Category: Spain

Meeting Alvaro Palacios

Alvaro Palacios 

Sponsored by Woodman Wine and Spirits, the latest WineAlign event featured the wines of Spanish winemaker, Alvaro Palacios. The evening was held at the Spoke Club, located in the trendy downtown Toronto King West district.

The flight – get ready!

This was a more formal structured tasting of ten wines from three regions of Spain, followed by a tapas reception. We were in for a treat because Alvaro himself conducted the tasting. He kept all of us eager vinophiles engaged as he explained, in great detail, the wine history of Spain and his journey towards becoming a winemaker. Afterward, the reception provided an opportunity to meet the charming winemaker and other WineAlign members. While chatting with Alvaro, I discovered that he and I share an affinity for wine books (mine is really an obsession). Being the wine-book nerd that I am, I lugged my most recent purchase to the tasting and had him sign it. He gladly did with a sparkly silver marker. By the end of the night I found him sitting at a table flipping through the book admiring the pictures. Ah wine books…I just love them! If only I had time to read them all. In the meantime, they look very scholarly sitting on my bookshelf…

The Yummy Grape meets
Alvaro Palacios, one of Spain’s most
respected winemakers

If you want to read more about the event,
David Lawrason and John Szabo have a great article: blog.winealign.com/tag/alvaro-palacios

David Lawrason of WineAlign
introducing the wines of
Alvaro Palacios

After studying oenology in Bordeaux, and training under Jean-Pierre Moueix at the renowned Chateau Petrus, Alvaro returned to Spain and helped revolutionize Spanish wine.  He credits his experience in Bordeaux for much of his winemaking philosophy.  It showed him the “importance of great wines” and provided him with a key reference point for his own endeavours.  His wines have won him cult status and are highly respected by the wine press.  The Wine Spectator has called Alvaro “Spain’s Most Exciting Winemaker”, in 2003 Wine & Spirits Magazine named him their “Winemaker-of-the-Year” Decanter has called him “Spain’s most talked about winemaker”. – http://www.woodmanwineandspirits.com

Alvaro Palacios
http://www.winesfromspain.com

About Alvaro Palacios on the Decanter website:

Rioja
us.riojawine.com

Rioja
From the influence of the Romans thousands of years ago to the innovations brought by Bordeaux, present day Rioja is the region most synonymous with Spain. Here, the Tempranillo grape is king of the reds and Virua exists as queen of the whites.


Priorat
http://www.online.wsj.com
Alvaro Palacios
Camins del Priorat

Priorat
This region become famous only recently. Old vines and steep terraces not only give way to picturesque views but the wines, modernized and re-invigorated by a group of young winemakers a couple of decades ago, are now highly sought after. Red wines are Grenache-based and often blended with Carignan. The use of international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon is often used as well in blending.

Alvaro Palacios, son of the Rioja family of the same name, was the most successful one of a group of pioneers who planted vines on the inhospitable slopes around Gratallops in the late 1980s.
In doing so, he helped to change the perception of Priorat’s wines forever. – Eyewitness Companions “Wines of the World”



Bierzo
http://www.winesfromspain.com

Bierzo
Situated in the northwestern part of Spain, this is one of the hot upcoming regions. The rugged landscape and high elevation suit the red Mencia grape which is often found on very old vines.


This wine comes through
Vintages so keep
an eye out

Wine Spectator Top 100 Most Exciting Wines of 2011 #26 
Petalos 2009

Alvaro Palacios built his legend on the stunning wines he has crafted from the farthest reaches of Spain, from Priorat to Bierzo. Palacios’ latest project features another rising star — the obscure Mencía grape. In the Bierzo appellation, perched in the Northwest corner of Spain, ancient Mencía vineyards emerge from the steepest of hillsides, their roots deeply set into unique, mineral-laden soils. Under the skilled hands of Palacios and his nephew, Ricardo Perez Palacios, the forgotten black grape (believed by some to be a cousin of Cabernet Franc), has achieved new heights. The 60- to 100 year-old vines yield less than one ton per acre, resulting in a most concentrated, unique expression of this variety and of the Bierzo terroir. – www.woodmanwinesandspirits.com




http://www.winealign.com

I urge you to join WineAlign. With excellent reviews by both critics and consumers, it’s a one-stop resource for all present and past wines at the LCBO. Plus the articles and videos are cool too! www.winealign.com

             Me encanta el vino!

Check out the great portfolio of Woodman Wines and Spirits, including the wines of Alvaro Palacios: www.woodmanwinesandspirits.com

“Meet the Winemaker” on the DebraMasterofWine YouTube channel
This episode features Alvaro Palacios 
Video about Alvaro Palacios and Priorat
Worth watching for the ariel shots (in Spanish)

Be mine…you lovely wine!

Happy Valentine’s Day from me to all of you! May your day be filled with wine-y goodness! I thought I’d take this moment to post some delicious finds for you this week. This recent Vintages release featured some yummy wines for the money. I think there’s something for every taste here.

This Vintages LCBO release featured California Cabs. This wine is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot with some Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.   This wine showed ripe blueberry, chocolate, plum and violet. It’s dry with soft, integrated tannins. It’s a bit hot on the finish but other than that, it’s well-balanced. At this price point, there is a lot to savour!

Dry Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $24.95
Sonoma County USA

I wanted to try something different and I found it with this one. I’m a huge fan of Greek wines. This grape variety is called Moschofilero. Not too high in alcohol, it’s dry, very aromatic with lively lemon zest. It’s tart with a good finish. I liked it!

Tselepos Moschofilero Mantinia 2010 $16.95
Greece


This lovely Shiraz had a great deep purple colour. It was spicy with lots of berry and licorice with slight vegetative flavours. It had great structure with nothing really jumping out to overpower along with a long delicious finish. I’m not one to normally drink Australian Shiraz but I would drink this one. I trust the wines from Plunkett Fowles. Not only is the quality there but it comes at an affordable price.

Plunkett Fowles Stone Dwellers Shiraz 2008 $19.95
Victoria, Australia

I’m in love! This Tempranillo will surely lure you into the boudoir this Valentine’s Day. With it’s silky sultry smoothness, it’s a typical Rioja. Wonderful nose with vanilla, chocolate and sweet ripe fruit. It’s medium bodied so don’t expect a macho-macho wine.

Finca Nueva Reserva 2004 $19.95
Rioja, Spain

I have some excellent news to share with you! Remember that tasting challenge that I participated in just before the holidays?

www.theyummygrape.com/2011/11/tasting-blindly-through-sea-of-wine.html

I came in 3rd place in the Amateur division! How about that. I didn’t think I did well at all. It was a tough competition. Time to practice for next year! The award ceremony will be April 17th at the oh-so- cool 99 Sudbury. Looking forward to it!

A nice reward

After a great workout on the ice and nicely centered scratch spin, I decided to reward myself. I went to the Summerhill Tasting Tower to see what was on the menu tonight. To my delight they had some new wines to taste!

Milton Vineyard Te Arai Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2007 (new zealand) $21.95
A wonderful expression of this grape variety. I just love the Chenin Blanc grape. You see many wines coming out of South Africa but New Zlealand has some great wines made from this variety also. This is one of them. It was delicious. I was introduced to this wine producer at the New Zealand Wine Fair last year. They make some fantastic wines from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay to Viognier.  On the website, it says that this wine is certified organic. This means that the everything from the growing, processing and bottling of the wine was made using non-toxic/chemical methods. A white wine with great vibrant fruit and good acidity, it’ll be a hit at your next spring soirée.

Finca Sobreno Crianza 2006 (spain) $17.95
I really enjoyed this wine this evening. It was much better than I expected only because a product consultant at my local LCBO had me try this wine last week from a bottle that had something horribly with it. Bleh. It was awful. It was a good exercise to try a corked wine. When I tried this wine tonight, I loved it. There was nothing corked about it.  It was smooth with an enjoyable finish. I loved the aroma. Having been aged in older casks of American oak for seven months, it had a really fragrant nose of black fruit and cedar. This wine comes from the Toro region of Spain. It’s made with the grape variety Tinta do Toro, which is another way of saying Tempranillo.

More spring sippers…

Going through this release of Vintages featuring Spain, I was so happy to see one of my favourite whites to come through again. When you think of Spanish wines, you’d probably think of only red wine but Spain has some amazing white wines to offer as well. The first two wines below were one of the first ones posted on the yummygrape.com when the blog was first created. I’m going to post them here again because they’re just that yummy! 
This is one of my favourite whites at this price point. It’s just fabulous! Always a crowd pleaser.  It’s crisp, dry with lots of pear and floral notes. What I love most about this wine is the texture. It’s very smooth and almost creamy. It leaves your mouth feeling alive and fresh! Ok, maybe I went to far with the “alive” part. I will definitely stock up on this wine for the up-coming summer months. The Albarino grape variety thrives in Northwestern Spain in the region called Rias Baixas. The Albarino grape likes the cooler, wetter conditions.  Being that Rias Baixas is influenced by the Atlantic ocean, the location seems ideal for this grape.

This is always a wine that I enjoy. I’m happy to see it back at Vintages! I always enjoy the Tempranillo-dominant wines from the Rioja region. Made 80% from the Tempranillo grape variety (other varieties are Mouvedre and Grenache), this wine has lots of black plum, licorice and smoke (from aging for 1 year in both American and French oak). Reserva means that this wine has seen some extra aging. It has spent an additional time aging in the bottle before being released. The website says an additional 24 months! In total, this wine was already 3 years old by the time it hit the store shelves. It’s a wonderful Spanish wine for just under $20. Be careful, it’s just too easy drink.

Aveleda Vinho Verde Fonte (Portugal) $7.95
This white wine is from Portugal. It was being sampled at the Summerhill LCBO along with roasted halibut fish with artichokes and lemon (are you salivating yet?). Made from the Portuguese grape variety Vinho Verde, this wine was fresh and very fruity. You can’t go wrong with this wine for this price. Enjoy it with seafood or as an aperitif.

Tasting Notes – Sept. 24, 2009

It’s a quiet Thursday evening. It’s nice to have those once in a while. Now, if it were an exciting TV night, I wouldn’t be typing this. I’ve tried some interesting wines this week. The following wines are from Ontario, except for the last, with it being from Spain.

Oak Heights 2007 Chardonnay $14.95
I’ve never heard of this winery before so I was curious. I was pleasantly surprised! The picture here is of the 2006 vintage. I tried the 2007. This is a small boutique winery called Oak Heights Estate Winery located in Northumberland County in Ontario (approx. 1 hour East of Toronto). This wine had subtle oak flavour and the fruit is actually sourced from the Niagara region. Interestingly enough, this winery uses Canadian oak only for their oak-aged wines. For the money, this is a nice wine.

Malivoire 2007 Gamay $17.95
I always enjoy the Gamay from Malivoire. The winemaker’s name is Shiraz (yes, that’s his real name). He’s a nice guy (with good taste in music, well, likes my kind of music) and his wines are delicious. This Gamay won’t disappoint. Serve it slightly chilled for maximum enjoyment. If I’m ever out on the town and see this wine on the menu, I order it.

Hidden Bench 2007 Chardonnay $35.20
A bit on the pricer side of the scale, this Chardonnay packs a big oak y punch. If you like your Chardonnays in a more California style, with big oak flavour, then you’ll enjoy this wine.

Mas Estela Quindals 2005 $19.95
Sorry for the small picture! This is one of the “Wines of the Month” at the LCBO. It comes from the Empordà region of Spain. This wine is a blend of 90% Grenache (Garnacha in Spanish), 5% Syrah and 5% Carignan (Carinena in Spanish). Aged in French oak for a year, this wine has good fruit and body with spicy flavours. It says in the tasting notes that the wine will still open up for another 2-3 years and drink well into 2020! Now that $20 will go a long way.

I try not to get hung up on scores because what may be one person’s 90, may be another person’s 80. I find myself sometimes saying “Wow, 90+…should be great”, only to be disapointed because my palate is different than the person who scored the wine. We can all agree upon which wines have fault or which wines may have more fruit or even perhaps complexity but when it comes to something you like or don’t like – each person is different. Things would get pretty boring if we all loved and disliked the same wines. Before getting caught up in the hype, try one bottle and see if you like it. If you have the chance to try before you buy (for example, Summerhill LCBO Tasting Tour), even better. That’s my little rant for the evening. Time for Seinfeld.