Author: sharquillo

Manzanilla Monday head to head

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A chance to try a couple of these feathered friends one on one – bird vs bird, razorbill vs roller, winter v spring.

Wines from the same solera just a few months apart. It is unlikely they are from the same botas: more likely a different selection each time (there are 13,050 botas after all). I am pretty sure that they are of a similar overall age (around 10 years under flor) and have come through a similar number of classes – but would be happy to be corrected.

First impressions – nothing between them in colour terms. On the nose of the razorbill maybe slightly more of the hay bales/acetaldehide while the roller maybe has a touch more sea air but it is very marginal. They even out and get even closer as they warm in the glass.

Fresh pours now and impressions on the palate are similar – slightly more green apple on the razorbill, the roller just a little sharper, more mineral. It is really difficult to distinguish them though – such a distinctive, zingy and flavourful wine in each glass. (Looking now at the back labels and I seem to be in the majority opinion.)

What a wine this is. I love the zingy mineral spice of them both and it is so hard to choose between them. If I had to, that hair’s breadth more juice to the razorbill makes it my marginal favourite.

 

 

 

Blind tasting and more in Barcelona

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There is a lot going on these days. The problem this week is that it is all happening in Barcelona.

Cataporparejas

All kicked off yesterday with the 9th edition of Vila Viniteca’s “Cata por Parejas” (tasting in pairs). As you can imagine, it consists of the pairs being given seven wines blind (two white, three red and two “specials” such as bubbles or fortified wines) and asked to identify country, zone, cepage, vintage, maker and name, with tasting notes used as tie breakers. There are two rounds – a qualification stage and a grand final of only 10 pairs – and there is no less than €30,000 in prize money – €20,000, €7,000 and €3,000.

I have no doubt that a contest like this is the best test of wine tasting skills – the knowledge of the characteristics of wines, grapes, makers and vintages and the ability to recognize and identify them – that there is. I personally have never been much cop at blind tasting (to be fair on this blog I only talk about my fails – there have been some successes) because I just do not know enough about the wines I drink, and although recently I have notched up a few in sherries that would only have helped me – maybe – in one of the seven wines (or maybe not, some pretty good tasters up there managed to miss the Inocente, no less).

And this, although only nine years old, is about as prestigious a competition as there is in Spain – previous editions have been won by the likes of Jesus Barquin and Luis Gutierrez. This year the competition was even stiffer than ever: 130 pairs of tasters, compared to  120 in previous years, with more pairs were added given the phenomenal interest, and to judge by my twitter timeline half of Spain was up there yesterday. So frankly hats off to some of the lads for a really great result yesterday: the pair formed by Colectivo Decantado and Jimmy Bubbles bringing home 3rd place (at the first time of asking).

Then today Vila Viniteca follow it up with another brilliant event: La Musica del Vi. A biennial gathering of 180 really top class bodegas:

4Kilos • Aalto • Abadía Retuerta • Abel Mendoza • Adega Pombal A Lanzada • Alemany i Corrio • Alfredo Arribas • Allende • Alonso del Yerro • Alta Vista • Altamana • Alvaro Palacios • Alzinger • Artadi • Artazu • Astrales • Atalayas de Golbán • Batlliu de Sort • Barbeito • Belondrade • Berta • Bodega Contador • Bodegas Antídoto • Bott-Geyl • Ca N’Estruc • Cámbrico • Camino del Norte • Can Grau Vell • Can Ràfols dels Caus • Capçanes • Cara Nord • Castaño • Castell del Remei • Castillo de Monjardín • Celler Credo • Celler del Roure • Cepa 21 • Ceretto • Cérvoles • Chandon de Briailles • Château Cap de Faugères • Château Climens • Château de Laubade • Château Dereszla • Château Faugères • Château Fosse-Sèche • Château-Fuissé • Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey • Château Latour • Château Rocheyron • Clos d’Agon • Clos de Mez • Clos del Portal • Clos des Fées • Clos Erasmus • Clos Puy Arnaud • Colet-Navazos • Comando G • Còsmic • Daniel Landi • Delamotte • Descendientes de J. Palacios • Domaine Andrée • Domaine d’Eugénie • Domaine de Bellivière • Domaine de Fontbonau • Domaine de l’Ecu • Domaine de la Janasse • Domaine de Marcoux • Domaine de Montcy • Domaine de Pallus • Domaine François Chidaine • Domaine Vacheron • Domaine Zind-Humbrecht • Domaines Landron • Domaines Lupier • Dominio de Atauta • Dominio de Es • Dominio del Águila • Dominio do Bibei • Dupont • Eilan Gillan • El Escocés Volante • El Jardín de Lucía • El Perro Verde • El Regajal • El Sequé • Emilio Moro • Emilio Rojo • Enric Soler • Equipo Navazos • Espelt • Etter • Eulogio Pomares • Família Nin-Ortiz • Fenomenal • Finca Nueva • Finca Sandoval • Finca Villacreces • Guitián • Hacienda Monasterio • Hugas de Batlle • Izadi • J.J. Confuron • Jaboulet • Jiménez-Landi • Joseph Drouhin • K5 Argiñano • Kreydenweiss • L’Origan • La Locomotora • La Maison Romane • Lagar de Sabariz  • Las Rocas de San Alejandro • Le Vieux Donjon • Léopold Gourmel • Les Cousins • Llopart • Lorenzo Cachazo • Lustau • Macizo • Maculan • Màquina & Tabla • Marcel Deiss • Marie et Frédéric Chauffray • Marqués de Murrieta • Martín Faixó • Mas Alta • Mas Doix • Mas Martinet • Mas Oller • Mas Romeu • Mauro • Maurodos • Mikulski • Mineral del Montsant • Movia • Muga • Newton Johnson • Niepoort • Numanthia • Orben • Ossian • Ostatu • Pago de Carraovejas • Pagos de Híbera • Pagos de María • Paisajes • Palacios Remondo • Pardas • Passopisciaro • Pazo Barrantes • Pazo de Señoráns • Pingus • Pittacum • Portal del Montsant • Prieto Pariente • Psi • Quinta Sardonia • Rafael Palacios • Raventós i Blanc • Recaredo • Remelluri • Roberto Voerzio • Sa Forana • Salon • Sanclodio • Schloss Gobelsburg • Sei Solo • Señorío de San Vicente • Sicus • Sierra Cantabria • Sindicat La Figuera • Solabal • Sospechoso • Tardieu-Laurent • Telmo Rodríguez • Tenuta di Trinoro • Terras Gauda • Teso La Monja • Thanisch • Tomàs Cusiné • Torelló • Traslanzas • Trimbach • Uvas Felices • Venta las Vacas • Venus la Universal • Vetus • Vignoble du Rêveur • Vincent Girardin • Vins de Terrer • Viña al Lado de la Casa • Viña del Albaricoque • Viñedos de Páganos • Viñedos Sierra Cantabria • Vizcarra • Zárate.

Just imagine being stuck in the office in Madrid while your friends are tucking into that lot: it would be enough to make a lesser blogger weep.

And for those with exceptional stamina and/or time on their hands over the next few days there is  Alimentaria, a massive food industry conference including an excellent series of wine related events with the dubious moniker of Vinorum Think. The program has some really top quality tastings lead by the likes of Luis Gutierrez, Guillermo Cruz, Jose Penin (original author of one of Spain’s leading wine guides), Andres Proensa (original author of the other one), and Victor de la Serna and Juancho Asenjo of ElMundoVino. There are some pretty good sherries in amongst them (including El Cerro, beloved of this parish), although the highlight would surely be the masterclass by Cesar Saldaña and Jesus Barquin on Tuesday evening – just look at that lineup of sherries.

 

 

 

Angelita, Madrid

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Behold the quite magnificent list of wines by the glass on offer in Angelita Madrid – the brilliant new restaurant, wine bar and american bar at Calle Reina 4. It is the new project of the Villalon brothers – a great couple of guys who are seriously knowledgeable about all things alcoholic (if you think the winelist is impressive, you should see the hard liquor these guys have).

It must be said that that is a great range of sherries and manzanillas by the glass with ten quality wines covering all bases. The even longer list of bottles had more than 30 references including some absolute gems. (What is more, looking around last night I could see a lot of these wines in action: at one point I counted five tables drinking sherries not including me.)

We took advantage and had glasses of Arroyuelo en Rama (which was brilliant – from September 2015), Panesa, Villapanes and 2014 Pandorga, and we also had a quite sensational bottle of nine year old Do Ferreiro Cepas Velhas – which seemed young and just got better and better, and an even more amazing 40 year old Barbaresco which was smooth but structured and full of spice.

There is no doubt that it is a serious destination for wine – there were a lot of familiar faces and we were fortunate enough to bump into one of Spain’s great new winemakers – and the food was cracking too. I couldn’t fault anything that we had, from sweetbreads to dessert, although the the octopus on a puree of cauliflower was exceptionally tasty. We didn’t get around to making use of the american bar facilities this time but the sofas look dangerous and it will surely not be long before we come back and close the place.

Cracking wine, good food, great people, all adds up to good times.

(June 3 update: Have now made use of the bar facilities and I can tell you they are absolutely first class. The Whiskey Sour was simply the best I can remember.)

(June 6 update: Wanted to post to this magnificent article/interview of David Villalon by Jose Carlos Capel in el Pais – in which David gives a magnificent example of what these guys are all about (in Spanish)).

 

Fino Coquinero

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This is pretty intriguing – have seen it a lot on twitter lately and picked it up this week to have a go myself. It also has a pretty interesting profile as you can see on its ficha – a fino amontillado with four and a half years under the flor and two in the open air at a pretty punchy 17 degrees. (Although the ficha doesn’t say so I am assuming we are talking a fino del Puerto.)

Just looking at it you could mistake it for an older fino – a darker shade of gold and very very clear – like a sort of gold alpine see. At first I find the nose slightly tinny – but it is opening out a little and the apple and nuts of the ficha are there alright. Tasting it I find it very zingy on the tongue, full of minerals and quite punchy, and then the nuts again in the aftertaste, but a kind of refined seaside bitterness, then quite a long smooth, nutty finish.

Punchy and pretty tasty.

 

 

 

Reasons to be cheerful

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El Corregidor

A lot has been written about the resurgence of the wines of Jerez and Sanlucar (revolution, resurrection, rebirth, reboot, yadda yadda) and some are concerned that it may all turn into hubristic triumphalism, that cracks will be papered over and an opportunity for the region’s wines to return to greatness lost. For my part, and all joking aside, I take a lot of encouragement from what I see going on, and I am really optimistic for a number of reasons.

First, because of the role that some really quality, interesting wines have played. Equipo Navazos and top bodegas like Emilio Hidalgo, Tradicion and Fernando de Castilla, amongst others, have put the wines of Jerez back at the top of the rankings and have convinced, even educated, wine enthusiasts to think of them like wines. The very largest bodegas and groups deserve significant credit too, with some great collections and series: Gonzalez Byass with their Tio Pepe en Rama, Palmas and VORS ranges; Barbadillo’s Solear en Rama and the Reliquias; and Lustau’s Coleccion Almacenistas; amongst others. Even if volume sales decline the quality of wines on offer is probably higher than at any time in recent years, and that can only be positive.

Second, due to the involvement of top class restaurants, sommeliers and even chefs. I strongly believe that the sustainable future of these wines is in the middle of the dinner table (and preferably during the main course). As such, it is great to see people like Pitu Roca, Guillermo Cruz, Juan Ruiz Henestrosa and David Robledo speaking in public in defense of the wines of Jerez and Sanlucar, and even better to try some of the pairings they come up with. In general there is a growing presence of wines from the region in quality restaurants and a growing quality of the restaurants with strong selections of wines from the region. Closest to home in Madrid, places like Surtopia, Taberna Palo Cortado, Taberna Verdejo,  la Chula de Chamberi, the Restaurante Vinoteca Garcia de la Navarra, Asturianos and others are far, far, more than just “sherry bars”: these are high class restaurants with cuisine that matches the quality of their wine lists.

Third, based on the apparent interest in really learning about the wines. I mentioned in my more light hearted piece on Monday the courses of tastings being run by Enoteca Barolo and Taberna Palo Cortado: even if the 80 odd people that have signed up were already enthusiasts (and I would be one of them if I had the chance) it is surely a positive sign that they are keen to pay for multi-session courses and learn more. In a similar vein, I take great heart from the fact that the most read post on my blog was the post collecting blog entries concerning terroir and the quality of the reading available in general.

Fourth, I believe that innovations like Equipo Navazos Magic Numbers, Sacristia AB’s selected bottlings, the proliferation of dated sacas of en ramas and other wines and the increased prominence of vintages can help by giving critics and consumers a reason to keep trying and writing about these wines and collectors a reason to keep collecting them. (I also think just having that date, that year on the bottle helps reinforce the idea that these are wines like any other.) For the same reason, I am also encouraged by the quality of the “mostos” and still table wines being made from palomino – UBE, 30 del Cuadrado, la Charanga, Viña Matalian, the Florpowers, Navazos Niepoort – a growing list of wines with real potential. Apart from anything else, in the long term new, young wines must be the key: we live in an age of tremendous opportunity for the fans of the older wines, but it will not be sustainable in the long term to be releasing 40 year old vintages.

Most importantly, I am optimistic thanks to the young winemakers that are pushing at the boundaries and asking the important questions. I have written about them repeatedly but I cannot speak too highly of Ramiro Ibañez, Willy Perez and their ilk. Projects like the Pitijopos, the Manzanilla de Añada, Encrucijado, the Barajuela Fino and Oloroso, are just fantastic – as are things like the Williams Coleccion Añadas and Manifesto 119. Not just for the quality of the wines themselves, but due to the thinking behind them, the techniques and ideas being explored that are not just novelty for novelty’s sake, but historic strengths of the region, the terroir and the palomino. While the volumes may be small (the irony sometimes is that the lovely wines they make are sold out even before they reach the ears of the public) their influence is huge (in no small measure due to the efforts of guys like Armando Guerra) and in my view wholly positive. I seriously hope one day to be at the unveiling of a statue or something to these guys.

 

 

Don PX 2008

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This is the kind of sweet wine that I struggle with – there is fruit there in the nose but on the palate it is sugar heavy and sticky. Above all heavy – just seems to have a syrupy profile and texture that I find hard to deal with. It is incredibly rich stuff, no doubt, and maybe it just isn’t a good fit for a man of my ascetic tastes. 

Oloroso Terry

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Saw this recommended by Soliciting Flavours and then by Juancho Asenjo and thought I ought to give it a shot. Picked up a bottle instanter in Bodega Santa Cecilia and, after a short hiatus caused by a headcold, here we are.

A very decent, tasty oloroso. A rich brown in colour and not quite crystaline – ever so slightly turbid. Old barrel and spices on the nose, and old barrel and spices on the palate too – bit of acidity to it. Not high in fruit or juice but plenty of tang and a nice smokey finish too. Enjoyed it more with some pasta – just helped it a little.

Not as big and generous in profile as some but very nice and a great option on the dinner table.

Sherry fever

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IMG_6300

A lot has been written about sherry’s current remake of the Miles Davis classic “birth of the cool“, but whether you want to call it a revolution, resurrection, second coming or involution, whether you want to celebrate the sudden interest, mock the herd mentality, or just point out that the really cool people were into it before it was popular, there is no doubt there is a lot going on.

El Petit Celler had a big event in Barcelona just a few weeks ago, Lavinia raised the curtain socially in Madrid with their sherry palooza a couple of weeks ago, and now this week in Valencia is the Sherryfest itself. Tonight in Enoteca Barolo they will be starting their epic course of 11 classes (of over 2 hours each) dedicated to the wines of Jerez and Manzanilla (they tell me they have sold out the course twice over). Taberna Palo Cortado are in on the act too: last week the great Montse Molina hosted a tasting there and they are due to start their own four session course of tastings lead by Paco del Castillo. More generally, there are tastings and events happening all over town – tonight in Mares Vinos you can try the wines of Bodegas Tradicion, for example. There are new wines knocking around. Recent releases include the new Tio Pepe en Rama and Palmas series, the new Solear en Rama, the Williams Añadas, Equipo Navazos‘ 10 year anniversary release, even an eight grand blockbuster from Barbadillo, and more generally of course there are new and exciting things happening of all shapes and sizes. The blogosphere is on fire with it all: Colectivo Decantado tasted an Inocente and laid down the ground rules for lasting peace in the middle East, Rooster Cogburn have talked of including 60 pages on sherry in their next issue. Coincidentally, Luis G and his minions are also beavering away on a macro-reportage on the state of the sherry and manzanilla nation. Even the mainstream press have woken up to sherry: a fortnight ago El Pais Semanal ended years of silence with a reportage, this week they have followed up with a nice little snapshot of La Panesa, and Andrew Jefford at Decanter just can’t stay away. (The real experts at elmundovino have of course been putting out some cracking stuff all along, but that isn’t news so sorry chaps.)

I am almost certainly forgetting loads of action but you get the picture: it is sherry a go go around here. Exciting times to be alive and interested in sherries in Spain. (Even this blog is into double figures in readership, not counting my immediate family.)

 

 

Moscatel Oro Los Cuartillos

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My mother in law enjoys her moscatel so I thought I would treat her to a good one for a change. This is by Primitivo Collantes, one of my favourite makers, and it is really highly rated by the guys on my tweet stream so I was intrigued to taste it too. They are the owners of Finca Matalian and this is yet another wine from that little corner of rich earth. 

It really is good. Rich and lush but has a bit of mineral bite, muscle. Citric sweet and savoury aromas on the nose then a nice citrus freshness, followed by the syrupy sugary moscatel but real minerals underneath. To be honest these sweet wines are not really my bag but this has a nice bit of acidity and minerals – and maybe a bit of alcohol heat – which give it a real character.

And more importantly my mother in law seems to like it too: result.  

Williams Coleccion Añadas

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This is a fantastic project by Williams & Humbert featuring six añadas wines from the 2003, 2009 and 2012 vintages – finos and olorosos for 2009 and 2012 but for 2003 an oloroso and an amontillado. I was able to get my hands on one of a small number of cases through Coalla Gourmet a little while ago now but haven’t yet had an opportunity to taste them all together.

Really looking forward to doing so however. So far I have come across the 2009 Fino and the 2009 Oloroso in the wild and they have been really impressive. Before that, of course, Williams was responsible for the brilliant 2006 Vintage Fino (tasted not once, or twice, but three times – the third against a really high quality solera fino) and is also the home of the redoubtable 9 year old el Pando, amongst others.