Do you enjoy finding delicious wines at incredible values? If so, you are probably already well acquainted with Spanish wine. Yet, more than just a thirst-satisfying, food friendly libation, wine from Spain is well-crafted and grown from grapes that thrive on some of the most varied, dramatic soil and terrain in the world. Recently in New York, three key importers and passionate devotees of Spanish wine – “the trail blazers”- got together and held a press conference and tasting to tell the story of several stellar Spanish wines.
First, here is an introduction to the trail blazers. If you love Spanish wine you probably recognize Eric Solomon’s name from the back of your favorite wine bottles. In 1976 he became the only American to study for the Master of Wine designation; using London as a base, he traveled extensively to the major viticulture regions of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Twelve years later, he established European Cellars, an import company that represents more than a hundred producers (seventy percent are Spanish). In the 1990’s he signed up Clos Erasmus, one of the most exclusive wines, which almost single-handedly put the Priorat region of Spain on the map.
Read the label on another bottle and you might recognize the company name Classical Wines from Spain, created by Steve Metzler in 1984. Metzler’s early wine training focused on Europe, and he soon developed an appreciation for Spain’s unique topography, Atlantic influences, mountainous terrain, and the potential for noble viticulture and for producing elegant, structured wines from indigenous varieties. The company stocks wines from Spain and distributes them to clients in nearly all fifty states.
Jorge Ordonez, the only native Spaniard on the panel, is described as an “obsessive crusader” for the careful handling of wine. He founded his company, First Estates from Spain, upon his arrival in America in1987 when he saw that Spanish wine was not treated with much care or respect. Having grown up tending to his family’s wine business in Malaga, he recognized both the potential for Spanish wine to flourish in the US, and the need for Spanish wine to improve in quality. He began to work with winemakers to improve their wines while also seeking out talented winemaking partners to create new wine from exciting, though forebidding and remote, areas of Spain.
The panel, moderated by Master Sommelier and Master of Wine Doug Frost, brought home several realities. First, many consumers simply think that Spanish wine is delicious and affordable, and do not realize the pursuit of quality and creative experimentation that goes on inside Spanish wineries. All the panelists told incredible stories about their winemakers and the lengths they go to to produce top quality wine. Given the reality that in most cases, Spanish wine is an affordable value, one suspects that winemaking is a deep rooted passion for the winemakers (and the importers who represent them) rather than the mere production of a consumable product. And even the wines whose prices reflect the effort of the winemakers can be seen as a value given the very few barrels produced each year.
While most wine aficionados understand how important the soil is to the aroma and taste of wine, each of the nine wines tasted had an alarmingly different aroma/flavor profile, corresponding to the dramatically varied soils of Spain. In many cases you could both smell and taste the red clay, quartz, slate, and chalk present in the soil. And in the course of the tasting, I also experienced how dramatically different the same Tempranillo grape could taste from region to region, once again depending on the soil and the terroir.
Finally, though Spain produces some excellent white wines, it is best known for its reds. People who enjoy lighter courses such as fish might hesitate to serve a Spanish red, thinking it would overwhelm the dish. During the luncheon that followed at Per Se restaurant, the DOC Rioja wines Muga Aro 2005 (Fine Estates from Spain) and Vina El Pison 2005 (Eric Solomon Selections) both went perfectly with the fish, which was a saddle of monkfish. When pairing red wine with fish, however, it is important to note that the most important element is matching the texture, sauce, and manner of cooking the protein with the wine. In this case, the white monkfish was wrapped in Hobbs Shore’s Bacon and served with a “meaty” ragout of lentils du puy with seasoned root vegetables and a red wine vinegar sauce. The Muga wine had a delicious chocolate, plum, and fig finish that paired excellently with the dish, while the El Pison had an equally delicious and well-pairing finish of mocha and raspberry.
So the next time you pass the Spanish wine section of your local shop, or see a Spanish wine on the menu, consider giving it a try. More than ever before, you will be hard-pressed to find a more versatile, delicious, and value-centered wine in the market.
