Wicked Happy

The new batch of 2007 Juan Gil Monastrell from Jumilla Spain is in and it is spectacular again!

It has been over 2 months since we last had a bottle to sell of the best wine to have with a steak we have tasted in years. This powerful, yet elegant wine is flawless and only $19.99 a bottle. If you have not tried this wine and you like red wine run into the store and grab some.

How good is this wine? In March another Spanish winemaker was in the store. His wines were wicked good, but wicked expensive. As he was walking out of the store, he stopped pointed at the display of Juan Gil and begrudingly commented, "Great Wine"

This will sell fast, the wholesaler believes he has enough for the summer. Let's hope so.

New Vintage

A little over a month ago, I raved about a red wine from Navarra, Spain made with the Garnacha grape, the 2007 Artazuri. Once the staff and I tried it, we bought all we could find in Massachusetts, and it sold out of the store in weeks. This week the rep brought us in the 2008 to taste. It's good but different. It shows more fruit and less spice and weight. Still a good wine and probably even better with burgers and dogs than the 2007. The price is still $12.99 a bottle and you will get more than your moneys worth each time. Perhaps with another six months of time in the bottle, it will develop some more weight and spice. In the meantime, it's a fun wine to bring to someone's barbque.

Tempranillo

The red grape of Spain is Tempranillo. It may be the most versatile red grape in the world. I have tried some that taste like Pinot Noir,or Cabernet Sauvignon and even one wine tasted like, gulp, Coca Cola.

Tempranillo is magical with grilled, wood or gas, foods. The old 1+1=3. Food makes the wine taste better and wine makes the food taste better. The chicken and the egg come at the same time.

Two reasonably priced and good quality Tempranillos are the Ramon Bilbao from the Rioja region, and the Raimat from the Costieres del Segre region of Spain. Rioja is the most famous region of Spain and Tempranillo is king there. Bilbao produces textbook Tempranillo, fruity, dry, smokey, earthy and a middleweight, perfect for outdoor dining. Costieres del Segre is east of Rioja, equally mountainous, dry and hot. The wine has a tiny bit more fruitiness than the Rioja, but it is not a guarantee that all from Segre are fruitier than Rioja.

A side story from Segre. I visited there in 2002. The estate we visited was established by railroad barons of the late 1800's. But the history of the estate goes way way back. It was blazing hot and windy on the day we visited. Everything was dry and dusty. Except these straight as an arrow lines of trees that crisscrossed the propery as far as I could see. Giant fields of grapes and vegetables were enclosed by these trees. Upon commenting on the greeness of the trees in such an arid area, I was encouraged to walk over to the trees. Humongous roots were coming out of the trees and snaking into, ice-cold water from melting snows of the Pyranees brought to the property by Roman aquaducts 2000 years old. And still working. That night we had spring lamb cooked over wood fires for a spectacular way to enjoy Tempranillo and grilled meat.

More Artadi

Artadi, my favorite Rioja producer, also owns a property in Navarra, Spain. There they use the Garnacha grape instead of Tempranillo. Garnacha is one of the most difficult red grapes to work with in the cellar. An expression I learned is "to make good Garnacha, you must sleep with your barrels." Apparently at the end of fermentation there is a narrow time window when the Garnacha must be taken off the lees, sediment. Miss this window and the wine is lacking, hit it, either by luck or skill and you get great tasting wine that is surprisingly pale in color for a red. The predisposition to paleness and the ability to draw the wine from the lees early, makes Garnacha easy to make into Rose.

Artadi's winery in Navarra is Artazu. The 2007 Garnacha is dellicious. At $13.99, it's a steal. Rose-lilac aromas in combination with some spice and earth make this a great wine for grilled meats. Or you can guzzle it. Or serve with a meaty paella. It was good with the cheeses too. Anyway, once you try a good Garnacha, you will probably look for them again and again. I keep looking.

PS. They also make a Reserva for about $40 a bottle, it is on my homework list as soon as it comes in.

yo-yo wine

There is a region in the north-west of Spain called Bierzo. We carry a wine from there by Descendientes de Palacios. It sells for $39.99 a bottle, You will love it AND hate it, in the same evening.

I don't know why, but this wine changed in the glass all night long. First sip was too fruity, then it was bone dry and all the fruit was gone, later the wine had this wonderful fragrance, but it tasted weird. About an hour after opening it was delicious, complex and aromatic, but 10 minutes later, it closed again. Later still, the perfume came out and it was wonderful to taste.

I think next time, I will pour this wine into a decanter and wait 3-4 hours before I serve it with a fatty cut of meat, like prime rib.

Perfect wine for people that can't make up their mind.