There are always interesting wines on show at the tastings of Gert Claes’ Alter Vinum. It was here two years ago that I first got to appreciate the fine Galician whites made from Albariño and Godello and there is an interesting selection of Rioja and others at sensible prices (rounded below to the nearest Euro).
This was the second day of the tasting and I wondered if an orange peel note on some of wines did not come from bottles having been open overnight, albeit under inert gas protection.
Bodegas Valdesil, Valdeorras http://www.valdesil.com/docroot/eng/inicio.php
These white wines from Godello already seem like old friends. Valdeorras “Montenovo” 2008 (€8) showed meaty and slightly honeyed aromas and some crispness and body; 15/20. Greater bloom and rich roundness jumped out of Valdeorras “Val del Sil” 2008 (€11) together with crisp minerality and more lively acidity than I remember from 2006; 16/20++. Finally Valdeorras “Peza da Portela” 2004 (€21) was as richly burnished, creamy and concentrated as I remember a bottle opened at home but seemingly a touch less mineral (needing food?); 16.5/20.
Bodegas Castro Martin, Rías Baixas http://www.bodegascastromartin.com/
Rías Baixas Albariño “Castro Martin” 2006 (€10,50) was beautifully crisp and mineral with bracing acidity; 16/20.
Bodegas Santo Cristo, Campo de Borja(“CdB”) http://www.bodegas-santo-cristo.com/ingles/bodef.htm
Excellent QPR range of mainly Garnacha derived wines. CdB Viña Collado blanco 2008 (€5), made from Viura (=Macabeu?), was fragrant and spicy with quite lively acidity; 15/20++. CdB Viña Collado Rosado 2008 (€5) was fruity and fresh with a tangy aroma; just what is needed for a summer (if we have one) fish salad outdoors; 15.5/20. CdB Viña Collado tinto 2006 (€4) showed boiled sweet (cassis) aromas, good fruit and tang and was quite full and structured; 15.5/20. CdB Ainzon Reserva premium 2004 (€11) also showed some boiled sweet in its aromas but on the palate was altogether more concentrated and tannic with chocolate and liquorice touches; may benefit from more time; 16/20.
Bodegas Pagos de la Buena, Rioja
Rioja (W) Iacos 2006 (€9), made 50/50 from Viura and Malvasia and barrel fermented, was creamy and smooth with burnished pineapple fruit and aromas; 15.5/20. Rioja Primacia ?2006? (€11), “tinto joven con crianza”, showed good fruit with attractive sweaty saddle notes and structure; 15.5/20++.
Bodegas Hermanos Peciña, Rioja http://www.bodegashermanospecina.com/english/
I congratulate Gert on deciding to import the traditionally styled Riojas of this firm, which is now managed by a former employee of La Rioja Alta. They show a quite light bricking colour together with nose and palate of exceptional purity and elegance. I hope that they will prove a commercial success because this sort of restrained style is becoming unfashionable.
Rioja Señorio de P. Peciña (“SPP”) Crianza 2003 (€10), matured two years in the wood i.e. one year longer than legally required (I think), showed attractive freshness and fruit dominated by sour cherry with good acidity and fine elegance; 15.5/20+.
Rioja SPP Reserva 1999 (€14) had a clear family resemblance with the previous but was richer, more complex and showed more tang and grip at the same time as elegance; 16.5/20.
Rioja SPP Gran Reserva 1998(€22) represented another step up with extra amplitude, depth, complexity and length; 17.5/20+.
Bodegas Navajas, Rioja
I have gone off the wines of this estate because I have found in many of them unappealing caramel notes towards the finish, even in a Joven which theoretically sees no new wood or, indeed, any wood.
Rioja Rosado Crianza 2003 (€8) was interestingly complex with cedar notes of integrated wood; 15.5/20. The caramel notes towards the finish were, however, present on Rioja Tinto Reserva 2004 (€11) as well as quite marked wood on the nose but good substance and fruit suggest than the wood derived notes may integrate in time; 14.5/20 with ++? potential.
Eguren family http://www.eguren.com/ingles/index2.htm
This family estate has a vast range from several different bodegas. The quality is very high in a modern, highly coloured, fruit forward and extracted style. I think that this may have contributed to my developing some palate fatigue and to having difficulty in differentiating some of the more powerful cuvées. (I cannot imagine this happening with an equivalent number of wines from the Peciña brothers.)
Sierra Cantabria, Rioja (“SC”)
Rioja SC Organza blanco 2006 (€14), barrel fermented, showed gently woody pineapple aromas, spice and touches of brown sugar while remaining dry; 15.5/20++.
Rioja SC Tinto Reserva 2004 (€14) showed complex and deep dark fruit and was more classically shaped and structured than those which followed; a fine Reserva; 16.5/20 with + potential.
Rioja SC Cuvée 2005 (€15,50) had nice fruit cake notes with decent acidity and was richer but more up-front and less harmonious than the Reserva; 16/20.
Rioja SC “Colección Privada” 2006 (€28), 50% maceration carbonique, was its usual sweetly full and seductive self with rich fruit cake, cedar touches and velvety mouth-feel; 16.5/20.
Rioja SC “El Bosque” 2006 (€75) was very powerful with tangy and deep rich fruit and marked tannic structure; needs food and probably more time; potentially 17/20.
Rioja SC “Amancio” 2002 (€63) was affected by orange peel aromas but showed fine fruit and structure albeit with less weight than the previous or following; 16.5/20.
Rioja SC “Amancio” 2005 (€75) was richer, rounder, fruitier and deeper than the 2002 with also a fine leather tang; 17/20. (I wrote a very enthusiastic WTN - in the archive - about a bottle of 2001 offered by Gert at a 2007 wine dinner -17.5/20 - and I hope that this one has the same potential.)
Señorío de San Vicente, Rioja (“SSV”)
Rioja SSV 2001 was touched by orange peel and showed impressive matter but notably more tannins and structure and was more backward than the suave 1999 when tasted two years ago; needs time; potentially better though, I guess, 17/20+.
Viñedos de Páganos, Rioja
Rioja El Puntido 2004 (€34) was also touched by orange peel but showed flesh, leather, round fruit and structure; 16.5/20.
Rioja La Nieta 2006 (€75) was aromatically quite closed but showed an impressive mass of fruit and structure; potentially 17/20+.
Teso la Monja, Toro
The Eguren family sold its famous Toro winery, Bodega Numanthia Termes, which produced cult status Termanthia and Numanthia, to LVMH and used part of the proceeds to buy the above.
Toro Almirez 2007 (€15) was powerful, leathery and full of dark fruit and tannins with a more savoury tang than Rioja; 16/20++.