My memories of my trip to Northern Spain are a little vague at the best of times and trying to recall them to discuss the most notable spanish wine has proven challenging. Why? Because this is a wine blog and drinking wine can sometimes limit the recall of certain events with clarity and certainty. Like a foggy morning what you see through the mists of wine and time isn't always as it seems.
It begins with an Easyjet flight into Bilbao in early Spring and an argument with the car hire company over why they do not stock the Volkswagen Golf when their booking site describes the vehicle size as 'Volkswagen Golf or equivalent'. Why not state, Ford Focus or equivalent if that's all they stock? I guess brand snobbery impacts sales. With the bags safely stowed, a two hour drive south on the snow smudged AP-86 motorway brings you to Cenicero. An odd name for a town, Cinecero means ashtray in spanish. Exit right to Elciego and arrive at the Marques de Riscal hotel. A Frank Gehry designed masterpiece of modern architecture. Slap bang in the middle of the vineyard.
The Marques de Riscal Hotel And Winery
A 5 star hotel and spa with a top notch restaurant, wine tastings, tours and spectacular views of Elciego within half a day's travel of London, what's not to like? Well it gets more fantastic and a little more hazy when you add in the Sunday bar crawl eating tapas and drinking Joven and Crianza wines with the black dressed widows of Elciego post morning Mass. Short in stature but tall in their ability to consume wine but that's another story.
Why am I telling you this? To help you understand how I was introduced to the Tempranillo grape. It has a complex history and geography when it comes to wine. Most notably known for producing Spain's most recognisable wine, Rioja. Tempranillo is Spain's most planted variety occupying pride of place in the northern and central vineyards of Rioja and Ribera del Douro. In Spain it has many names: Ull de Llebre in Penedes; Tinto Fino in Ribera del Douro; Cencibel in Valdepenas, and the lesser know Tinto Madrid, Tinto de la Rioja, Tinta del Pais and Tinto de Toro. In Portugal Tempranillo is known as Tinta Roriz (Douro) and Aragonez (Alentejo).
It is thought that Tempranillo originated in Spain although alternative histories plot the journey from Burgundy to Spain by monks on their way to Santiago de Compostela following the pilgrim route which passes through Logrono the capital city of the Rioja municipal area. It is thought that it may have derived from an ancestor of Pinot Noir. It's flavour profile is a mix between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, so the alternative history may have some truth. The grape profile itself gains a lot from what the french like to call terroir and what the rest of the world refers to as climate, soil and aspect. The early examples of Tempranillo imported to the UK in the 1970s and 1980s were most associated with oaking and in particular the gentle vanilla available from american oak barrels. Its reputation was built on the combination of the soft fruit aromas of strawberry and black plum married to the warmth of the vanilla, echoing the flavours of a ripe Pinot Noir.
Single vineyard production hasn't been a thing in Spain until the last decade or so when Vinos de Pago (VP), single estate wines, have become more popular. Previously the wines were blended from varying parcels of land from different growers, estates and areas within the appropriate Rioja DOC. So the the wine itself varies in acidity, fruit, tannin depending on the terroir of the parcel of land and the percentage of that fruit in the blend. Rioja lies south of the Sierra de Cantabria mountains at an altitude of 500m to 1000m above sea level. Heat and drought can be a problem for the growers and winemakers. It is influenced by the clay and chalk like soils which dominate the area. Clay provides body and chalk acidity in the wine. The climate is moderate-maritime, providing cooling west winds from the Atlantic ocean which helps cool the area in the summer and warm it during winter allowing the acidity in the grape to develop while keeping the sugar production down. This produces a wine with more acidity and less alcohol than wine from the more southerly located vineyards in the Meseta or to the west in Ribera del Douro.
Tempranillo has an affinity for oak. It loves to be barreled in 225 litre barricas bordelesas barrels. Brought to Spain in the 1860s by French barrel makers who were hit hard by the Phylloxera infestation which severely impacted the french wine making industry in the 19th century. The barrels were made from American oak and today the practice continues using old American oak barrels. That said, you do not obtain the usual flavours associated with American oak of vanilla with a hint of coconut. The flavours are derived from the terroir and grape profile and depend on the style of rioja being made.
Spanish wine laws can seem opaque to those who haven't studied wine. The are made up of the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and within that a hierarchy of quality standards starting with Vino de la Tierra (VdIT), Denominacion de Origen (DO), Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa) and culminating with single estate wines, Vinos de Pago (VP). In addition there is a separate classification of Rioja wine depending on how long it has been aged in barrel and bottle. For red wines the classification is:
Designation Min Ageing (mths) Min Time In Barrel (Mths)
Joven 0 0
Crianza 24 6
Reserva 36 12
Gran Reserva 60 18
So for example, a Gran Reserva will have been aged in the barrel for a minimum of 18 months before being racked into bottles and further aged for 3.5 years. Rioja invariably ages their wines for longer in both barrel and bottle depending on the winemaker and bodega producing the wine.
This brings me onto the bottle of what I think is a Tempranillo blend I tried for the first time this weekend, although with very little information on the bottle I'm making an educated guess. Trigales is labelled as a vino tinto, red wine. Based upon my tasting notes I believe it to be a Rioja in all but name. It is may not be labelled as a Tempranillo blend but that's what I think it is. Most likely Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo which is the standard for a Rioja. So why isn't it labelled as such? Well the winemaker is Carlos Rodriguez a consulting wine oenologist who makes wine for other vineyards. His grapes have been harvested from the Rioja Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa) but as he doesn't own the vineyard (or perhaps doesn't produce the wine in the DOCa) cannot use the classification on the bottle. That said it is a very good example of its type.
For the sake of simplicity and to allow comparison across wines my tasting notes rely on the Wine & Spirit Education Trust tasting framework. This provides a systematic way of assessing a wine and allows for comparison between styles and vintages. As an overall expression of the wine, the initial hit is of red fruit. Particularly of ripe red cherries and strawberries. A deeper sensation of black fruit follows with black plums. A sweetness from dried figs and the vanilla and dark chocolate mixes with spice from black pepper and cinnamon. There's also a smokiness in the glass and a whiff of a cedar cigar box underpinned by an earthy quality reminiscent of mushroom. A fairly complex set of aromas. On the palate it is a dry wine with good acidity, tannin and fruit all in good balance. The cherry, plum, fig and tobacco/smoke come through initially, with a good finish of the vanilla and dark chocolate. All-in-all a very good wine which would suit a decent steak or maybe a lamb tagine.
APPEARANCE
Clear medium ruby in colour.
NOSE
Clean medium intensity aromas.
Primary aromas
Red fruit Strawberry; Cherry;
Black fruit plum; Dried fruit fig;
Herbaceous black pepper;
Secondary aromas
Cedar; vanilla; Cinnamon; Dark chocolate/cocoa; smoke
Tertiary aromas
Earth; Mushroom; Tobacco.
The wine is fully developed.
PALATE
Dry; Medium (+) acidity; Medium (+) tannin; Medium alcohol; Medium (+) body; Medium flavour intensity
Primary flavours
Cherry; Plum; Dried fig; Tobacco.
Secondary flavours
Vanilla; Dark chocolate; Smoke
Tertiary flavours
Tobacco
FINISH
Medium (+)
CONCLUSION
Very good example of a Tempranillo blend
Drink now not suitable for further ageing
Comments
Post a Comment