Jordanos Nuevas Thrilling Discoveries in the New Wines & Growing Areas of Spain
By Bernard Ledermann
Spain leads all European countries in vineyard acres planted, yet
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The fact is that Spain’s growing conditions are far from optimal: certainly the hottest and one of the most arid of the world’s wine-producing nations, it also has very poor—and sometimes barren—soil. Given such severe circumstances, it is astonishing that Spaniards can make any reputable wines at all, but they decidedly do.
Grapes flourish in three different sub-growing regions determined by the government, with the Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa considered home to the best wines. Summers, though scorching, are predictably short and the climate is generally suitable for the growing of healthy vinifera grapes. Forming the base for most red Riojas is the respected native Tempranillo (tem-prah-NEE-yo)—considered by some a cousin to Cabernet Sauvignon. When blended with the fragrant Graciano or sturdy Garnacho (Granache in French), Tempranillo-based wines of a good vintage can be brilliant and beautifully scented, with a complexity of layered fruit impressions and startling silkiness. Until recently, wine publications focused overmuch on Riojas as “Spain’s best,” but as we’ll shortly note, this is an absurd slight to the exceptional wines of several emerging production areas.
At the country’s opposite corner, about 500 magpie-miles from Rioja, is one of Spain’s largest and most storied autonomous regions, Andalusia. Boasting the popular city trio of Cadíz, Seville, and Córdoba, the region “invented” tapas, those “little dishes” over which Spaniards will pass the shank of an evening—before an 11 p.m. dinner.
Beyond the cities with their palaces, gardens, and mosques, a sixty-mile drive east of Córdoba into the tiny province of Jaen will prove rewarding. This is alpine country, where the sky-scraping Magine mountains are snow-dusted at least four months of the year and stand watch over grove upon grove of Picual olive trees which stipple ochre hillsides. As a “wine capital,” Andaluz, a Portugal-sized region, contains Jerez de la Frontera, home of fine sherries.
Sherry production is a 180-degree turn from Riojan table wines: in fermentation, sherry is born with the aid of a mysterious yeast bloom, flor. Unlike most table wines, sherry is stored with the enemy, oxygen. After fermentation, sherry is fortified with the addition of brandy and the alcohol is raised to about 18 percent; finally, a complex blending system, solera, is used to assure uniform quality of wines. That’s how Sherry happens. (If only American drinkers explored the pleasure of the drink beyond sweet Bristol creams.)
A decade ago, Spain’s wine industry lagged on several fronts—winery hardware, aging casks, vineyard re-planting, and—for lack of a better word—direction. Then the country entered the European community, the economy showed a boomlet, and drinking good wine became a glamorous pastime. Also arriving in timely fashion were large infusions of investment currency, especially from French and American wine concerns intrigued by the promise of the unpromising; that is, the difficulty of producing attractive table wines in the face of stingy natural elements.
Nowhere is the wine industry more advanced or the wine offerings more diverse than in the gigantic community of Catalonia (Cataluña in Castilian Spanish) at Spain’s northeast corner. Dramatic Barcelona, chief city of the region and home to 1.7 million citizens, has remarkable plazas, museums, and architecture.
Catalan wines originate in six different areas marked off by the government. Of these, the three best-known in the U.S. are Penedés, the Priorato, and Tarragona. Penedés, a venerable growing district with over 110-thousand acres of vines, is best known for its sparkling wines, although production of charming table wines and zesty brandies is gaining in importance. From Priorat and its steep hillside vineyards come deep, rich, and concentrated table reds, many containing a large percentage of Garnacha (Grenache) grapes in their blends. Finally, Tarragona, another ancient growing area, delivers worthy quaffers of notable value.
No longer does Spain issue rivers of simple, predictable wine; rather, expect a wide assortment of fine table and specialty wines in engaging styles and at prices lower than comparable products sourced from the rest of Europe or California. Among the best we’ve been privileged to taste over the past eight months, those imported by Jorge Ordoñez and Eric Solomon have been the brightest and most pleasing—this, despite some middling vintages in the late 1990s. A few of the Ordoñez wines have in fact reached instant stardom.
Modern Spain has an infinite supply of flavors, aromas, and sights. For a load of travel information, pull up an excellent web site at http://www.tourspain.es/ From Spain direct, wine buffs can obtain guides, routings, and maps for trips through legendary Rioja by faxing their requests to the Rioja Specific DO Regulatory Council at (34) 25-35-02. Allow six weeks for your publications.
Why not plan your new journey now, and prepare to say, Hola! España.
Recommendations
Was there ever a more satisfactory way to wash down raw oysters or salt cod than with a light Manzanilla Sherry by family-owned Emilio Lustau? Pale, crisp, and bone dry with salty edge, this fina style is just right for many types of seafood or as an aperitif. ($10)
“Cava” means cellar; it also describes Spain’s many fine sparkling wines—most done in the Champagne method. Sure to amaze you is the 1996 Marques de Gelida (Penedés, Catalonia). Lovely mineral and citrusy fruit, good effervescence and notes of lime zest on the finish. Ideal for Sunday brunches or with tapas. ($8 — ridiculous!)
An estate-bottled red, the 1997 Allende (Rioja), is 100% Tempranillo aged in French oak. Very stylish and has potential to drink like a St. Emilion from Bordeaux, given four years of cellaring. ($15)
A white wine from Rioja? You bet, and one of the best we’ve tasted from any Spanish region. It’s the 1999 H. Remondo Plácet, in a crisp Alsace style, made from Macebeo. Perfect with seafood and poultry. ($15)
If you’re a patient collector, here’s a leviathan wine to pop into the cellar for eight-ten years: H. Sas tre 1996 Reserva (Ribera del Duero). Opaque and big-boned, it offers aromas of black olives and licorice. Layered dark stone fruits and spicy oak on the palate. Brooding, massive, yet restrained. ($50)
Another vibrant red from Ribera dD, the 1995 Tinto Pesquéra Reserva, is made of 100% Tempranillo. It too is unfiltered and yields scents of violets and toasty oak on the nose and its complexity of fruit balanced by some approachable tannins shows it aspires to even greater incredibility. ($40)
From Spain’s northeast, Catalonia, two surprising entries, both located in the Priorato growing area. First, the 1998 Barranc dels Clossos. From old vine Garnacha and some Cabernet, it has a very deep purplish color with red berry fruit and brown “apple pie” spices. Already soft and quite refined. ($12)
Next, try the 1995 Rottlan Torra Reserva— it has no peers for the money. Blended from Cabernet, Grenache, and Carignan. Ripe, concentrated, and spicy. Can be cellared at least four additional years. For the adventurous drinker. (about $13)
From ancient Navarre, taste the 1997 Palácio de Otazu Crianza. Most of the grapes for this blended beauty come from a vineyard plot that dates to the 14th century. With a healthy dose of Cabernet and Merlot in the blend, it’s a firm, well-defined style with some soft tannins at the core. Drinks like an Haut-Medoc. A “must” with prime rib or game birds. ($14)
One of Tarragona’s (Catalonia’s) best producers, Joan d’Anguera, has crafted a table red, the 1996 “Finca l’Argatá”, that’s simply mouth-watering. Dark and rich with berry aromas and a rounded silky finish, it would make a solid everyday wine. Enjoy with vital comfort foods. ($12)
Finally, head for the 1998 Castizo Tinto (Madrid). It glides onto the palate with creamy raspberry notes and finishes jammily and at long length. Best with lamb or pork. A”Bernie’s Budget Buy.” ($8)
Bernie Ledermann is a professional wine taster, retailer, and educator.
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