El Maestro Sierra Amontillado 12 years old

SWIC score: 93 (IFS)

Tasting notes: Tofee, dried fruits, creamy, balanced.

Available: ON (VINTAGES 310458 - $ 24.00) online purchase

Winery: El Maestro Sierra 
Region: D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry (Andalucía)

Varieties: 100% Palomino

Ageing: 12 years by the solera system

Alcohol level: 17.5% alc./vol.

Amontillado is a very special kind of sherry wine, which you could say begins as a Fino but at some point it tends to Oloroso. It results from the fusion of two different styles of ageing: the characteristic biological ageing under the flor and the oxidative ageing, both of them by the solera system. This Amontillado of El Maestro Sierra follows a process of 12 years before being bottled. It a very elegant subtle and complex wine and matches perfectly with smoked salmon. 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.

Vintage tasted: N.V. (February 2013)

Príncipe de Viana Edición Limitada 2009

SWIC score: 90 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Blackberries, vanilla, green bell pepper, chocolate, volume, silky, balanced.

Available: QC (Private - Importation Épicurienne - $ 18.95)

Winery: Príncipe de Viana 
Region: D.O. Navarra

Varieties: 50% Merlot, 25% Tempranillo, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon

Ageing: 14 months in French and American oak barrels

Alcohol level: 13.5% alc./vol.

Three selected plots of the Príncipe de Viana’s property in Navarra’s Riberra Baja are the origin of this Príncipe de Viana Edición Limitada. El Carrascal gives the Tempranillo grapes, El Crucero offers the Merlot and La Muga produces the Cabernet Sauvignon, respectively. All of them, considered the best by the winemaker Isabel López, who tries to “create a wine with a soul”. A wine which expresses the terroir of Navarra in a fantastically complex and balanced way.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (March 2013)

Abadal 3.9 2007

SWIC score: 90 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Candied fruits, toffee, powerful, long.

Available: QC (SAQ 11463916 - $ 32.25)

Winery: Masies d’Avinyó 
Region: D.O. Pla de Bages (Catalunya)

Varieties: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah

Ageing: 12 months in new oak barrels

Alcohol level: 14% alc./vol.

Masies d’Avinyó is the leading winery of the tiny D.O. Pla de Bages appellation, located in the geographical centre of Catalunya. Abadal range of products is consistent in terms of quality and pretty good on value for price. With this Cabernet-based wine, the winemaker wanted to express the terroir of a single terraced plot. So it is a single estate wine with a 12 months ageing in new oak barrels. The result is a powerful red, with ripen fruit and some balsamic and oaky hints. The fierce identity of a small territory.

Vintage tasted: 2007 (September 2012)

Mas Borràs 2009

SWIC score: 91 (IFS)

Tasting notes: Cherry, cassis, toast, fresh, silky, intense.

Available:

ON (VINTAGES 673483 – $ 34.95)

QC (SAQ 856039 - $ 33.50) vintage 2010

Winery: Torres 
Region: D.O. Penedès (Catalunya)

Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir

Ageing: 9 months in French oak barrels

Alcohol level: 14% alc./vol.

Mas Borràs is one of the premium wines of the most renowned Penedès producer, Bodegas Miguel Torres. Surprisingly, it is not made with any of the indigenous Catalan varieties (Garnatxa, Carinyena or even Ull de Llebre), but with the less common in the region Pinot Noir. The key is that the Pinot Noir vines used for this wine are grown in the municipality of Santa Maria de Miralles, in the Upper Penedès, at an altitude of 520 metres above sea level. That ensures the balanced ripening of the delicate grapes of Pinot Noir. After a balanced ageing in French oak barrels, the result is a quite different Pinot Noir wine, more intense and powerful (14% alc./vol.) without losing its characteristic subtlety.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (March 2013)

Entreflores Verdejo 2012

SWIC score: 85 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Floral, grass, anise, pineapple, light, fresh, crisp.

Available: ON (Private - John Hanna & Sons - $ 17.65)

Winery: Príncipe de Viana 
Region: D.O. Rueda (Castilla y León)

Varieties: 100% Verdejo

Alcohol level: 13.0% alc./vol.

The name Príncipe de Viana comes from the 15^th century, when the king Carlos III of the ancient kingdom of Navarra bestowed this title on his newborn son. Nowadays, the title is still in force in the figure of the Spanish prince. Since 1983, one of the most prestigious wineries in Navarra D.O. carries this name and produces high quality wines under that appellation. Recently, Príncipe de Viana has gone beyond Navarra boundaries to add some other appellations to its portfolio. This is the case of this Entrefores -"among flowers" in Spanish-, a light and fresh 100% Verdejo from Rueda D.O. It is an excellent pairing for salads, pasta and rice dishes, as well as fish and seafood.

Vintage tasted: 2012 (March 2013)

Bikandi Crianza 2008

SWIC score: 86 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Plums, toffee, fruity, volume, warm.

Available: ON (VINTAGES 315689 - $ 16.95)

 

Winery: Viña Olabarri 
Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja

Varieties: 100% Tempranillo

Ageing: 12 months in new American & French oak barrels

Alcohol level: 13.5% alc./vol.

Bikandi Crianza is a 100% Tempranillo wine organically made using the Bikandi estate’s own grapes. Vineyards are located in the heart of Rioja Alta sub region, a territory especially renowned for the quality of its Tempranillo. Viña Olabarri was created by Mr. Pablo Olabarri Bikandi almost 30 years ago, and it is still owned and operated by his family, with his son Luis Olabarri as director. Bikandi Crianza 2008 offers a good value for price, showing an amazing tasty and fruity feeling on the palate.

Vintage tasted: 2008 (March 2013)

Veratón 2009

SWIC score: 91 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Blackberries, liquorice, coffee, chocolate, pleasant, velvety.

Available: QC (SAQ 11668241 - $ 29.50)

Winery: Bodegas Alto Moncayo 
Region: D.O. Campo de Borja (Aragón)

Varieties: 100% Garnacha

Ageing: 17 months in French oak barrels

Alcohol level: 15.5% alc./vol.

Campo de Borja and Garnacha are almost synonyms. This wine region has named itself ‘The Empire of Garnacha’ and wines like this Veratón 2009 are the explanation for that. Below the Moncayo hillsides, very old Garnacha vines are still grown and used by the modern winemakers to create high quality wines. Veratón 2009 is a powerful concentrated red with a surprising balance and tastiness. Even though the label states an excessive 15.5% alcohol, you cannot feel that while drinking it, but a velvety texture.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (June 2012)

Tilenus Pagos de Posada 2004

SWIC score: 92 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Kirsch, coffee, spices, savoury.

Available: QC (SAQ 10855889 - $ 36.00)

 

Winery: Bodegas Estefanía 
Region: D.O. Bierzo (Castilla y León)

Varieties: 100% Mencía

Ageing: 14-16 months in French oak barrels

Alcohol level: 14% alc./vol.

Mencía wines are among the subtlest and most elegant reds of Spain. And this Tilenus Pagos de Posada is a good example of that. It is only made using the grapes grown in a special plot: very old vines planted 80-90 years ago, low yields (less than 1 kg), perfect orientation, high concentration. The winemaker reinforces this concentration with a very long maceration process, before a maturing period of 14 to 16 months in French oak barrels.

Vintage tasted: 2004 (December 2012)

Hoya de Cadenas Reserva Privada 2008

SWIC score: 88 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Plums, coffee, green pepper, silky, drying, long.

Available: QC (SAQ 11133108 - $ 15.85)

 

Winery: Vicente Gandía 
Region: D.O. Utiel-Requena (Com. Valenciana)
Varieties: 85% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Ageing: 14 months in new American oak barrels
Alcohol level: 12.5% alc./vol.

Bodegas Vicente Gandía, the biggest and one of the oldest of Valencia region, has in this Hoya de Cadenas Reserva Privada one of its best bets. This Tempranillo-based blend is made using the grapes grown in the most valued plots of Hoya de Cadenas estate. After a long maceration process and an ageing period of 14 months in new American oak barrels, the result is a complex and elegant wine, especially on the nose. It has received accolades from all around the world, including the Gold Medal in the 2010 Public Choice Awards (Québec).

Vintage tasted: 2008 (February 2013)

Tridente Tempranillo 2009

SWIC score: 89 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Blackberries, liquorice, varnish, intense, warm.

Available: BC (BCLS 189852 - $ 24.99)

Winery: Bodegas Tritón

Region: V.T. Castilla y León

Varieties: 100% Tempranillo

Ageing: 15 months in French oak barrels

Alcohol level: 15% alc./vol.

Bodegas Tritón is the winery created by the Gil family (from Jumilla’s Juan Gil) at the southern part of the Zamora province – at the Duero valley, northwest of Spain. There they grow 155 acres of vineyards, some of them pretty old, as those Tempranillo vines which produce the grapes used in their Tridente Tempranillo. Powerful and ripen but balanced as well, it is a good pairing for rice dishes cooked with game meat, poultry, cured cheeses, mushrooms and red and white grilled meat.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (March 2013)

Volver 2010

SWIC score: 91 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Raspberries, creamy, savoury, ripe, long.

Available:
QC (SAQ 11387327 - $ 20.55)
QC (SAQ 11896578 - $ 40.25) 1.5 L

Winery: Bodegas Volver

Region: D.O. La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha)

Varieties: 100% Tempranillo

Ageing: 14 months in French oak barrels

Alcohol level: 15% alc./vol.

Volver is one of the wines created by Jorge Ordóñez and Rafael Cañizares in their Bodegas Volver project, in La Mancha D.O. It is made using only the Tempranillo grapes cultivated since 1957 in a single estate named Finca Los Juncares. After a malolactic fermentation in French oak, it ages for 14 months, resulting in a very pleasant wine, with a fine structure and pretty high concentration. It matches perfectly with red meat dishes and stews as well as cured cheeses.

Vintage tasted: 2010 (January 2013)

Fino C.B. Alvear

SWIC score: 88 (JMG)

Tasting notes: Green apple, salty, dead leaves, sharp.

Available: BC (BCLS 154476 - $ 17.99)

Winery: Bodegas Alvear

Region: D.O. Montilla-Moriles (Andalucía)

Varieties: 100% Pedro Ximénez

Ageing: more than 5 years in American oak by the solera system

Alcohol level: 15% alc./vol.

Bodegas Alvear has created this Fino (a sherry style wine but from Montilla-Moriles D.O. instead of Jerez D.O.) with a surprising characteristic: it is not made with Palomino grape -which is the typical for Finos and the other sherries- but with Pedro Ximénez grape, which is usually used for sweet wines. As it has a higher sugar level, this Fino C.B. doesn’t need to receive any added alcohol as it naturally reaches the 15% wished. Apart from that, it tastes as a regular Fino and it shows prominent elegance and freshness. Spanish tapas and other appetizers are the best pairings for it.

Vintage tasted: N.V. (January 2013)

Ludovicus 2010

SWIC score: 88 (IFS)

Tasting notes: Black cherry, vanilla, black pepper, direct, warm.

Available:

ON (VINTAGES 313791 - $ 13.95)

QC (SAQ 11096909 - $ 14.15)

AB (deVine W&S - $ 19.99)

BC (Everything W - $ 21.99)

Winery: Celler Piñol / Compañía de Vinos del Atlántico
Region: D.O. Terra Alta (Catalunya)
Varieties: 40% Garnatxa, 20% Syrah, 15% Cariñena, 15% Tempranillo, 10% Merlot
Ageing: 4 months in French and American oak
Alcohol level: 14% alc./vol.

The family owned and operated Celler Piñol was one of the first wineries of the Terra Alta D.O. in selling their wines abroad. Nowadays, the exporting market represents the 90% of their sales. It is a good example of the Terra Alta’s potential in terms of high quality wines. Definitely, a region to discover. Ludovicus is a red blend with a great value for price. Garnatxa is the main grape used in its coupage, complemented by minor parts of the local Cariñena and Tempranillo, as well as the international Syrah and Merlot. After a brief period of maturation in oak, it results in a complex and easy to drink wine at the same time.

Vintage tasted: 2010 (March 2013)

Viñas Elías Mora 2009

SWIC score: 90 (IFS)

Tasting notes: Blackcurrant, liquorice, bitter chocolate, volume, long.

Available:

ON (VINTAGES 209650 - $ 17.95)

BC (BCLS 119677 - $ 19.99)

NL (NLC 6262 - $ 23.51)

Winery: Bodegas Elías Mora 
Region: D.O. Toro (Castilla y León) 
Varieties: 100% Tinta de Toro 
Ageing: 6 months in American oak 
Alcohol level: 14.5% alc./vol.

Concentration, complexity and volume are three words that describe pretty well the main features of this Viñas Elías Mora 2009. Big red wine made exclusively with Tinta de Toro grapes (the name for Tempranillo in Toro D.O.), it’s a good example of what a Toro wine can offer. Located between the Duero and Hornija rivers, at a high elevation (2,600 ft) and with a cold continental climate, the vineyards of Elías Mora give premium quality fruits for their premium quality wines. Viñas Elías Mora is aged for 6 months in American oak and it matches very well with red meat recipes as well as cold meats and cured cheeses.

Vintage tasted: 2009 (March 2013)