary, but fear turned into pure joy when I tasted what was in the bottle--I just crossed my fingers that it lasted once exposed. IT DID. Oh my, blackberry, coffee beans, herbs, licorice, leather and fresh sage sat beautifully on a sturdy frame of acid and silky tannins. Outstanding. Warren observed, "You could save this for your grandkids." 1970 Jean Leon Cabernet Sauvignon, Pla del Panades. Oh, and the alcohol must be noted and admired: only 12%. My other WOTN, and an opinion shared by everyone else at my end of the table.

16) (Mike) Our restaurateur served a half bottle of golden sticky: Moscatel Cor--- (can't read my writing) de Aragon Carinena. Very sweet fig and guava fruit, jammy and unctuous. A bit too much for me though it was probably lovely with the pudding, which I passed on.

[David M. Bueker]

Looks like a fantastic night. The 2000 Vina Ardanza is a really lovely wine in a similar mold to the Vina Alberdi that Oswaldo posted on recently. Pretty good value too!

Sounds wonderful, Jenise (even the ones that didn't make the cut sounded at least interesting).

Oh, and that "I Can't Read My Writing" wine---boy, do I run across that wine a lot, especially at the big tastings, usually right toward the end.

Thanks for the great post Jenise. Lovely to be able to live vicariously through you!

Fantastic tasting and notes, thank you!

I had a chance to taste some older Jean Leon wines while visiting Torres (which now either owns the label or co-distributes it or something) a few years back and there were some outstanding tastes (though I don't recall the specific wines). Little tidbit: Leon was in the restaurant business with James Dean back in the day before he returned to Barcelona and founded the winery.

-Michael

I have a couple of Leon cabs here so you really have me excited. Must check vintage eh.

Yup, 'twas a vicarious pleasure to read!

[Jenise]

Warren, sorry I didn't see your note before I posted mine or I'd have simply responded to you with my notes. All fixed now--we're merged.

Must have gotten you and Bob mixed up on the Malt-O-Meal vs. oatmeal thing. But yeah, now that you mention it, I remember the discussion about chicken pox. My mom didn't know home remedies like oatmeal back when we were afflicted with that, we just ran around naked for weeks. Or what seemed like it.

Day after report on the Flor and the Ardanza. The Flor was great. That wine could peak in 2-3 years. The Ardanza, however, was still quite taut--too much so to drink pleasurably so it awaits renewed attention tomorrow.

And a final comment: though this tasting doesn't top White Burgundy night for across the board quality, I thought the diversity of styles fantastic and more interesting than it would have been if everything were the style I love best.

The 1982 Montecillo Gran Reserva was one the best aged Riojas I've ever tried, and for me it was easily my favorite wine that night.
Just a hauntingly beautiful nose of black tea, forest floor, touch of barnyard and red fruit that reminded me of really fine aged Burgundy in the best possible way.
A Wow wine for me.

I love the Lopez de Heredia style and the 76 Tondonio GR was great at first but seemed tired after an hour or so of air.

The '98 Tondonia Reserva to me showed the big drop off between the Lopez de Heredia Gran Reserva and the regular Reserva wines. It was nice but I really don't think it will age into anything too much better then it is right now.

The Fefinanes Albarino was pure class. Great fruit but also a definite seashore saline mineral side to it. I loved it.

I wasn't thrilled with the Txakolina rose. It is fun and crisp, but almost too acidic to drink on its own. Much better with Pintxos, no doubt.

The 1990 LdH Blanco was fabulous, and kept changing throughout the night. One of the best wines with the foods, it even went with the tomato pesto soup.

I liked the La Rioja Alta Ardanza, even though the coconut American oak was the most predominant flavor.

The old Cabernet from Penedes still had some true Cabernet flavor after all those years , and was a real treat to try.

Thanks again for the fun night.

It is amazing to me that Muga can make a wine like the Aro, which is has so much new oak chocolate and extraction, and also produce a wine like Muga Prado Enea, which is much more in the the traditional style of Rioja. I guess they are versatile enough to straddle both sides of the style fence.

I just reviewed my old notes on the '81, '82, '85, and '91 Montecillo Gran Reserva. The '82 transcended the rest, consistently through the years of tastings.
Looking forward to Loire Whites in September!
Cheers,
Warren

It is amazing to me that Muga can make a wine like the Aro, which is has so much new oak chocolate and extraction, and also produce a wine like Muga Prado Enea, which is much more in the the traditional style of Rioja. I guess they are versatile enough to straddle both sides of the style fence.

Glad you mentioned that, Marc. I had almost crossed them off my list of wines to ever try again...

It is amazing to me that Muga can make a wine like the Aro, which is has so much new oak chocolate and extraction, and also produce a wine like Muga Prado Enea, which is much more in the the traditional style of Rioja. I guess they are versatile enough to straddle both sides of the style fence.

Glad you mentioned that, Marc. I had almost crossed them off my list of wines to ever try again...

The Prado Enea wine is very much worth looking for, I found some 1989s just a few years ago. The 1995 and 1998 were really nice.

I am convinced that Chaz brings these style wines just to get a rise out of me.
I do appreciate the chance to try them though, and he is being very generous to bring them because they are not inexpensive.

A minor trivia point which may or may not have been said at this interesting tasting: Clos Manyetes is two thirds carignan, which places it in a minority Priorat category, that of carignan-dominated (or varietal carignan) wines.

A minor trivia point which may or may not have been said at this interesting tasting: Clos Manyetes is two thirds carignan, which places it in a minority Priorat category, that of carignan-dominated (or varietal carignan) wines.

Victor,
You show up at the most unexpected times and place, but I for one, am always glad when you do. Wish you did so more frequently!

The '98 Tondonia Reserva to me showed the big drop off between the Lopez de Heredia Gran Reserva and the regular Reserva wines.

I'm not an expert on LdH by any means, but somehow I tend to agree with that statement.
That's a good spectrum of Spanish wines. Thanks for the TNs.

[Jenise]

Glad you mentioned that, Marc. I had almost crossed them off my list of wines to ever try again...

No need, they still make traditional wines and do that very well. Just avoid the Aro and it's little brother Torre Muga.

[Jenise]

A minor trivia point which may or may not have been said at this interesting tasting: Clos Manyetes is two thirds carignan, which places it in a minority Priorat category, that of carignan-dominated (or varietal carignan) wines.

We did not know that and in fact wondered aloud how "Manyetes" was different from straight Clos Mogador, thanks. Btw, I was hoping to include a bottle of your syrah in this tasting which I own but which are currently stuck in Seattle. I didn't have the chance to get down there to pick them up before the tasting.

[Jenise]

Little tidbit: Leon was in the restaurant business with James Dean back in the day before he returned to Barcelona and founded the winery.

-Michael

THAT James Dean?