Celeste Crianza 2009

SWIC Score: 91 (IFS)

Tasting notes: Spicy, cherry, liquorice, volume.

Available:

QC (SAQ 10461679 - $ 21.00)

ON (VINTAGES 210872 - $ 21.95)

BC (BCLS 384040 - $ 23.99)

Winery: Torres

Region: D.O. Ribera del Duero (Castilla y León)

Varieties: 100% Tinto Fino

Ageing: 12 months in oak barrel

Alcohol level: 14% alc./vol.

Celeste is the Ribera del Duero brand of the famous Miguel Torres Winery (based in the Catalan Penedes region). The Torres family works their own vineyards at almost 900 meters above sea level in Ribera del Duero DO, and has built a winery to produce the characteristic full-bodied concentrated wines from Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) grapes of that region. The result is this elegant big wine, well balanced and very pleasant, which matches perfectly with any meat dishes. By the way, the label shows the starry sky as it can be seen from the vineyards during a clear harvest night.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (September 2012)

Gotim Bru 2009

SWIC Score: 89 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Spicy, blackberries, cocoa, powerful, fleshy.

Available:

QC (SAQ 643858 - $ 17.65)

ON (VINTAGES 982736 - $ 17.95)

Winery: Castell del Remei

Region: D.O. Costers del Segre (Catalunya)

Varieties: 35% Ull de Llebre, 30% Garnatxa, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Syrah

Ageing: 10 months in American and French oak barrel

Alcohol level: 14% alc./vol.

Castell del Remei is one of the most prestigious wineries in the not very well known Costers del Segre D.O., at the inland Catalan province of Lleida. The property is made up of almost 1,000 acres and includes notable buildings as the castle which gives the name to the winery as well as the renovated winery itself, an ancient church devoted to the Virgin of the Remei and a lively restaurant. Gotim Bru is the best-selling wine of Castell del Remei. Made from the two main Spanish red varieties (Ull de Llebre is the Catalan synonym for Tempranillo), it shows the typical power of the reds produced in Costers del Segre.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (December 2012)

Pétalos 2010

SWIC Score: 88 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Raspberry, varnish, coffee, warm, direct.

Available:

QC (SAQ 10551471 - $ 20.75)

ON (VINTAGES 675207 - $ 23.95)

BC (BCLS 879221 - $ 29.99)

Winery: Descendientes de J. Palacios

Region: D.O. Bierzo (Castilla y León)

Varieties: 100% Mencía

Ageing: 10 months in French oak barrel

Alcohol level: 14% alc./vol.

Pétalos (yes, it means ‘petals’) is the most famous red wine of Bierzo DO, at the northwest quarter of Spain. Furthermore, it is made by the prestigious winemaker Álvaro Palacios (creator of L’Ermita in Priorat). This wine is born every year in the steep hills of Corullón municipality (alongside with other Bierzo locations), from vines which are between 40 and 90 years old. It is fermented in wood + inox vats, and then aged in French oak barrels (20% new). So you can drink a well balanced, easy-to-drink wine, amazing with a wide range of foods.

Vintage tasted: 2010 (November 2012)

Martínez Corta Cepas Antiguas Selección Privada 2010

SWIC Score: 89 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Plums, coconut, pleasant, balanced.

Available: ON (VINTAGES 305359 - $ 15.95)

 

Winery: Martínez Corta

Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja

Varieties: 100% Tempranillo

Ageing: 7 months in new French oak barrel

Alcohol level: 14.5% alc./vol.

The Martínez Corta family works its own vineyards since 4 generations. They are settled in Uruñuela, a tiny village of less than 1,000 inhabitants of Rioja Alta subregion. This Cepas Antiguas Selección Privada 2010 is made just with Tempranillo grapes from 70-years-old vines. After a double maceration, the wine goes into new French barrels, where it completes malolactic fermentation and a 7 months ageing. The result is this elegant, balanced and pleasant wine of an excellent vintage.

Vintage tasted: 2010 (November 2012)

El Albar Lurton Barricas 2008

SWIC Score: 92 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Dried fruits, cocoa, black pepper, powerful, complex, elegant.

Available: QC (SAQ 10358006 - $ 20.20)

 

Winery: El Albar Lurton

Region: V.T. Castilla y León

Varieties: 100% Tinta de Toro

Ageing: 12 months in oak barrels (1/3 of them new)

Alcohol level: 14.4% alc./vol.

François and Jacques Lurton settled El Albar winery outside the village of Villafranca de Duero, close  to the famous wine-river in the 90s. Although this El Albar Lurton Barricas is not labelled under any D.O. brand (but a lower regulation level V.T.), shows an amazing quality, due to a combination of power, complexity and elegance. The grapes used for this wine comes from the Toro region, and they are of an average of 50 years old. It matches ideally with game recipes, as well as roasted red meat and lamb.

Vintage tasted: 2008 (October 2012)