Back from Spain

[Claudius2]

Folks
We just blew in from Madrid after a trip thru France then Spain. Still jet lagged and exhausted after a 7 am flight from Madrid to Munich and then arriving at 7.30am in Singapore thus effectively missing two nights sleep. Okay I’m getting old - the local govt rub it in by refusing to renew my driving Licence without extensive medical exams and next time I’ll have to do a practical test too. The fact I had a racing Licence for years clearly does not count.

I can’t count how many Riojas and Riberas I consumed plus a few Galician whites (Albarino), a few Toros and Penedes reds. plus some house wine from nowhere of note that were surprisingly drinkable given they were poured out of jugs and carafes.

My view of Spanish wines is that they really offer good value though rarely hit the highs of the best wines from France. I wonder where else in the world red wine is as good at low prices. A few Euro5 wines were surprisingly good with hearty Spanish food. I have to say that when Crianza is handed out as part of a set menu, my expectations are hardly high but seriously, some were very good and I would not have complained had they been medium priced.

Drank two vintages of Muga Prado Enea and I really like the style. 2009 was better than 2006 but not sure about the provenance of the 2006.

If there is an odd character here it is that more expensive reds are now sometimes too oaky. I drank a few bottles of Condado de Haza 2018 and 2019 and they are becoming too oaky. I often bought this wine in Australia numerous times in the 90s and 00s and never recalled such overt vanilla oak before. Alc also weighed in at 14.5-15% and this is not a trend I support. Further, a few other wines were too overtly sweet for me. I suppose the modernists have the support of many critics.

A Spanish friend loves Priorat wines but now hates the critics and wine writers who have talked up the prices. Pingus does seem to deserve its status but not sure about the price now. A few medium priced Priorats were very good at their price points but not sure the top wines really do it for me compared to Bordeaux or Burgundy at the same prices.

Historically Spanish whites have never done much for me but Galician Albarino and blends does do well with Turbot, Hake and Monkfish. Okay I miss white Burgundy when I don’t drink it for a while but I did appreciate the Galician wines. I just wish I could get fish like that in Singapore.

A strange trend is grotesque or unusual labels - skeletons and deformed people just don’t impress me and this isn’t a trend I want to see continue. The locals say it is about getting noticed - as a marketer I get that but I am not drinking wine with labels like that.

The real advantage of Spain is value. The expensive wines are generally very good but the lesser priced wines from good producers are often outstanding at their prices points.

Few good Spanish wines are available here which is a pity. We get Muga at least though at twice the local price and mainly Rioja.

Cheers
Mark

[AKR]

Great overview. I buy Rioja Reservas and GR's in the bigger vintages and they cellar well. I've timidly explored other DO's and feel like they are often produced to 'win' panel contests. There is a huge co-op that makes a widely available garnacha, Tres Picos, which is a good choice when traveling, and one doesn't have access to their own holdings. In the US, there is a sameness to many retailers Spanish selections, often just repeating the same Jose Ordonez or Eric Solomon imports. K&L direct imports many themselves, and avoids that issue, but one won't have the most widely known critics to lean on when choosing.

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I'm not overly TCA sensitive, but my taint issues with Spanish wines are far higher than any other region, and they might only be 10-15% of my consumption.

PS: fans of Spanish wine and food might want to look at this book.
https://www.wineberserkers.com/t/book-r ... 007/177831

[Nicklasss]

Nice quick report Claudius.

Fan of Mencia grape/Bierzo wines i am. You tried good one while there?

[hautbrionlover]

I like Bierzos too
One of my favorite crowd-pleasers and high QPR wines is Petalos

[Claudius2]

Arv
last day we were in Madrid, we drank 2018 Monticillo Crianza Rioja.
The first was okay but not particularly fruity, the second was completely corked and the third was much brighter - fruity, open, more modern style of Spanish red.
The first was probably slightly corked - I couldn't be sure as it may have been badly stored at a Turkish restaurant.
Yet the third opened bottle was much fruitier - as if it was an entirely different wine.
We drank the first and third bottles (3 people) and sent the second back.
I did not come across any other obviously wines on the trip, though one Champagne was I think tainted - it was fruitless and plain but it was a label (Charles Lafitte) I was not familiar with, so not sure. It was however undrinkable and most ended up in the sink. We drank it in Bordeaux which maybe was a bad omen. Later than night, the Hilton Garden Inn caught fire and everyone was evacuated at midnight so we stood outside in the cold for a few hours.

Back in Singapore, I have had few corked wines in recent years - I was thinking the industry is taking cork taint more seriously.
I have also had no premox white Burgundy for some time - after the disasters of the 90's and early 2000's were entire cases of 1er Cru whites were a disaster.

Nic/HBL
Tried one Mencia based wine from (apparently) Ribera Sacra.
It was served by a Spanish friend and was I think a 2018. I had never seen the wine before nor do I have any idea of the cost, but it was quite fruity and tannic. It seems to be becoming quite popular.

I have never tried Pelatos but I will seek it out.

cheers
Mark

[jal]

Nice notes, Claudius, makes me want to visit again. Maybe we will in April '23.
Some random thoughts about Spanish wine:
The Raul Perez Ultreia Valtuille Bierzo was a household favorite, but the last few years it got expensive.
Muga Prado Enea is a wine that will always remind me of Pappadoc, he first introduced me to it in early 2004 or 2005. Price hasn't changed much since.
Crianza is a good quaffing wine. Always enjoyable with food.
I used to drink the Condado de Haza years ago, haven't seen it in ages. Sad that it modernized.
I like Albariño with seafood, I also like Txakolina and I will not make the mistake of calling the latter Spanish (but close enough).
I never could get used to the white Rioja, we had a LdH Tondonia White Gran Riserva a few years back that was impressive, but it waas very expensive, as much as a Chevalier Montrachet, a pass but I understand the appeal.
For some reason, Madrid was big on Gin and Tonic when we went, every bar had a huge selection of G&T to go with their tapas/raciones.