Unexpected Spanish wine
A good friend of mine has started a new wine business and held his inaugural client tasting this week. The aim is to highlight some of the lesser know regions bordering the Mediterranean. His first batch are from Utiel-Requena near Valencia as well as couple of Greek wines. Here are my thoughts on some of the highlights
This was truly excellent and a long way from the cheap fizz you might expect to have Cava on the label. Made from chardonnay and macebeo grapes with some of the wine being oak aged before secondary fermentation, this gives it a marvellous level of complexity and a slight reductive character more usually found in top Champagne. Yet is clear and fresh with a wonderful herbaceous edge, wonderfully refreshing now, I am certain there is more to come from this wine with a little bottle age.
"The two grapes" this is pretty much the house white, 89% sauvignon blanc and some macebeo, you don't get much of the character usually appreciated with SB instead its closer to viognier in style; crisp, peachy and herbaceous.
Mylonas Savatiano from Keratea, Attica Greece £11.95
The best of the white wines on show, the savatiano grapes is at its best on Santorini where it gives lovely crisp and flinty wine. Here the wine is more rounded, full and grassy with apple acidity. It was screaming out for a plate of fresh calamari.
The reds on show where generally typical old world food wines, lighter in style than you may be used to from the new world but packed with character
Casa Don Angel Malbec 2007-08 £16.90
The odd date in the name is due to this being a blend of two vintages though it is 100% malbec and has been aged from 6-24 months in American and French oak. This is certainly not the intense black malbec that we would expect from the Argentina or even Cahors, it is surprisingly light but with bags of flavour, cherries on the tongue and cedar and leather on the nose. It has great balance and complexity, again made to accompany food.
Vera de Estenas Crianza 2007 £12.60
One of my favourites from the evening, a mixture of 45% Bobal with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Tempranillo. An excellent nose, lots of red jammy fruit with leathery notes, a mature flavour with clean fruit and a refreshing twist of rosemary, making a excellent choice with barbecue lamb.
The top wine from Chozas Carrascal, a limited edition release with a signed label. Made from 100% cabernet franc and aged from 9 months in French oak, the flavour is deep and dark with a roasted chocolate, cedar and leather balanced with black fruits. A great finish.
Las Ocho (2008) £17
As wonderful as the Cabernet F was, the star of the night was Las Ocho, "The Eight", a blend of bobal, monastrell, granacha, tempranillo, cabernet sauvigion, carbernet franc, syrah and merlot grapes all aged from upto 14 months in French oak. The wine maker has managed to bring a great deal of complexity into the blend with a wonderful level of intensity of colour, smell and flavour. The wine is still young and closed but the mouth is clean and black, with mint and leather backed up with good acidity and firm tannins. Rewarding now but I expect some wonderful layers still waiting to appear.
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