© by Nigel Lelew • This Month Hi Mark ... thanks for having me on your show and welcome to a whole new time slot around Sunday Lunch ... a pretty good time to be talking wine I reckon! We're off in the Delta Lear jet to Spain today ... so if you've got your castanets and sombrero Mark ... lets go and explore the wines of Spain. • E Viva Espania The first thing to say is that Spain has actually come a long way in wine production in the last 15-20 years. Mark I know you won't remember this being so young, but I remember choosing wines to take along to parties ... and the only criteria was that the wine had to be cheap ... and so ... most of the bottles were Spanish! The fact was Spain mass-produced low quality wines in high volume ... cheap but not so cheerful you could say. Yes you can still find some examples of that high volume production, making wines for the bottom end of the market ... but you can also see a huge improvement in the quality of the majority of Spanish wines ... and its been brought about by investing in the latest stainless steel technology and cool fermentation techniques partly funded by EU grants and actually instigated by setting up research centres for the wine industry. Spain has made the conscious decision not to be left behind in the drive for better quality wines that's being reflected the world over. Spain hasn't quite made it yet ... it will ... but until it does Spanish wine will actually represent great value for money compared to wine from a lot of other worldwide wine producing areas that have been recognised. So what is Spanish wine all about ... I suppose you could sum it up in one word really ... Diverse. The range growing conditions is pretty immense. In the top left hand corner of Spain theres Galicia ... yes my Spanish is appalling! ... where the vineyards are watered by downpours that come in off the Atlantic. From these soggy vineyards we go to the sun baked south Mediterranean coast ... that change in conditions cannot fail to affect the wines produced. The grape varieties that appear in Spanish wine echo that theme of diversity ... theres the native Spanish grapes like Garnacha ... Spains most widely planted red grape, Tempranillo the predominant grape in Rioja, Monastrell and Carinena for the reds and Airen a plain and simple white grape, Verdejo and Viura for the whites, both of which can give different aromatic wines if treated properly ... and that's what Spain is driving for ... quality. But Spain are also planting some of the well-known international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay to put that magic word on the label ... I just hope that they can control that spread for the good of their own grape varieties ... after all variety is the spice of life. We can't leave our look at Spain without at least a mention of Spains classic wine producing area ... Rioja. Rioja is in the top right hand corner, not far from the Pyrenees. Contrary to popular belief Rioja is not just a red wine ... you can also get a white Rioja ... made from Viura and Malvasia grapes and aged in oak ... one thing you will find is that the Spanish are somewhat wedded to oak! Red Rioja is a classic wine ... traditionally a blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo, these days Tempranillo has tended to take a front seat. It the Tempranillo that gives Rioja its classic soft Stawberry flavour, mixed with vanilla from the time the wine has spent in oak ... in fact Rioja is classified by the time it has spent in oak ... a simple Crianza will have spent at least a year in oak, through Reserva to Gran Reserva which will have spent at least 2 years in oak. We're going to be tasting a Rioja later on and we'll see the soft fruit balanced by the vanilla oak ... So that really finishes our whistlestop look at Spain ... it's summed up by a country whose winemaking has come a long way and wants to be up there with the best ... but not quite getting the recognition it deserves ... so value for money can be great. Don't underestimate classic Rioja either ... if you're looking for a soft almost refreshing red with hints of oak ... look no further ... Rioja will fit the bill perfectly. The Tasting Well I have a couple of fairly similar wines for you this morning ... they're both Spanish ... naturally ... and rather unusually they're both reds ... I usually broing a red and a white along ... but no ... two reds today ... Let's take a look at the first of these ... It's a 1996 Ochoa Tempranillo. Its four years old and has spent a year in oak as well. Its pure Tempranillo that's grape that is a major part of Rioja. This wine has been made in an up and coming area called Navarra, which is leading the new Spanish approach to wine making ... so lets take a look at this one ... Colour First of all the colour ... It's a fairly deep red with a tinge of brown that comes from its age ... what always surprises me about Spanish wine is that its not actually that dense ... you can almost see through it Aroma OK swirl the wine in the glass ... theres certainly some vanilla in there from the time spent in oak ... but theres also a soft red fruit in there ... its not huge ... but it is there Taste OK Mark ... time for a taste ... now try and keep the wine in the front of your mouth and draw air across it ... it may not be the most pleasant sound ... but you'll get more taste by doing it that way ... ! First of all there's the fruit that comes through ... something like soft red fruit ... a mix between strawberry and plum maybe ... but then the next taste is very definitely a big slug of vanilla that comes from the time in oak ... and that takes over in the mouth. So that's 1996 Ochoa Tempranillo ... available from Unwins at £6.99 a vanilla fruit Spanish red with some soft fruit in there too. OK, now let's compare that with a red Rioja ... the one I've brought in this afternoon is Rioja Navajas 1995 Crianza ... so remember that fact it's a Crianza means that its spent at least a year in oak ... just like the last wine ... the difference being the wine is a blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha this time ... so we should see a little bit more spice maybe ... lets take a look ... Colour The colour in the glass is very much lighter Mark ... and its less dense too ... you can actually see through this wine ... and that always slightly un-nerves me ... but don't worry ... Aroma Give the glass a swirl ... ...and get the nose in a fresher kind of aroma ... more spice in there ... pepper may be ... and again as we saw from the last wine ... theres the vanilla from the oak again ... lets take a glug ... Taste The fruit certainly comes through more ... still soft ... strawberry maybe from the Tempranillo ... and then the vanilla from the oak comes again ... this wine is a more rounded ... more balanced wine I think though ... on the long finish the taste goes back to fruit ... I like that one ... that's Rioja Navajas 1995 Crianza from Bottoms Up, Wine Rack and Thresher at £6.99 ... if they haven't got any ask them to order some ... well worth it • Next Month Well next time we meet I'll have a real treat for you ... a little known French grape called Viognier ... that makes a great white ... full of peaches and apricots ... something different to introduce to you.
|
