Tasting Report – September 15th 2022, at Restaurante Puerto Blanco
54 members and guests enjoyed the usual wonderful hospitality at the wonderful Puerto Blanco restaurant in Calpe.
Before we sat down, President Tim asked Andrew to propose a toast to her late majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and to say a few words.
Once seated he handed the evening over to Andrew, who with Kathy is a member of the Tasting Team. Andrew introduced the focus of the night, “Past Presidents’ Partners Preferences” and explained that 5 wines would be presented, each a favourite of the husband or wife of a president.
| WINE 1 Terra Gauda O Rosal 2021 | Vivino.com | € 13.31 | ||
| Rias Baixas. Albarino, with Caino Branco & Loureira | ||||
First off Maureen introduced a wine that was a favourite of her greatly missed late husband, Morley. I have ch
osen a wine that Morley and I first tried many years ago now, which I enjoy as much now as I did then. Usually our wine tastes were not similar, but when we found this wine we actually both enjoyed it, which of coursemade it extra special!
Having been challenged to find white wines that they enjoyed in the predominantly red world of Spain they were relieved when did manage to find one, an Albariño. The variety is considered to be the New World wine of the Old World. Albarino Day is celebrated on the 9th May. More than 90% of grapes grown in the DO Rias Baixas are Albariño!
Maureen chose theTerras Gauda and it is made using three traditional Galician grape varieties from the DO Rías Baixas appellation: Albariño (70%), Caiño (20%) and Loureiro (10%).
Each grape variety undergoes a process of cold maceration to extract the best qualities from the skins. Fermentation is then carried out at a low temperature in stainless steel tanks using natural yeast from the vineyards themselves. Finally, after standing to stabilize the wine, it is filtered and bottled.
It is a versatile wine which can be paired with a variety of foods such as pasta, vegetarian dishes, appetizers and snacks, shellfish and lean fish.
| Wine 2 Laura Lalanne Rosado 2021 | € 7.95 | |||
| Somontano. 50% Tempranillo 50% Cabernet Sauvignon Direct from the bodega | ||||
Sandy then introduced our second wine, a full blown raspberry coloured Rosado of the type that We rarely see nowadays in Spain or anywhere else for that matter. Laura Lalanne Rosado from Somontano, is unashamedly holding on to that traditional colour that bursts out of the glass with a brightness and intensity that cannot fail to be noticed.
We were introduced to this beautiful bodega on our Wine trip to the
Somontano in May 2019 when we tasted a large number of their wines, as the
current owner, Laura, just kept on opening bottles for us! We’d only planned
to taste 3. Our group went on to purchase almost €2,000 worth of wine – the
highest amount of any of the bodegas on the Trip.
Sandy reminded us of the history of the bodega, established by French vintners, escaping the disaster of philoxera at the end of the 19th century.
This wine is a blend of 50% Tempranillo and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon with all the fresh fruity flavours of these varieties – On the nose it is reminiscent those
raspberry mivis that we used to eat as children and on the palate balanced
acidity with a hint of sweetness.
This wine is labelled a “Vino de Aguja”. It is not a cava and it is not a sparklng wine. It is a wine which, during its production, retains a small amount of carbon dioxide from the fermentation process. A fun, easy drinking summer wine.
| Wine 3 Rectoral De Amandi Colleita Seleccionada2019 | Eroski | € 5.95 | ||
| Ribeira Sacra. Mencia | ||||
Helen Nicholls presented our third wine and mentioned hearing someone say that his favourite wine was the one that he was enjoying at that moment. So she thought about places and times where she had particularly enjoyed a wine, and settled on he favourite location on a wine trip, The Ribera Sacra Valley in Galicia, in 2015.
The fabulous views complement the wines produced on these steep green hillsides, rising above winding rivers. There Helen first tasted wines from the Mencia grape, which ppealed to her usually white or rosé preferences.
Helen described the cherry red colour, with hints of violet; the aromas of berries with notes of licorice; and the soft tannins, which produce a consistent finish. This wine is macerated and fermented with native yeasts, in contact with the skins for 15 to 20 days in stainless steel tanks.
| Wine 4 Habla del Silencio 2020 | Vinissimus.com | € 10.35 | ||
| Extremadura. Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo | ||||
Caryl introduced a young red called Habla del Silencio wine from Extramadura. It’s a particular favourite of
theirs discovered while wandering down the Calle Loretto in Denia’s old town, where in a wine and tapas bar the host suggested another this wine, and they were in Heaven. Succulent, fruity, beautifully balanced and outstanding value for money. Nowadays it is still made every year and retails for a little over 10 Euros. Sad to say the Wine Bar which provided so much pleasure no longer exists.
Bodega Habla was founded in 2000 at Trujillo in Extramadura. The winery was set up by two young enthusiasts whose aim was, and still is, to reach for excellence. They realised that the soil and climate of Extramadura left a lot to be desired and called upon the expertise of both Spanish and French Universities to contribute their advice and guidance. The results have proved magnificent and Del Silencio is the youngest produce of a collection of longer aged wine family members.
The grapes here are Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo and aged in French oak barrels for between 6 and 8 months. It’s gorgeous – bright, intense maroon with hints of violet. The nose is also sheer joy – full of blackberries and plums with hits of cherries. On the palate we have the same fresh fruitiness with spiciness of pepper from the Syrah. Then there is a lovely long finish underlining the full body of this delicious young wine. Its no wonder that this super wine has won the Best Spanish red wine for three years in a row by the Spanish Critics Wine Association.
| RWine 5 oger Goulart Cava Gran Réserva 2014 | Vivino.com | € 15.00 | |
| Sant Esteve Sesrovires (Barcelona). Xarel•lo, Macabeo and Parellada | |||
Roger Goulart Cava Gran Reserva Brut, Vintage 2014
And finally, Kathy introduced a multi-award winning Cava Reserva and told the tale of their friends, “The Wine Guys”, who were involved on the 2022 judging panel for the Mondial de Bruxelles sparkling wines competition.
Kathy said that Roger Goulart Brut Gran Reserva 2014 is made with xarel•lo, macabeo and parellada, and stands out for its complexity and elegance, two of the hallmarks of this century-old winery. And explained that she had purposely chosen for it to be served with cheese to challenge its flavour, before dessert.
Wine critic, Sean McGrath describes it as “Quite excellent. Crisp, dry, good acidity. A nice toasty note.” And Michael Schachner , the critic says that this wine has: ” clean aromas of raspberry and red plum lead to a fresh and alert palate that shows good balance. Red apple, citrus and red berry flavours are direct and firm on a relatively short finish. “
“In my opinion it could maybe benefit from a bit more fruit on the nose, but the taste more than makes up for it.”
At the end of the evening, President Tim thanked everyone involved.
