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Spanish Wines: Old and New
If I start calling wines “friends”, does it make me an alcoholic or a sad psychopath?
Whatever. We are who we are.
If you love wines, what are the emotions you experience when looking at a familiar bottle? “Ahh, I know you. Of course, I remember you. Oh, we had a great time together. Remember what happened the last time we met?” Wouldn’t that be very similar to a meeting with an old friend? I’m not equating humans and bottles in any way, but emotions connect us, and good wine always solicits emotion.
What happens when you see a new wine? If something strikes your interest – label, region, producer, grape, anything – your think “yeah, I want to get to know you better”. Making new friends in the human world would work pretty much the same – but I think we better get back to talking about wines before I will dig myself too deep.
I love Spanish wines – and you are well aware of this. I’m always happy to meet old wine friends. I’m equally excited to make new acquaintances. Especially when both old and new friends are Spanish wines.
The first wine I would like to talk about… Well, speaking of friends, it is an old and wonderful friend who makes you feel uneasy at a first sight. You know the feeling when you see an old friend and you are super-happy to embrace him (or her), and then your joy is instantly blemished with the next thought of “ohhh, I promised to send him the book, and I never did”. So this Godello from Arano wines is this exact friend. I had this wine a few years ago, was blown away, promised to myself to write about it – and yet never did. Yep, that feeling.
Speaking about Spanish white wines, most people would probably think of Albarino first, followed by Rueda/Verdejo, and then probably get to white Rioja (usually made from the Viura grape). Meanwhile, Godello might be the most interesting Spanish white grape, in many instances producing white wines easily rivaling the best renditions of Chardonnay. This Godello is definitely in the group:
2020 Virgen Del Galir Pagos del Galir Godello Valdeorras DO (13.5% ABV, $21)
Light golden
Whitestone fruit and lemon
Whitestone fruit, plump, mouthfeel between Chardonnay and Roussanne, round, perfect acidity, delicious.
8+, would perfectly compete with any Chardonnay
Here comes another old friend – Bela, one of the new projects of the Rioja powerhouse CVNE in the Ribera del Duero region. I tasted the 2017 vintage of Bela 3 years ago, which gives me the “old friend” rights. There are some notable differences between 2020 and 2017 vintages – 2017 was well-drinkable almost from the get-go, and 2020 needed 3 days to become the beauty it had become. I don’t know if the oak regimen can actively contribute to such a dire difference (the 2017 vintage spent 6 months in the mix of 1-year-old French and American oak, and 2020 seems to spend 9 months in the new French oak) – but nevertheless, this is definitely the wine for the long haul.
2020 CVNE Bela Ribera del Duero DO (14.5% ABV, $18, 95% Tempranillo, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, 9 months in French Oak barrels, 3 months in the bottle)
Dark Garnet
Earthy spicy herbal nose with dark fruit undertones and a touch of tasted meat
Cherries and cherry pit, tart, focus, firm, concentrated – beautiful on the 3rd day. Day one needed time and day 2 was completely closed.
Drinkability: (day 3): 8+
Now, my most beloved wine category – Rioja.
As you know, everything in life has two sides. Rioja is my favorite wine – but on the flip side, I’m very particular about my Rioja. Despite the absolute world-class of CVNE, I never saw this Bakeder Rioja before, which to me means “proceed with caution”. It appears that this wine is a tribute to the car-free village of La Guardia. As this is a new wine for me, let me quote from the CVNE website: “Bakeder, pronounced back-aid-er, is a wine from Laguardia, a village from Rioja Alavesa. The name, “beautiful as peace” is a loose translation from the Basque language. Let the Whole World know the beauty of the fortified medieval village of Laguardia, protected by its great sierra; its solemn churches and monuments; its historic vineyards, and of course, its magnificent wines.” All my fears dissipated with the first sip:
2019 CVNE Bakeder Rioja Alavesa DOC (13.5% ABV, 100% Tempranillo, 10 months in French oak barrels)
Dark ruby
Cherries, cigar box, eucalyptus
Cherries, plums, well-integrated but present tannins, earthy, firm structure, good acidity, perfect balance. Lots and lots of pleasure.
8+, pop’n’pour the wine you don’t want to stop to drink
The last wine for today comes from the legendary Spanish producer – René Barbier from Clos Mogador in Priorat. Clos Mogador needs no introduction to wine lovers as a producer of some of the most coveted wines in the world. Com Tu, which I never had before, is a relatively new wine, commercially produced only since 2005 from 35-50 years old Garnacha vines. The wine’s name can be summarized as ” I am like you (Com tú), you are like me”, has a lot of meaning and history as a special project, so I would like to simply direct you to the Clos Mogador website to read about it.
2019 Clos Mogador Com Tu Garnatxa Negra de la Figueroa Montsant DO (14.5% ABV, 100% Garnatxa (Grenache), 18 months in a foudre)
Dark ruby
Dark ripe fruit and dark chocolate
Cherries, plums, chocolate, good acidity, sage, good balance.
8, light and pleasant on day 1
Here you are, my friends – some old and some old new “wine faces” – each delivering lots and lots of pleasure.
I wish you many pleasant encounters with friends old and new. Cheers!
Magnificent Tempranillo
Let’s start with some definitions:
Of course, you know what “magnificent” means. Still, I feel compelled to start with the definition to explain my rather overzealous title. After looking at the Merriam-Webster and Google definitions for “magnificent”, I decided to go with the one from Dictionary.com, as it perfectly underscores the emotions which I tried to express with this title.
Wine is personal. Wine solicit the emotion, but it is personal – the appeal of the liquid in the glass is first and foremost for the person who is taking a sip. Two people can have a sip of exactly the same wine and have completely opposite reactions – one might love it and the other might hate it. Thus calling the wine magnificent is personal – and it is simply the expression of the emotion one had after taking a sip of that wine.
Today Tempranillo is grown around the world. You can find delicious renditions coming from Australia, Napa Valley, Oregon, Lodi. My first Tempranillo love, however, is Rioja, and this is where it still stays. A sip of La Rioja Alta, Lopez de Heredia, CVNE, or El Coto makes everything right with the world. Same as with any other wine, Rioja can’t be taken for granted – you need to know the producer. But in the hands of the right producer, Rioja becomes … magnificent. It is the wine of exceptional beauty, it is extraordinarily fine and superb, and it is noble and sublime – exactly as the definition above says.
Of course, it is not just Rioja which makes Tempranillo a star. Ribera del Duero, located a bit more down south and central, is another source of magnificent Tempranillo wines – if you had a pleasure to try the wines from Emilio Moro, Pesquera, Vega Sicilia you know what I’m talking about. Again, in the hands of the good producers, Ribera del Duero Tempranillo is every drop magnificent.
To make this conversation about magnificent Tempranillo more practical I want to offer you my notes on a few samples of Tempranillo wines I had an opportunity to enjoy recently.
CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte del España) needs no introduction for the Tempranillo fans. Founded in 1879 (yes, this year is the 140th anniversary of CVNE) by two brothers, the CVNE is still run by the family, and today consists of 4 wineries – CVNE, Imperial, Vina Real, and Contino. However, those are the Rioja wineries and today CVNE is taking its 140 years of winemaking experience to the other regions. Here is an example for you – Bela from Ribera del Duero.
The grapes for Bela wine came from 185 acres Tempranillo vineyard, located at the altitude of 2,400 feet in the village of Villalba de Duero and planted in 2002. Here is the story behind the name of the wine and the picture on the label: “Bela’s label is a facsimile of an old CVNE label from the 1910’s. The stars represent each of the children of CVNE’s cofounder, Eusebio Real de Asúa. His brother Raimundo, the other co‐founder, had no descendants. Each star represents one of the children: Sofia, Áurea, and Ramón. Sofia was known as Bela. We descend from her.”
2017 Bela Ribera Del Duero (14% ABV, $18, 100% Tempranillo, 6 months in 1-year-old American and French oak barrels)
Dark garnet, almost black
Roasted meat, coffee, cedar box
Beautifully complex palate, black cherries, blackberries, eucalyptus, fresh, balanced.
8-, excellent wine, built for the long haul, will evolve.
Contino was the first single-vineyard Rioja created by CVNE and the owners of the Contino estate (which takes its history from the 16th century). 150 acres Lacerna vineyard in Rioja Alavesa is the source of grapes for the Contino line of wines. Here is the story behind the name: “The “contino” was the officer in charge of a guard corps of a hundred soldiers who protected the royal family “de contino” (continuously) from the times of the Catholic Monarchs onwards. According to the tradition, Saint Gregory, the patron saint of vineyards, passed through the lands of this same Rioja property, giving rise to the use of his figure in the logo of this winery, and to the use of his name for some of the plots now planted with vines.”
2012 Contino Rioja Reserva Rioja DOC (13.5% ABV, $45, 85% Tempranillo,10% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo and Garnacha, 2 years in used American and French oak plus 2 years in the bottle)
Dark garnet, almost black
Cherries, cigar box
Bright, uplifting dark fruit medley, clean acidity, a touch of minerality, velvety texture with well-integrated tannins, perfect balance
8+, delicious, lots of pleasure in every sip
Bodegas Beronia was founded in 1973 by a group of friends who fell in love with La Rioja while visiting on a holiday. The name Beronia is not random – here is the explanation: “name linked to the history of the land where the winery is found. In the 3rd Century BC the area known as Rioja today was inhabited by a celtic tribe called the ‘Berones’. They inhabited the towns of Tricio, Varea and Leiva, marking the limits of the Berones region, today La Rioja.”
Originally, the wines were produced literally by friends for the friends, without much thought of commercial sales. In 1982, Bodegas Beronia became a part of González Byass family, and at that point wines of Bodegas Beronia started to appear on the international markets.
Bodegas Beronia Rioja wines represent an intersection of tradition and modernity. While “traditional” and “modern” styles of Rioja can be a subject of great debate with a lot of wine consumed to prove the point, I would offer a very simplistic viewpoint. Tempranillo has a great affinity to the oak; the resulting Rioja wine is well influenced by the oak regimen. Traditionally, Rioja is matured in American oak casks. Modern style Rioja often uses French oak. Here is your style distinction – American oak versus French. Bodegas Beronia goes a step further than many. They create their own barrels, using both American and French oak elements in one barrel. Thus the wine is not defined by blending of the separately aged components, but instead, it is aging in the mixed environment.
Here are the notes for the two wines I was able to taste:
2015 Bodegas Beronia Crianza Rioja DOC (13.5% ABV, $14.99, 91% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano, 1% Mazuelo, 12 months in American and French oak barrels)
Dark garnet
Vanilla, plums, cedar box
Fresh dark berries, ripe cherries, tobacco, a touch of sapidity, medium-plus body, clean acidity, a touch of eucalyptus, medium-long finish
8-, the second day was better than the first. 8+ day 2 and 3
2013 Bodegas Beronia Rioja Reserva DOC (13.5% ABV, $19.99, 95% Tempranillo, 4% Graciano, 1% Mazuelo, 3 years in American and French oak barrels and in the bottle)
Dark garnet
Plums, cherries, tobacco
Dark fruit, tar, tobacco, cherries, a touch of cherry pit, bright acidity, firm texture, noticeable minerality, medium finish
8, excellent. Day 3 is more open.
No, we are not done yet. I have one more Rioja to discuss with you – from Bodegas LAN.
Bodegas LAN was founded in 1972. Here is another winery name which is not random: “A name – LAN – composed of the initials of the three provinces that make up the D.O.Ca. Rioja: Logroño (now La Rioja), Álava and Navarra.” Bodegas LAN owns about 170 acres vineyard called Viña Lanciano, which is subdivided into the 22 parcels, each with a unique microclimate. These 22 parcels are growing Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano, most of them on the 40 -60 years old vines.
Grapes for LAN Xtrème Ecológico wine come from 12.5 acres parcel of 100% organically certified Tempranillo, located at the altitude of 1,200 feet.
2015 Bodegas LAN Xtrème Ecológico Crianza Rioja DOC (14.5% ABV, $15, 100% organically-certified Tempranillo, 14 months in new French oak, 9 months in the bottle)
Dark garnet, practically black
Cherries, cedar box, eucalyptus, tobacco, open and inviting
Gorgeous, layers of dark fruit, soft but present tannins, baking spices, firm and perfectly structured, tart cherries on the finish, tannins taking over.
8+, a long haul wine, will be perfect in 10 years or longer. A total steal at a price.
Culmen is one of the top wines made by Bodegas LAN, produced only in exceptional vintages. The grapes for this wine come from 13 acres El Rincón parcel, located at the 1,500 feet altitude.
2011 Bodegas LAN Culmen Rioja Reserva DOC (13.5% ABV, $55, 88% Tempranillo, 12% Graciano, 26 months in new French oak, 20 months in the bottle)
Dark garnet with a purple hue
Red and black fruit, roasted meat, warm granite, sweet cherries, medium-plus intensity
Fresh tart succulent cherries are popping in your mouth, changing into sour cherry compote with tar, tobacco and cedar box. Delicious long finish. Lots of pleasure in every sip.
8+/9-, outstanding.
Here you go, my friends. Six delicious, or shall we say, magnificent, Tempranillo renditions. I will be happy to drink any of them again, at a moment’s notice. What do you think of Tempranillo wines? Got any favorites to share? Cheers!
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