On Wednesday evening a(n accidentally) small group of tasters and friends gathered around a very particular event: a tasting of the wines produced by female winemakers in the portfolio of one of our best distributors, La Salmantina. In the beautiful gardens of the Hotel Mencey, under small tents by the poolside, Carlos Piernas, of legendary Carpier smoked fish offered his latest creations while the four ladies poured wines and charmed the audience with winetalk.
Curiously enough this was a most relaxed event, no hurries, nice evening breeze, wines were mostly known so no tasting pressure, about ten different wines which was most manageable, nice friends among attendants (both trade and personal), horrid hotel stemware, and the sort of small family event that most likely disappointed the organizers (coincided with a religious holiday of great following here) but certainly allowed an unreal comfort to those lucky enough to attend. Fireworks were not visible from the garden but it was nice enough to hear them between sips...
The wines:
DOS VICTORIAS produce JOSÉ PARIENTE Verdejo, consistently one of the best Ruedas. While 2002 was a colder season than usual the aromatics at this moment are all exhuberance and exotic fruit (guava). Talking to both of them (Vicky and Mariví, hence 2 Victorias) we came out with the conclusion that although most people in Spain still don't trust the ageability of domestic whites, the truth is that we prefer Verdejo with more bottle age. This exotic fruit is eventually tamed from standing room aperitif into a serious dinner table white around Xmas, fit for proper gastronomic pairing. 87
Their red wines do not come from Rueda, though (in fact reds have been banned from this DO just weeks ago for lack of consistent quality) but from Toro, the already wellknown ELIAS MORA bottlings. I posted TNs on the 2001 Roble (or semicrianza: 5 months) some time ago, so I skipped it and headed for the excellent 2000 Crianza (12 m). Properly decanted, this had a gloriously open nose that conquered us all. I can't remember anyone there not making a point of how excellent the nose of this wine was at this moment even from those glasses. Warm and spicy but rounder and fleshier than Ribera, with gobs of sweet fruit not altogether in the black end of the berry spectrum. Concentrated and robust without excess, this was a charmer, with superb QPR (somewhere around $12). 90
AMETLLER was almost total news for most of us. They produce Penbedés red and white and a new Cariñena-based Priorat that I already posted TNs on. The white is of traditional composition with a twist (Xarel.lo and chardonnay, with the chard. going through oak). You can guess it's not my style, but it performed nicely with the lox, haddock, and other transporting smoked delicacies served.
Their Priorat bottling is called ELS IGOLS (2000) and I must admit I liked it better this time than a month ago. Fleshy and warm/balsamic cariñena nose was now fresher and less overpowering, showing nicer balance. Again everybody called this elegant (truly fine French oak nose) so I'll retry before sticking to my "a tad diluted" commentary. I will however hold that a standard Priorat 2000 conveys a different impression of structure at this stage. 88+
And the queen of the night was of course BARBARA FORES, the latest incorporation to the La Salmantina portfolio and decidedly the one I've been waiting for and raving about for years. Mª Carmen Ferrer Escoda--grand-grand daughter to the Barbara Fores that gives name to the wines--was with us as well and wasted the greater part of her evening chitchatting with us about virtually everything.
The wines were as good if not better than I remembered.
El Quintá 2001 (Garnacha Blanca + 5% Viognier)
Not overtly oaky if you give it decent exposure to air but decidedly meant to improve in bottle, this was possibly the WOTN for me in terms of expectations. I already knew their top red so there was no mystery but sheer pleasure there. This is a white as very few others I have tried. Very much of a red wine in body and texture, with textbook aromas of white fruit and flowers competing at this stage with toasty, almost caramelly notes of vanilla and even chocolate from the barrels. The to-die-for nose was of course still sort of sweetish but I need proper stemware and conditions to rate this. I stick to the nose-ahead-of-palate-yet impression but remain also fascinated by Grenache-based domestic whites. 90+
Negre 2000
QPR winner of the night and tied in for second red with the Toro Crianza, this was such a pretty wine! All the fleshy Garnacha of the region is here combined with foreign varietals and results in a warm and so very plush (but well-structured) red. Tasty stuff, not too complex but so savory. Properly decanted, I now read my previous "underoaked" line and don't know what I meant by it (?). I raved about it last time and insist on the superb QPR. 90
Coma d'En Pou 2000 (first proper TN, more to come...)
Absolute WOTN. Excellent red in all respects. Plush sweet warmth but no lack of grip: well-structured but nowhere close to tight or drying in the palate. Very expressive already at proper decanting/temperature with cherry liqueur and berry notes, cocoa all over and harmonized toasty oak. Easy to follow the house style from the Negre to this. I've been following this wine since the 1997 vintage and the progression promises even better stuff in the future. Excellent persistence and perfect balance, I insist, between the pillowy impression and the solid backbone. 92-93+
The smoked fish stuff was so very good I won't even try to describe it. Creative touches to excellent raw materials. Not exactly the ideal winetasting pairing, but so good on their own... Good with the Garnacha Blanca, BTW, and probably too with the other whites. Lots of nice conversation... uh, thanks again to La Salmantina for the invitation and all the effort, and to the bodegueras for their kindness and excellent work.
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