Albret Crianza 2009

SWIC score: 89 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Vanilla, cassis, dead leaves, intense, direct, warm.

Available: ON (VINTAGES 306555 - $ 19.95)

Winery: Finca Albret

Region: D.O. Navarra

Varieties: 50% Tempranillo, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot

Ageing: 12 months in American and French oak barrels

Alcohol level: 14.0% alc./vol.

Juan de Albret was the last king of the ancient kingdom of Navarra during the finish of the 15^th century and the beginning of the 16^th. The Navarra-based wine group Príncipe de Viana created Finca Albret winery as a project to produce a very personal range of wines. Albret Crianza is a powerful and intense red wine. A blend with Tempranillo as the main grape, complemented by the international Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It matures for one year in oak barrels (65% American) and it matches perfectly with grilled and stewed meats.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (January 2013)

Dido "la Universal" 2009

SWIC score: 89 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Blackberries, leather, oregano, savoury, complex, fresh.

Available: QC (SAQ 11376994 - $ 23.40)

Winery: Venus La Universal

Region: D.O. Montsant (Catalunya)

Varieties: 70% Garnatxa, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot

Ageing: 9 months in oak barrel

Alcohol level: 14.5% alc./vol.

Dido is the second wine of Venus La Universal winery, the very personal project of Sara Pérez (Mas Martinet) and René Barbier junior (Clos Mogador) in D.O. Montsant. Under the name of the princess Dido, mythological founder of Carthage, it is a complex wine with an unquestionable feminine character. Garnatxa is the main grape in its blend, where you can also find the finesse of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Dido “la Universal” is a fantastic pairing for all kind of red meat recipes as well as BBQ and cold meat.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (October 2012)

Montecillo Crianza 2008

SWIC score: 85 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Jammy, cinnamon, coconut, silky, light.

Available:

QC (SAQ 144493 - $ 18.15)
ON (LCBO 144493 - $ 14.95) 
BC (BCLS 425298 – $ 18.99)

Winery: Bodegas Montecillo

Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja

Varieties: 100% Tempranillo

Ageing: at least 14 months in French oak barrel

Alcohol level: 13.5% alc./vol.

Montecillo Crianza is one of the most spread Crianzas from D.O.Ca. Rioja that you can find... and it is available almost everywhere in Canada. It is a wine made only with Tempranillo grapes, from vineyards planted in the Rioja Alta sub region. Rioja Alta is the part of Rioja where the most typical 100% Tempranillo wines are produced. Montecillo is part of the group Osborne, one of the biggest of the Spanish wines and spirits scene. Montecillo Crianza 2008 is a good pairing for BBQ and other red and white meat dishes.

Vintage tasted: 2008 (November 2012)

Finca Mónica Crianza 2009

SWIC score: 89 (IFS)

Tasting notes: Blackberries, vanilla, liquorice, mineral, fresh.

Available: ON (VINTAGES 313965 - $ 15.95)

Winery: Ramón Bilbao for Long Wines

Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja

Varieties: 100% Tempranillo

Ageing: 14 months in American oak

Alcohol level: 13.5% alc./vol.

Finca Mónica Crianza 2009 is an expressive 100% Tempranillo wine produced by the well known and appreciated winery Ramón Bilbao especially for the Long Wines portfolio. So it is a wine made in the Rioja Alta sub region, the main kingdom for Tempranillo grapes. It’s worth keeping in mind that the Tempranillo grapes used in Finca Mónica Crianza correspond to a very rare clone called Tempranillo Peludo (hairy). As it is tradition there, the wine ferments in American oak barrels, and the result is a good example of a quite balanced Rioja under the quality seal of the Spanish wines expert William Long. It matches very well with cold meats and cheeses.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (January 2013)

Naia 2011

SWIC score: 89 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Peach, floral, intense, long. 

Available: QC (SAQ 11465153 - $ 19.65)

Winery: Bodegas Naia

Region: D.O. Rueda (Castilla y León)

Varieties: 100% Verdejo

Alcohol level: 13.0% alc./vol.

Naia is a good example of what an unoaked Verdejo wine can offer in terms of length and intensity. It is produced by Bodegas Naia, located since ten years ago in La Seca village, one of the most important places in D.O. Rueda region - where Verdejo shows its best profile. Under the guidance of the experienced winemaker Eulogio Calleja, they make Naia from the grapes grown in their own 52 acres of vineyards. Freshness and volume are two characteristics always founded in Bodegas Naia Verdejos. Naia 2011 matches perfectly with fish and shellfish dishes.

Vintage tasted: 2011 (November 2012)

Raventós i Blanc L’Hereu 2009

SWIC score: 87 (JMG) 
Tasting notes: Green apple, floral, fresh, pleasant.

Available: QC (SAQ 11140615 - $ 19.80)

 

Winery: Raventós i Blanc

Region: D.O. Cava (Catalunya)

Varieties: 50% Macabeu, 35% Xarel·lo, 15% Parellada

Ageing: at least 15 months in the bottle

Alcohol level: 12.0% alc./vol.

The owners of Raventós i Blanc are the direct descendents of Josep Raventós Fatjó, who made the first bottles of Cava in 1872 under Codorníu brand. Using the grapes cultivated by the family in their own vineyards at Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, they produce a complete range of sparkling and still wines. L’Hereu is their ‘premier’, the basic sparkling in their Cava range, which expresses the complexity that defines the work of the house. With Macabeu as the main variety and structural base, L’Hereu is a pleasant Brut Reserva with at least 15 months in the bottle, maturing with the dead yeasts. It’s a fresh wine, specially suitable for almost all kind of appetizers.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (December 2012)

La Montesa 2009

SWIC score: 88 (JMG) 
Tasting notes: Plums, blackberries, toffee, silky, pleasant.

Available: QC (SAQ 10556993 - $ 18.85)

Winery: Bodegas Palacios Remondo

Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja

Varieties: 65% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo, 5% Mazuelo

Ageing: 12 months in French and American oak barrels

Alcohol level: 13.9% alc./vol.

Bodegas Palacios Remondo is the Rioja winery of the renowned winemaker Alvaro Palacios. Family owned and operated cellar, Palacios Remondo was founded on 1945 in the village of Alfaro, the main town in Rioja Baja sub region. In contrast to the other parts of D.O.Ca. Rioja, in Rioja Baja the main variety is Garnacha, not Tempranillo. So La Montesa 2009 is a good example of this feature. This wine is a Garnacha (65%) blend, with Tempranillo and Mazuelo complementing it. After the fermentation, it matures in oak barrels (90% French and 20% new) for a year, resulting this pleasant Crianza.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (December 2012)

Clío 2010

SWIC Score: 92 (JMG) 
Tasting notes: Figues, toast, complex, powerful, ripen.

Available: QC (SAQ 10835482 - $ 46.50)

 

Winery: Bodegas El Nido

Region: D.O. Jumilla (Murcia)

Varieties: 70% Monastrell, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon

Ageing: 22-26 months in oak barrels

Alcohol level: 15.5% alc./vol.

Bodegas El Nido is a project founded 10 years ago in Jumilla (at the southern region of Murcia). It results from the collaboration of the local Gil family (owners of Bodegas Juan Gil) and the Australian winemaker Chris Ringland. Old vines of Monastrell is the main component of Clío, complemented by about a 30% of Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards planted 25 years old. The resulting wine is matured for two years in oak barrels before being bottled. Intensity, strength and opulence are just three words that can define what you can find in this very good example of what Jumilla can offer in terms of high quality wine.

Vintage tasted: 2010 (December 2012)

Clos Martinet 2008

SWIC Score: 94 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Violets, thyme, creamy, ripen, balanced.

Available:

ON (VINTAGES Classics Collection 713438 - $ 70.00)

ON (VINTAGES 109405 - $ 99.00) vintage 2005

QC (SAQ 10860899 - $ 65.75) vintage 2005

Winery: Mas Martinet

Region: D.O.Q. Priorat (Catalunya)

Varieties: 80% Garnatxa Negra, 10% Carinyena and 10% others (Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah)

Ageing: 22 months in 300 liters French oak casks

Alcohol level: 14.5% alc./vol.

Clos Martinet is one of the references in Priorat, since it was one of the original and renowned ‘Closos’ that pioneered the renaissance of this region on the 1980s and 1990s. It is the top brand of Mas Martinet Viticultors, founded by Josep Lluís Pérez and nowadays managed by his daughter Sara Pérez. She -and her husband René Barbier son- personifies the present and future of Priorat wines, without loosing its roots. This wine expresses perfectly the character of its region, with a remarkable balanced combination of floral and balsamic elements with minerality and oak influences. Clos Martinet 2008 begins to show its complex personality now and will be enjoyable for sure at least until 2022.

Vintage tasted: 2008 (October 2012)

Vintages Jan. 19th 2013: Spanish wines special release

Ontario’s Vintages stores are making a very special release devoted to Spanish wines this Saturday, January 19^th 2013. Among the new released wines, 20 Spanish products are available from today. This is a surprisingly high number, according to the regular releases (from 5 to 10 Spanish new products every 2 weeks).

There 20 wines are a quite general picture of the Spanish wine scene: a few dry whites from the northern main regions (Galicia, Castilla y León and Rioja), a good number of reds from all around the country, a couple of amazing sherries and even a Brut Nature cava.

A good opportunity to discover the diversity of Spanish wines.

Down here, the complete list of new releases:

Red wines:
-Albret Crianza 2009 (D.O. Navarra)
-Cims del Montsant Garnatxa/Carinyena 2010 (D.O. Montsant)
-Sarada Selección Garnacha Tintorera/Monastrell 2009 (D.O. Almansa)
-Finca Mónica Crianza 2009 (D.O.Ca. Rioja)
-Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2010 (D.O. Campo de Borja)
-Don Jacobo Reserva 2004 (D.O.Ca. Rioja)
-Luzón Crianza Selección 12 Meses 2008 (D.O. Jumilla)
-Rioja Bordón Gran Reserva 2004 (D.O.Ca. Rioja)
-Planets de Prior Pons 2008 (D.O.Q. Priorat)
-Solar de Sael Crianza Mencía 2007 (D.O. Bierzo)
-Artigazo 2007 (D.O. Cariñena)
-Fortius Crianza 2008 (D.O. Navarra)
-Legón Reserva 2005 (D.O. Ribera del Duero)

White wines:
-Álvarez de Toledo Godello 2010 (D.O. Bierzo)
-Lealtanza Blanco 2011 (D.O.Ca. Rioja)
-Señorío de Rubios Albariño 2011 (D.O. Rías Baixas)
-Cuatro Rayas Viñedos Centenarios Verdejo 2011 (D.O. Rueda)

Fortified wines (sherries):
-El Maestro Sierra Fino (D.O. Jerez)
-Marqués del Real Tesoro Almirante Oloroso (D.O. Jerez)

Sparkling wine (cava):
-Valldosera Brut Nature (D.O. Cava)

El Maestro Sierra Fino

SWIC Score: 92 (IFS)

Tasting notes: Green apple, fennel, sharp, powerful, savoury.

Available: ON (VINTAGES 309898 - $ 17.95)

 

Winery: El Maestro Sierra

Region: D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalucía)

Varieties: 100% Palomino

Ageing: 4 years by the solera system

Alcohol level: 15.0% alc./vol.

El Maestro Sierra is an ancient high quality sherry producer from the city of Jerez, that was designated among the Top100 wineries of 2011 of the world by the renowned Wine & Spirits magazine. They craft their different styles of sherries under a very accurate way, trying always to offer their wines as fresh as possible. Fino is the basic wine from which all sherries are made, and El Maestro Sierra Fino is an excellent example of what it can be: completely dry, light in body and extremely refreshing, it is the best pairing for the original Spanish tapas as cured Serrano ham and Manchego cheese.

Vintage tasted: N.V. (December 2012)

Montecillo Reserva 2007

SWIC Score: 89 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Plums, cocoa, black pepper, silky, pleasant.

Available:

QC (SAQ 928440 - $ 21.90)

ON (LCBO 621003 - $ 18.55) LTO $ 2.00 until Feb 3

Winery: Bodegas Montecillo

Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja

Varieties: 100% Tempranillo

Ageing: 18 months in French oak barrel

Alcohol level: 13.0% alc./vol.

Belonging to one of the best known Rioja wineries, Montecillo Reserva 2007 is a 100% Tempranillo wine made with grapes harvested in the Rioja Alta subregion, where the most classical Rioja style wines are born. The fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature of 78ºF, with a long maceration period of 20 days. After the malolactic fermentation, the wine matures for 18 months in French oak barrels and a long time in the bottles stored in the cellar of the village of Fuenfría before being sold. You can pair it with red meat recipes, and it is particularly suitable for BBQ and even slightly spicy meats.

Vintage tasted: 2007 (October 2012)