Notes from an excellent Spanish tasting (with two Portuguese interlopers)
1996 Lopez Heredia Vina Gravonia Blanco Crianza – odd nose that featured petrol-like almost Riesling notes with an overriding cheesiness. Lots of acidity, and I thought a hint of oxidation. Some liked this, others didn’t.
2006 Esporao – a white Alentejo that had a nose that was a chard ringer, full in the mouth and smooth on palate. Quite decent.
1981 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia Gran Reserva – I love these wines but rarely get to drink them. Obviously fully mature in colour and nose, with that nice old oakiness and mature fruit, good acidity, smooth and elegant. No doubt this will cruise along almost unchanged for awhile yet.
1985 Torres Mas La Plana – we always used to refer to this simply as Gran Coronas Black Label, and I still have that habit. Bell pepper in the nose gives away the cabernet. Very harmonious and with good length. No rush.
1994 Pesquera Crianza – I thought about what people would be bringing and pulled this older bottle from Alejandro, back in the 90s when they were going from one high to another year after year. These wines were just killer value at under $30 C. Lots of vanilla, dark wine, smooth initially then tightened up a bit to show the still significant tannins. No rush on this one either.
2001 Flor de Pingus – I was asked right after the tasting which wines were my favourites, and demurred answering as there were so many styles that I felt it warranted some consideration. On reflection, I’d rank this right at the top. It was dark, with fruit and bacon in the nose, decent fruit in the middle, and very good balance. In my top 3 or so.
2001 San Vicente (Rioja) – I am unfamiliar with this 100% Tempranillo wine, not having tasted it before, but I found it quite interesting. Sweet, slightly heavy nose, the entry good with a flash of sweet fruit, before the tannins clamped down on your tongue indicating that more time in the cellar is needed – but! With the main course of roast whole pig (it was rolled out and introduced to us as ‘John Swine’) the grease was cut by the tannins and all of a sudden the wine snapped into focus and recovered the fruit that the tannins had been obscuring. So there is a tip – every time you want to drink a young tannic bottle, just go out and buy a whole pig, and dig a pit in the back garden…..(of course the neighbours will probably figure that you are burying the wife…)
2005 Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses Priorat – so I was brought up on old style Priorat that you couldn’t see through, much less contemplate drinking for at least a decade, and I haven’t quite reconciled myself to this new fangled sissy style that you can actually enjoy young, but this one certainly helped persuade me. This carignano, cab, garnacha blend melded cassis, a hint of vinyl and vanilla in the nose, and was a full bodied yet the tannins were reasonably soft and it had good length. Very nice.
2001 Sot Lefriec – I’m afraid this name always strikes my funny bone – I figure it would be a great name for a winemaker or a good T shirt slogan when touring wine country. Basically a Bordeaux blend of merlot and cab with a bit (10%) carignan tossed in, it exhibited a definite cab nose and it showed huge concentration and length with a pleasant sweetness. I was quite impressed with this wine and rate it in my top few of the night.
1996 Jean Leon Gran Reserva – I’ve had several of these wines as a friend is a fan and pulls one out once in awhile. Picture a California cab made in Spain – big dark wine with cocoa cassis nose, lots of tannin, lots of acidity (that is the clue that would head you toward Iberia, perhaps, in a blind tasting) and a welcome hint of spice in the finish. Still relatively tannic and tight at 12 years, this should reward further patience. Very good.
2003 Enrique Mendoza Santa Rosa Reserva – a killer Alicante starting with a blend of cab and merlot and finishing it with syrah this time instead of carignan. Purple tannic wine with sweet fruit and a cedary hint in the noise. Needs time.
2006 Quinta do Crasto Old Vines Reserva – the other Portuguese wine and a worthy addition. I’ve been buying these wines for several years and the just keep getting better with every vintage. Intense fruit and spice in the nose, sweet and grapy in the mouth, with a sweet lengthy finish and sot tannins. This one is just getting started, but it does drink well now. I noted a tad of heat in the finish as well, though the 14.5% on the label is nothing these days.
Alvear 1927 Solera PX – raisins and walnuts in this nose, and a sweet wine that seems to finish drier than it started. Very long and smooth. Great way to end an interesting tasting.
--because though I recognized that this wine had some tannins I didn't find them initially clamping or tough at all. And of course, they melted away with the pork. Another thank you to a forum member, Matt Richman, whose recent comments on this wine ("it's in a real good place right now") persuaded me to choose this from what I had available. Your comments describe it well, and I would only add that it was more traditional than modern in style and easily recognizable as Rioja with a bit of that fruit cake spice and orange peel just around the corner. 