Some of our most recent tastings. Photo credits: A.C.
Spring has brought a wealth of virtual tastings and some on site presentations in Madrid that we are covering in this two-part series. This final one confirms the striking diversity of wines and projects in Spain. Tastings are arranged in chronological order.
Online tastings can put you in touch with people who, under normal circumstances, would take longer to meet. I enjoyed spending some time talking to Jorge Piernas, a 33-year-old with previous experience in South Africa, California and flagship wineries in southeastern Spain like Mustiguillo and Enrique Mendoza. With the help of his family, he is now growing Monastrell at high altitude in Murcia, in Spain’s southeast. Grapes are sourced from vineyards surrounding the villages of Bullas and Cehegín at an elevation of 700 to 800 metres. The wines are bottled without any geographical indication.
Everything started with the purchase of 2.2 hectares of vines. At first, the plan was to sell the grapes to repay the investment, but when Jorge saw the quality of the fruit, he decided to start making wine. 2015 was his first vintage; production now stands at around 25,000 bottles.
Born in Alcantarilla, some 50 kilometres to the west, wine was not something new for Jorge. His grandfather used to sell it, his brother manages the family’s beverage distribution company, and his father helps him to look after the vineyards and sell the wines. As a tribute to his family Jorge produces three Monastrell wines named after his grandfather, his father and himself.
Juan Piernas 2018 is a single-vineyard red made from a low-yielding, old Monastrell clone that is fermented in open barrels. Named after his grandfather, it is a powerful, full-bodied wine with distinctive pencil lead aromas. The father’s wine, Antonio Piernas 2018, is also a single-vineyard Monastrell. It too has notable weight, but it is fruit-driven, with herbal aromas, vibrant palate and well-integrated tannins. In contrast, Jorge Piernas 2018 is lighter and fresher. It shares some herbal aromas with the father’s red but here we find black pepper, graphite aromas and lovely juiciness on the palate. Its marked, almost citrusy, acidity is striking, even in this area of vibrant reds made from Monastrell. Production is limited to around 1,700 bottles in the case of the first two wines, and just 600 for the latter. Juan Piernas costs €32,5 in Spain (find it at Vinissimus) against €25 for the other two (available at Vinateros and Bodeboca).
If you want to get a taste of the vigorous, crunchy Monastrell grown at high elevation, don’t miss Jorge’s entry-level El Banquete de Platón 2019 (9,000 bottles, €8.90 at Bodeboca). The wine was briefly aged in stainless steel tanks and oak barrels but in the 2000 vintage he used large clay vessels as was customary in the area. This wine really has punch. Think of an explosion of blackberries, blueberries and black pepper -energetic, pure and drinkable. One of the best buys we have come across recently.
An icon of innovation since Fernando Remírez de Ganuza founded it in the early 1990s, this bodega seems to be embracing the classical values. When the Urtasun family gained full ownership in 2019, the founder, rather than walking away, switched to his passion and focused on the vineyards, whilst José Ramón Urtasun took charge of marketing and strategy. One of his major goals now is to establish the brand in the fine wine market with limited releases of old vintages.
A new list is published at the beginning of the year so that wine-friendly restaurants have the chance to serve such special wines by the glass. This is the case of Berria, the new and impressive wine bar opposite the iconic Puerta de Alcalá, in central Madrid, or 67 Pall Mall in London, a wine lovers’ club where Spanish sommelier Roberto Durán has included some of them in the list. Many top restaurants in Spain also list old Remírez de Ganuza vintages, from Celler de Can Roca or Abac in Catalonia and all the leading names in the Basque Country (Arzak, Berasategi, Akelarre, Etxebarri…) to the new Four Seasons in Madrid or Marbella’s D-Wine whose wine list includes vertical tastings of top Spanish wines. On the international scene, Urtasun’s strategy has worked particularly well in China. Some wines are also listed by Cult Wines, the fine wine investment company, where Pingus and Vega Sicilia were the only Spanish producers so far.
The 2021 portfolio of mature vintages includes 35 Remírez de Ganuza wines, but the list is not restricted to the top cuvées (Reserva, Gran Reserva and Trasnocho). It also features four vintages of Fincas de Ganuza and seven of Erre Punto white, which was replaced by a more serious, oak-aged white that is currently sold as Reserva. Urtasun also announced that a white 2013 Gran Reserva will be released in June. Despite the bad reputation of that vintage in Spain (except for Mediterranean areas), Urtasun stated that it was an excellent year for whites in Rioja Alavesa.
1997 was also a poor vintage. The rain and unusually cool temperatures in the summer significantly lowered the average quality in the area. But the Remírez de Ganuza Reserva that Urtasun invited me to taste at Berria had a fine nose (dairy, sweet spices, liquorice, incense, dried flowers) and a subtle, balanced, elegant palate, with silky tannins, excellent acidity and minty notes usually found in classic riojas. With enough time, modern riojas tend to converge with the classics, but it was fantastic to see how some vintages evolve over time to challenge expectations. It makes no sense to have preconceived ideas with wine.
This was a busy day indeed, and a truly special one that took me on a journey across time. After enjoying the Remírez de Ganuza 1997, I was ready for an online tasting with Xavi Nolla, a Spanish sommelier and wine educator who has launched an extremely personal range of wines. His Vins de la Memòria (remembrance wines) trace the steps of his grandfather over one year and a half year during the Spanish Civil War. It is a poignant story as the wines represent key moments in the life of Agustín Pérez Cano, an Andalusian emigrant who settled down in Badalona, just north of Barcelona, and fought in the Battle of the Ebro. After the Republican defeat, he retreated and fled to France where he was taken to a refugee camp in Argelès-sur-Mer. The idea that stories can be bottled makes full sense in this project.
Nolla had researched his grandfather’s footsteps to fill in the gap that the family had about this period of his life -Agustín chose not to talk about those years and, being illiterate, he never wrote letters when he was on the battle front. When Nolla realised that grapes were grown in many of these places, he decided to make one wine as a tribute to his grandfather’s memory but finally ended up producing seven different cuvées. I tasted six of them (the 2018 Plomb is sold out and 2019 has not been released yet). The project is "a tribute to Agustín and to all the men and women who suffered the misfortunes of war," says Nolla, who is convinced that " remembrance is the only way to avoid our history from being repeated".
Though it was clear for him that the wines had to live up to the story, I was surprised that he prioritised historic accuracy in his choice of sites and vineyards. Traditions in terms of how wine was produced in those sites in the past were taken into consideration (most wines are fermented and/or aged in chestnut casks) and the winemaking seeks to reflect Agustín’s experiences. The itinerary of the 27th division in which Agustín was a sapper starts in Terra Alta and continues through Montblanc (Conca de Barberà), Bellmunt (Priorat), Badalona (Alella) and Argelès-sur-Mer (IGP Côte Vermeille).
The starting point is La Vall de Vinyes, a spot in Villalba dels Arcs (Tarragona) right between the Francoist and Republican trench lines. The white entry-level Labruixa 2019 (the witch, in Catalan), named after the nickname given to the 27th Division, comes from this area. Vines are grown in Terra Alta's distinctive panal soil (fossil dunes), its grapes fermented as the local brisados, with 15 days of skin contact. Also from Terra Alta, Loebre 2019, called after the Ebro river, is made from Cariñena and Garnacha Peluda grown where the Republicans’ second trench was located (the site, on the route from Villalba to Corbera d'Ebre is called Camí de Capsacades). A blanc de noirs, the Cariñena must was left to hyper-oxidate in open vats for one month to obtain the colour of a stained white -thus emulating the blood-tinged river water. Hints of red fruits on the nose and a full, rich palate that ends with a saline finish.
My favourite among the three Terra Alta wines was Lamemoria, a Garnacha Blanca that echoes the latest trench dug by Xavi’s grandfather in the area. Grapes were sourced from and old vineyard in the village of La Fatarella, one of the first planted after the war on panal soils over limestone. With 14.5% alcohol, the wine was aged in chestnut and just under 1,000 bottles were produced. The acidity is fantastic and underpins the rich, full-bodied Garnacha Blanca and its distinctive Mediterranean herb aromas.
Plom (lead in Catalan), which I was unable to taste, comes from the location of the rearguard camp in Bellmunt (Priorat). Red grapes are sourced from Camí de les Aubagues, a shaded site with distinctive slate soils. The wine is also aged in chestnut casks. There’s one more red in the range. Called Pólvora (gun powder), it is a fantastic Trepat from Conca de Barberà with lovely peppery and herbal aromas: really fresh, almost electric, and persistent. Grapes are sourced from the Pascuala ravine, another shaded vineyard where picking takes place in October. The site leads up to a masía, the traditional Catalan farmhouse where many soldiers from the Republican army found shelter.
Before fleeing to France, Agustín rejoined his family briefly in Badalona. They were hiding in a farmhouse in the mountains, now in a ruinous state but which had vineyards at the time. Elbadiu is made from the only vineyard currently grown in Badalona. Pansa Blanca (Xarel.lo) grapes are fermented with skins in traditional chestnut casks. Somewhat elusive at the beginning, the wine gradually revealed its Mediterranean character with citrus fruit hints and plenty of salinity on the palate. This is another impressive white in the portfolio and the only wine that is not organically certified. Winemaking in all cases is as simple as possible. Grapes are harvested by hand, the wines are neither clarified nor filtered and small amounts of sulfur dioxide are added.
Laplage (the beach), which evokes the refugee camp at Argelès-sur-Mer, was another of my favourite wines. It is partly a blanc de noirs Garnacha Tinta. The rest of the blend is made with Garnacha Gris fermented and aged in chestnut. The wine incorporates one part per thousand of a sweet rancio from 1939 that is not really noticeable in the final wine. Ripe white fruit and floral aromas, its excellent acidity adds great tension, juiciness and flavour to the palate. A promising wine to develop further in bottle.
All the wines tasted are from the 2019 vintage with prices ranging from €15 for La Bruixa to €40 for Plom. The full story behind these wines can be found here.
We conclude our miscellanea with a unique product that we had the chance to taste last week: the very first attempt to age an extra virgin olive oil in sherry butts. The idea has been developed by two leading, internationally renowned Andalusian companies: olive oil producer Castillo de Canena, from Jaén, and Lustau, the only winery that produces wine in its three main Sherry Triangle towns.
In an online tasting, the owners of Castillo de Canena, brothers Rosa and Francisco Vañó, explained the trial-and-error process they had followed to combine an olive juice, intended to be enjoyed in all its freshness, with traces of a very old sherry with distinctive signs of oxidation. They decided to avoid the early harvests that define their house style and use Arbequina olives picked three weeks later than usual that resulted in dried fruits notes and moderate tangy and bitter flavours. Meanwhile, Lustau chose a half butt (240 litres) of a 50-year-old amontillado which had never been bottled (it was used to refresh very old soleras) and had been aging statically in recent years. To avoid excessive micro-oxygenation that could translate into rancid notes, the ageing period was limited to just a few weeks. Once the olive oil was bottled, the cask was immediately refilled with the amontillado. As expected, there was some evaporation during the process.
The new Arbequino Amontillado, as this olive oil is called, smells and tastes unmistakably as sherry. Sherry expert and Jerez-born writer Paz Ivison, who helped throughout the process, said the damp earth, mushroom, candle and incense aromas transported her to a bodega. On the palate, the Arbequino tastes rounder and milder than expected from an extra virgin olive oil with well-defined dried fruit flavours. Its vinous character seems obvious even for profane consumers, at least in the small trial I did with my family. While my husband, who enjoys wine but cannot be described as a wine geek, picked up the sherry aroma at once, my teenage children said that it smelled like wine.
The Vañó brothers have come up with lots of pairings for their new olive oil: from salty almonds and canned fish to pâtes, cheese and even chocolate. I used the Arbequino Amontillado to add a finishing touch to a dish of pasta with fungi and it worked really well -enhancing rather than overwhelming the other ingredients. Retail price in Spain is. €16 for a 250 ml. bottle. What do you think, sherry lovers?
