Toward the end of the 19th century, many French grape growers and winemakers emigrated to Spain because their vineyards had been devastated by a vine disease. Once in Spain, they resumed their old and familiar trade and began to make wine from local grapes, much as they had in their native country. It was a bad mistake.
The indigenous grapes of Spain could not be treated in the same manner as the grapes of France. What resulted were mediocre wines at best. It took almost a century to develop new methods of grape growing and wine making in Spain, and equally as long to change the minds of the wine-drinking public about their wines.
Today, Spanish wines are challenging their other international wine-producing brethren in a never-ending battle for “king of the winemaking hill.” We recently had an opportunity to sample some of these new age Spanish wines and found them to be excellent in quality and worthy of a wine lover's attention.
Sietesiete 2012 Rueda ($14)The Rueda district is the white wine basket of Spain, specializing in the verdejo grape variety. It is modern farming and winemaking that has tamed and tempered this grape, resulting in an exceptionally fine wine.
The wine displays the elegant aromas of pear, tropical fruits of all description and an easily noticeable blast of pineapple, citrus and the sensation of fresh-cut flowers. The flavor is fruity, with a noticeable but inviting fruit acid background. The finish is incredibly long, ending with a note of lemon peel.
This wine is a pure delight and a refreshing change from the same old white wine.
Oro de Castilla 2012 Rueda Verdejo ($17)Another version of the verdejo grape is this offering from Oro de Castilla (Gold of Castilla). This wine takes a slightly different turn from the Sietesiete verdejo in that it closely emulates a savignon blanc but is considerable more fruity.
There is a grassy, slightly smoky aroma combined with pineapple and citrus typical of this variety. In the flavor department, this wine covers the complete gamut of all of the possibilities the grape offers: melon, pear and fig flavors.
Verderol 2012 Verdejo ($8)The same melody from a different orchestra, this is yet another verdejo that offers a slightly different take on what we now hope is a familiar grape variety.
It is absolute proof that regardless of the variety, it is the winemaking that makes a difference. This wine is exactly like the others - with that little twist making it stand out as an individual.
Las Rocas 2011 Garnacha ($14) and 2009 Las Rocas Garnacha Vinas Viejas ($18)This is a great way to understand what a bit of aging can do for a red wine and to discover the differences between a Spanish-grown garnacha and its French and American counterpart, which we call grenach. The wines are from the same place, but one is new and the other has received two years more aging.
Both present almost overwhelming aromas and flavors of dark cherries and blackberry. The 2009 is mellower than the 2011 and shows a bit more oak and vanilla.
We must admit, the real joy of these wines is tasting them together; the learning experience will prove to be well worth the cost.
Las Rocas 2009 Red Blend ($12) Do you love a mystery? We do, and the Las Rocas 2009 Red Blend is just that, a mystery. We searched all over the Internet and could not find a listing of what grapes made up the red blend, but the wine sure is interesting.
The aroma can best be described as jammy, because it is loaded with the sensation of blackberries. There also is a noticeable amount of oak to be found in both the aroma and the flavor, which continues the blackberries with a hint of cherry.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.[[In-content Ad]]
