Is it Possible the US has its own Spanish DO

Went to an Eric Solomon tasting last night and their midwest regional sales manager commented on Las Rocas, a QPR quaffer they sell by the ton. It is a pretty good wine, somewhat fruit forward, maybe not the most complex wine but certainly worth $10 and I usually buy a couple bottles from each vintage. He made the comment that it comes from a DO that only exports to the US. I asked him why and he only repeated that the wines of this DO are exported only to the US. He said his competitiors have wines from the same DO and they export only to the US. The DO must be Calatayud and I cannot find anything on the web to comfirm his comments. If this is true I may have found the ultimate Spanish new world wine. Parker likes it and is said to give it about 90 each year. Can anyone confirm?
Walt

[David M. Bueker]

I cannot confirm the export stuff, but it is from Calatayud & it gets from 88-91 points or so on a regular basis. Of course in recent years these are Dr. Jay Miller points which are the equivalent of the Dollar to RPs Euro.

Jay's vs Baaab notwithstanding, the recent Garnacha and Rosado from Los Rocas were quite good, very enjoyable and very good QPR..

You must have misunderstood him, or he meant something else. Las Rocas is indeed to my kowledge from Calatayud and this DO sells of course world wide.

It is a quite strange thought that any DO would only sell in export only....

Best
Fredrik Svensson, Luxembourg

You must have misunderstood him, or he meant something else. Las Rocas is indeed to my kowledge from Calatayud and this DO sells of course world wide.

It is a quite strange thought that any DO would only sell in export only....

Best
Fredrik Svensson, Luxembourg

Fredrik,
I agree that it sounds strange. That is why I asked him to repeat it. I think he just did not know what he was talking about and had his salesman hat on.
Walt

Sounds to me like that parlor game "telephone", where people repeat story and it changes a bit each time. I think this guy misunderstood what he was told.
My own (probably also partially incorrect) understanding is that Calatayud has a lot of Garnacha vines (some old). For decades they made mostly overcropped thinner wines that sold for pennies (maybe through co-ops?). A few importers like Solomon and Ordonez saw potential. Got growers to cut yields and select better fruit by offering premiums. So there are several wines (Solomon's Los Rocas, Ordonez's Vina Alarba Old Vines, others) that are all or mostly exported to US. But certainly not the entire DO's production. Maybe Victor de la Serna will see this and chime in with a more accurate take.

Went to an Eric Solomon tasting last night and their midwest regional sales manager commented on Las Rocas, a QPR quaffer they sell by the ton. It is a pretty good wine, somewhat fruit forward, maybe not the most complex wine but certainly worth $10 and I usually buy a couple bottles from each vintage. He made the comment that it comes from a DO that only exports to the US. I asked him why and he only repeated that the wines of this DO are exported only to the US. He said his competitiors have wines from the same DO and they export only to the US. The DO must be Calatayud and I cannot find anything on the web to comfirm his comments. If this is true I may have found the ultimate Spanish new world wine. Parker likes it and is said to give it about 90 each year. Can anyone confirm?
Walt

A minute on Winesearcher.com shows that Calatayud DO wines are exported to countries other than the USA.

Not only that, but wines from the exact same winery are exported to the UK and no doubt elsewhere.

It seems the 'Las Rocas' brand name is owned by Eric Solomon who imports the wines to the USA. So basically, Solomon buys the wines from the San Alejandro co-operative with his own brand name labels on so he can market them exclusively under that name. Common practise. I was at a large co-operative in southern Italy yesterday that had shelves of labels from different importers and UK supermarkets. You buy a container of wine and they'll stick anylabel you want on it.

I thought this was going to be a post about the Priorat. It seems that somebody may have picked up Napa and dragged it over to north-east Spain.

[Robin Garr]

I thought this was going to be a post about the Priorat. It seems that somebody may have picked up Napa and dragged it over to north-east Spain.

You sure you didn't mean to say "Santa Barbara"?

I thought this was going to be a post about the Priorat. It seems that somebody may have picked up Napa and dragged it over to north-east Spain.

SO, this will get me starting...

Bill, I have a good understanding what you mean, but it is an unjust judgment. Ok, Priorat is expensive. OK a lot of wineries are way too over priced, BUT.

- Priorat is one of the greatest wine regions in the world.
The combination of licorella soil and a climate that makes it necessary to search for water at the surface of the mineral rich soft rock gives wines that have an unusual high amount of mineral in it and it is shaping the taste of the wine. Pretty much the same as Mosel in Germany. Few regions have this clear terroir impact.

- Priorat is an underestimated region.
Its potential has been known for centuries. The church made wine everywhere and with the same knowledge. The monks couldn't have sex but they sure could enjoy a great wine and as a substitute for sex they search the best wine - one of the best was Priorat. It is not for nothing that the area for centuries have been suppliers of the wines for the Vatican state, and that when they had Chianti and Barolo so much closer!
With the modern revival it has just had an rollercoster inital period. Where it will land is to be seen but the journey will be one of the most intersting in the wine world,. This alone justifty - at least - some of the prices.

- Priorat is a dynamic and interesting place.
Its revival was in hand of some of the most forward looking and dynamic people in Spain and it has been a magnet for interesting people. Today there are a lot of small fanatic growers making wine in Priorat from South Africa, USA, England, Germany, The large companies are there, but the dynamic of the region is anyone is doing a little bit of everything. Top that with one of the greatest terroirs in the world! It is getting interesting.

Hope you will change the image of Priorat. I have been to Napa and to Priorat. There is very very little that they share.

Best
Fredrik Svensson. Luxembourg

I have been to Napa and to Priorat. There is very very little that they share.

Fredrik,

Perhaps the Priorat has much potential, but all of the wines I've tasted recently tend to lean towards the (expensive) Battle-ax side of the spectrum. It is an alarming trend if you consider what the region is capable of. If you have suggestions for producers who make gracious wines, I'd love to try them.

Prost!
Bill

Well, the question has been answered - of course Calatayud wines are exported to many other countries besies the US. What is only available in the US is Eric's brand, Las Rocas de San Alejandro. (Which is basically a tank selection Eric makes at the San Alejandro co-op of what, in Spain and elsewhere in the world, is known under a different brand name: Baltasar Gracián.)

As for Priorat, to each his or her own taste. It's a great wine region, but it's also a hot-climate Mediterranean wine region producing powerful grenache- and carignan-based wines. If you like lighter stuff, go for Bourgueil, Beaujolais or maybe Rheingau pinot noir. If you choose Priorat of Amarone della Valpolicella, you know what you're in for.

"Priorat of Amarone della Valpolicella"

what?

[Robin Garr]

"Priorat of Amarone della Valpolicella"

what?

Typo for "or", I would guess.

I don't know why I couldn't see that. Thank you!

mark

Sorry for the typo. Thanks for pointing it out, Robin.