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With growth in global wine sales
waning, Spanish wine makers have introduced better quality and
more attractive pricing to woo customers.
Increasingly sophisticated wine drinkers are becoming
better versed in varietals like tempranillo, garnacha and
verdejo from regions like Galicia, Valencia, Catalonia and
Aragon.
Spain’s sparkling cavas are gaining on Italy’s proseccos,
and the popularity of tapas bars outside Spain has led to a new
interest in the fizzy, low alcohol Basque wine called txakoli.
Still, Spanish white wines have not achieved critical parity
with the country’s reds.
At the new Spanish brasserie Manzanilla in New York, where
a rose txacoli is poured by the glass, “a good chunk of our
guests tell me they know little or nothing about Spanish wine,”
says the restaurant’s wine director, Rick Pitcher, who stocks
about 125 Spanish wines. “I then generally point them to
lighter wines with high acid that are more versatile with our
food, because there is so much sharing of dishes comprised of
seafood and meats. For the reds I favor the wines from cooler
climates like Galicia.”
Spanish wines also offer an array of older vintages that
give perspective to how well these wines age. That’s quite a
change from 20 years ago, when so many Spanish wines consisted
of blends of various vintages.
Summer Suggestions
Here are several Spanish red wines I’ve been enjoying
recently and plan to drink through spring and summer.
Luis Canas Crianza 2008 ($15)
A red crianza from Rioja must spend at least 12 months in
oak and not be sold until its third year, which allows for
mellowing before release. Five percent garnacha added to 95
percent tempranillo with a spark of bright fruit helps balance
the tannins, while the acids that make this Rioja Alavesa wine
wholly pleasurable to drink with anything on the grill this
summer.
Vinedos Valderiz Ribera del Duero ($34)
Bodegas y Valderiz’s Esteban family prides itself on its
commitment to ecological and biodynamic processes. Their
Juegabolos vineyard has a complex soil structure with a
limestone bottom. It gives their Barricas Seleccionada 2006
estate wine, made from 100 percent tempranillo, a rich
minerality.
Today it costs $34, down from $75 a bottle a couple of
years ago. For something bolder, though with a little less
finesse, the 2004 Valderiz Ribera del Duero is a real delight,
so good with pork and beef, and a good buy for such a well-balanced a red wine of its age.
Bodegas J.C. Conde Vivir Vinos de Fabula Vivir 2007 ($14)
On the first sip, this Ribera del Duero from 100 percent
tempranillo doesn’t reveal much, and the acids are weak. But for
$14 and at 14 percent alcohol, it is the kind of wine you pack
into a picnic basket with a loaf of country bread, cold chicken
and cole slaw. The vines date back as much as 60 years in the
Burgos district, and the wine is aged 10 months in tanks.
Alta Banderas A10 Crianza 2008 ($16)
A wine that reveals many layers of dark cherry and toasted
caramel notes, it spent more than 16 months in French and
American oak. At 14 percent alcohol the taste is rich without
being cloying.
Dominio de Atauta 2008 ($34)
This tempranillo is not filtered, which explains the dark
color, rustic style and excellent acidity to cut through the
durable tannins, for which the tempranillo grape is justly
admired. It has a great deal of ripe berries, and surprisingly,
after only four years, needs decanting because a lot of sediment
has gathered in the bottle.
Xavier Flouret Pavo Real Crianza 2005 ($20)
Winemaker Nuria Pena Albillo has given this winery from the
1920s a boost in reputation, but you’ll have to be patient. I
found the 2005 still very tannic and not yet giving up its
mellow fruit. The label says it should be drunk “now and up to
10 years,” and I’d suggest waiting the full decade for this
wine to mature.
It’s high alcohol (14.5 percent), and is made in a style
typical among young Spanish winemakers aiming to compete with
the big reds from California and South America.
(John Mariani writes about wine for Muse, the arts and
culture section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are
his own.)
Muse highlights include James Clash on an auction of lunar
artifacts.
To contact the writer of this column:
John Mariani at john@johnmariani.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this column:
Manuela Hoelterhoff at
mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
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