Montellassi IL CANNETO 2011

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Vera C.

Winemaker/Director of Eonology: Marco Stefanini
Variety: 100% Sangiovese
Region: Tuscany, Italy

One of those lucky finds, when for $8 you get a perfect Sangiovese to accompany your tortellini dinner.

IL CANNETO is made from a blend of various clones of Sangiovese, cultivated on the hills of Maremma. The hot and dry climate in the province of Grosseto, with a very low rainfall, results in limited yield. Therefore the Sangiovese here has the premium concentration of flavors and color.

The wine aged for 6 months in stainless steel tanks to preserve the freshness of the fruit.

The Montellassi winery makes a number of wines, red, white and rose – and I am looking forward to grab some other bottles of their portfolio the next time.

Tasting notes:

Bright, ruby color and fresh aroma of dark cherries. On the palate, this is medium body red with lively fruit, bright flavors. I like the fact that the wine has enough weight on its own to accommodate even heavier meals, although it’s not supported with oak. An excellent value!!! I will definitely go back for more!

D’Autrefois Pinot Noir 2011

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Vera C.

When you say Pinot Noir – it sounds so nobles. It is also (in most cases) fine, nobles wine. It took me few years, after being impressed with all those power houses, to find my humble way to appreciate the finesse of this unique grape variety.

Pinot is some of the most difficult varieties to cultivate and transform into fine wine. This wine is truly hard to deal with. Compare to other grape varieties, Pinot Noir grapes are sensitive to almost everything.

Vines are sensitive to unstable weather, frost can kill it, it doesn’t like the wind, the certain soil, and it must be kept low yielding, in order to produce any quality wines. Back in the winery, it is still sensitive to a certain fermentation methods, it might not like the kind of yeast you used and being highly reflective of its terroir – the different regions can produce completely different wines. In other words, this wine is demanding plenty of hard labor.

Pinot Noir’s thin skin also makes it easier for a number of different diseases, such as mildew, bunch rot or infection by leaf roll, to attack. All these “prospective problems” that winemaker has to deal with, makes a production of a fine Pinot Noir a very risky business. It is a challenge, literally.

All these risky factors also drive the prices of the final product up. Therefore, when I come across cheap Pinot Noir, I am more than suspicious. Unless it comes from Burgundy. There, in the origin of this noble black grape, I am willing to take a chance with an unknown wine. Simply because those French just know what they are doing.

So, I grabbed the bottle of 2011 D’Autrefois Pinot Noir without hesitation. Simply because I know that Pinot Noir from Burgundy tastes like Pinot Noir supposed to taste. And this one wasn’t different. Although, it only costs $10.99. Seriously. Yet it didn’t lack any quality of the true Pinot Noir – light – to medium body, delicate, a delicious crisp cherry undertone in the taste, great freshness and acidity. An excellent match to my seared salmon and sauteed spinach.

It might be tough for some, who believe that Pinot Noir wines are fruity and full body. Very much like Beaujolais that is sometimes confused for Pinot Noir. Intentionally or not. Seriously, I had people asking me: “Just show me your biggest, fruitiest Pinot Noir.” Ouch. What do you say, when “customer is always right”. No, these wines are none of the above. They are supposed to be “thin” as one of my customers once referred to a Pinot Noir I showed him, with an open disappointment.

But back to D’Autrefois Pinot Noir 2011. Seriously. If you want a gem, and know what Pinot Noir is all about, this is an incredible deal. I just loved it and will buy it again.

“Adored by critics, prized by collectors, Pinot Noir is one of most tantalizing yet temperamental varietals in the world. For many wine enthusiasts, this is part of the appeal of Pinot — it doesn’t reveal its charms easily. Pinot Noir’s virtue also stems from the unique characteristics of the grape. The skins are especially delicate, which accounts for the lighter color and body of finished wine. But, despite the delicacy, the best wines have excellent backbone and length, providing aromatic intensity unlike any other grape.…” as the subscription of variety on the Wine access website accurately said. Cheers to that!

Pallas 2011 – a very cheerful wine

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Vera C.

Winemaker: Rafael Coñizares
Grape: 100% Tempranillo
Region: La Mancha, Spain

See other wines from this winemaker:

I was excited to find this new Jorge Ordoñez/Rafael Coñizares join venture (Venta Morales project), a new wine from La Mancha, called PALLAS.

When I saw its label, it brought back some memories. The memories of my visit to Span, region of La Mancha, and my first meeting with the winemaker Rafael Coñizares. He seemed to be very shy, soft spoken man, who didn’t like to talk about his wines much. Or, could it be that I didn’t speak Spanish and he didn’t hold a conversation in English? Either way, we both preferred to drink those wines rather than talking about them.

Rafael Coñizares

The label of this new, 100% Tempranillo wine, is full of stones. Just like the large river stones, an underlayment of unique La Mancha sandy soils, with lots of iron, clay and chalk. La Mancha, the largest wine region in the world, with around 474,000 acres of higher altitude land devoted to vine growing, is “nurturing” its vines with rough winds, cold winters and hot summer days, turning into cold nights.

Combine that with almost no rainfall, and Rafael’s devotion to keep vine’s yields very low – and you have the recipe for concentrated, deep colors and superb flavors in wine.

Tasting notes:

Although this wine was stainless steel fermented, and didn’t age in oak, it offers surprisingly dark, ruby, almost purple color. Lovely aroma of dark berries and perhaps a little dust of cocoa.

On the palate it was fresh, full of yummy fruit flavors, reminder of dark cherries, sweet and acidic blackcurrant from my mom’s garden, with a little spice of black pepper. When you got to drink a greatly made wine , without oak, it actually shows you the bare, clean, unmasked wine flavors in its best glory. I loved what my husband said about Pallas, when he took his first sip: this wine is cheerful! Yes, it’s rich fruity flavors with silky tannins made our dinner cheerful event.

Incredible value wine for hard to believe $8.00. I left my second bottle opened till next day, and almost liked the wine better than when I first opened it. Which is sometimes the case with some really expensive, big reds, when the wine is not “opened” enough yet. But it hardly happens with wine in this price range. Kudos to Jorge and Rafael for this one!!!

By the way, if you follow my blog for a while, you know that I am crazy about Spanish wines. Especially those that I can consider “house wine” based on their, more than reasonable, price. Jorge Ordoñez, my favorite Spanish wine importer, put his seal on many great, affordable wines from different parts of Spain. Its common denominator is the uncompromising quality, no matter what the price tag. You can imagine why I felt like a kid in the candy store, when I saw this shelf at Boca Raton’s Whole Foods. Wow, they have some wise wine manager there!

We have winner of “Sip in the Style this holiday season”!

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Vera C.

Our photo contest finished, last votes were counted and now I have a pleasant duty to announce the winner.

Starting at total of 57 wine related pictures received, you were casting your own vote for the best six pictures, chosen for the finale.

We were considering the following, when judging entries:

The technical quality of the picture (colors, focus, sharpness)
The unique idea
The unique surroundings
The best and funniest holiday atmosphere

From November 28^th, when the final six pictures were posted on my blog, till Sunday, December 2^nd at 8:00 PM, you all had a chance to vote for your favorite one, and you did!

As of Sunday evening, my blog has received a total of 113 votes! 52 of those votes came in for a picture F – stunning 46.2% of total votes. An author of this lovely picture, and the winner of Vera Wine Club’s photo contest: “Sip in style this Holiday season” is Mr. Gregory Tousignant from Connecticut.

Picture F

Please accept my sincere congratulations!!!

The photo contest was sponsored by the one and only Wine Enthusiast Magazine – and the winner will receive the Wine Enthusiast pack of 12 U Tumblers Party pack, Cabernet/Merlot Wine Glasses, valued at $77.70.

Now we know that Gregory will definitely Sip in Style this Christmas!!! I will ship the price his way as soon as I receive it from our sponsor.

The closest runner up was the picture C of Mr. Jason Mangini. His picture received 35 votes which makes for 30.97% of total votes. Although I didn’t announce another price at the beginning, I have decided to dig in, and send him a Vera Wine Club’s own price for the second place. Jason will receive a wine decanter with the original wine decanter brush from me.

Picture C

Thank you all very much for participating in our fun holiday contest. If you sent your picture, or just submitted vote for someone, I really appreciate it. Without you the contest wouldn’t be so much fun! I will be happy to come up with another contest in the future again!

Your votes needed for: Sip In The Style contest finale!!!

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Vera C.

If you follow my blog, you are aware of the contest, I have announced on November 16th – sponsored by Wine Enthusiast. If you are one of those, who submitted your original, wine related picture, thank you very much for your participation! Now is the time to see whose pics were selected for the finale.

From the total of 57 wine related pictures received, the 3 person jury (me, my photographer husband and visiting artist friend from Prague) has selected six best pictures.

Now, I would like to ask you, my readers, to kindly select the winner of this photo contest. Please consider the quality of the picture, its creativity and originality, when making decision.

The only winner, who receives the most votes, an author of the best picture, will receive the contest’s price: Wine Enthusiast U Tumblers Party pack, Cabernet/Merlot size. He or she can then SIP IN THE STYLE already these holidays!

Every picture is marked with a letter. Please review all finalist’s pictures, and vote at the end of this page. I am looking forward to see who won your wine and fun loving heart!!!!

Here comes our finale selection of the best 6 pictures, in no particular order:

Picture A

Picture B

Picture C

Picture D

Picture E

Picture F

Now, that you have reviewed all the final pictures, please vote for the one you liked the most. Your vote will decide who wins this contest! You can vote till the end of this week – end of the voting is on Sunday, December 2nd, 2012 8pm.

After that, we count all the votes and announce the winner. I very much appreciate your help!

We don’t accept any more votes after 8:00 PM Sunday, December 2nd, 2012. This photo contest was completed.

CONTEST!!!! Sip in style this holiday season

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Vera C.

This was supposed to be my Halloween surprise, but hurricane Sandy complicated the matters, and slowed down my communication with the sponsor of this contest, the one and only WINE ENTHUSIAST. But there is still plenty of time to win the set of the coolest wine glasses, just in time for the Holidays!!!

I don’t know about you, but I always wanted to own a set of these “stemless” wine glasses. For some reason we called them “tasting glasses” among fellow wine professionals. At various wine tastings I have seen people swirling wine in them and never actually tried one myself. They just looked so cool! Now you can own set of this winning Wine Enthusiast U Tumblers Party pack, Cabernet/Merlot size, and for free! I have been offered one set for a lucky winner of our Holiday contest. No, I wouldn’t keep it for myself, although it’s tempting. I excluded myself and my family members from the contest.

So, what do you have to do to get the chance to win twelve of those wine glasses? Not much. Dig in your picture files and submit your coolest, wine related, Holiday picture for the contest.

To submit your picture for the Sip for free contest:

1) The picture must be an original artwork of the contestant

2) The picture must be sent to: vera@verawineclub.com, with subject line: Sip in style

Send your picture in .JPEG format, uncompressed, no later than Wednesday, November 21^st , 2012 at 8:00 PM – an official deadline

3) Your picture must be accompanied with following information:

a) Your full name, your email and mailing address (this wouldn’t be published, but we need to record your correct address to send you the announcement and the price, if you win. We will absolutely not share your information with anyone.)

b) Please accompany your submission with following disclosure (copy, paste and print-sign your name to your email):

I hereby declare that this submitted picture is my original artwork and I have the right to use it freely. If there is more persons in my picture, they individually agree with publishing it. I further declare that I am at least 21 years old. I understand that if my picture is chosen for the final selection, I agree and gave permission to Vera Wine Club to publish my picture on “I love vino” wine blog and further on Vera Wine Club’s Facebook page for the final public voting. (In case you want us to include a copyright information with your picture, please note the name to be published).

Please, keep in mind that without this signed disclosure your picture will NOT be submitted for the contest.

How do we determine the winner:

The first selection will be done at Vera Wine Club – all submissions will be confirmed to the senders and will undergo extensive selection by 3-member commission.

What criteria will be judged:

The technical quality of the picture (colors, focus, sharpness)
The unique idea
The unique surroundings
The best and funniest holiday atmosphere

The final selection of six pictures will be published on our blog for the public vote. The picture that will receive the most votes from fellow wine lovers, will win the Wine Enthusiast pack of 12 U Tumblers Party pack, Cabernet/Merlot Wine Glasses, valued at $77.70.

I am looking forward to your cool picture and I wish everybody the best of luck!

My very special birthday wine

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Vera C.

Few years back I have got a very special bottle of wine. Something, I would most likely never buy myself, even if I wanted to. For a simple reason – way over my acceptable spending budget.

Finca Allende Aurus label

I have got this bottle as a bonus for my work, promoting my big passion – Spanish wines. Keeping it for a few years, I decided just this last week, to open something really, really special on my birthday. So I reached for THAT bottle: 2004 Finca Allende AURUS.

What is so very special about this wine? Well, aside from superb ratings from about every wine critic there is on the map, this wine is made from very old vines – Tempranillo and Graciano grapes, with very low yields. That usually on its own is a promise of great, concentrated flavors in the wine. The winemaker also added that after very strict selection, just best bunches of grapes were harvested and went under another selection in the winery. Wine then aged in Tronais barrels for 18 months and was bottled unfiltered.

Here is what Wine Advocate said about this wine:

“The 2004 Aurus is 85% Tempranillo and 15% Graciano from 60-year-old vineyards with tiny yields. It was barrel fermented and aged in 100% new French oak. A saturated purple, the wine is currently more reticent than the Calvario aromatically although the same elements are present. The wine is still a baby, with lots of fat, sweet, layered, mouth-filling fruit, plenty of structure, and a pure, super-long finish. It merits as much as a decade of bottle age and should still be drinking well two decades from now. Kudos to Finca Allende for a magnificent set of 2004 Riojas!…96 points” WA 2/07.

Rating: 96 points – reviewed in Wine Advocate # 169 on Feb-07

Rating: 94 points – reviewed by International Wine Cellar

But all this still doesn’t mean the wine has to be super special, right? What if you can’t care less about ratings? Well, to me, this wine was special also for these reasons:

1) I was very fortunate to visit Finca Allende and tasted the whole superb portfolio of this modern Rioja winery right there, with their charming export director Nathalie Leboeuf. (I was selling their wines in U.S.A. during my wine sales career).

Finca Allende visit

2) I have got this bottle from a person whose opinion I treasured very highly, and he gave it to me for my exceptional work with Spanish wines. I don’t mean to brag about it here, but it doesn’t happen every day that one will get such an expensive bottle just for “doing their job”. The fact that he, out of all people, acknowledged my efforts, made it so much more special.

3) The wine really was a treat. Probably still too young (the critics predicted that this vintage may have potential to improve over 1-2 decades), but already quite approachable. Not at all big powerhouse, but fine, complex, lovely, silky wine that will go places in time (if I had more bottles, I would definitely love to try 2004 Aurus again in 5 years). But I don’t. Drinking this wine reminded me of those few beautiful days I spent in sunny Rioja.

Rioja in the sunset, photo: Vera Czerny

Funny, before I moved to Florida this spring, one of my wine loving friends, also a former customer, told me: “Florida?? Why? Nobody drinks wine there, they all drink White Zinfandel or coctails! No more beautiful winter evenings, sipping a nice, rich Cabernet in front of the fireplace…” Well, I am here to testify that none of his predictions are true. Not only did I find a lot of wine enthusiasts here (and not just those that retired). But the fact that I decanted this wine outside on my patio, in October, still in my shirts, on the beautiful warm evening, and enjoyed it under the stars of Florida’s gorgeous sky – didn’t take a bit from the overall experience and enjoyment. Just the opposite.

It was my first ever birthday in warmth (I spent the day on the beach) and this charm in the bottle made it so much more special!

Wine tasting from the other side of the counter

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Vera C.

In-store wine tastings often were the most fun part of my job as a wine salesman. Sure, I knew about better things to do on Friday evenings or Saturday afternoons, than standing in somebody’s wine shop for few hours (for free) smiling, and trying to introduce new wines to their customers.

But that’s how I met so many people that were into wines the same way I was. My wine club got first created from the fellow wine lovers, I met during my wine tastings. Some of those relationships became great friendships and I am very grateful for that. Other times my experience was rather painful. That’s when I met some people who could destroy any fun, anytime. I am sure we all know some…

If you are like me, when meeting somebody in services, I always try to imagine being in their shoes. I am imagining how the other side sees and perceives me, a customer. What makes their job exciting and what not. For that same reason I put together my own thoughts that sometimes ran through my head, while tasting wines with complete strangers. Hope you find it more entertaining than offensive. If so, I apologize in advance. It wasn’t my intention.

Red wine tasting

Why are people, walking to the wine shops, and obviously shopping for wine, often so resistant to taste new-coming wines? Maybe they worry about the coming sale pressure afterwards, or perhaps they are concerned that they would have to carry on some intellectual debate about the complexity, aroma and lock of acidity…? But that’s not the case at all!

Maybe some just don’t want to be bothered, because all they came to do is to get their “usual” and be on their way home. Perhaps they are in hurry. I understand. They may not even be in the mood for wine tasting. Although that’s harder to understand. Do some people perceive it as annoying as those sales reps, grabbing your hand in the mall, forcing you to try some of their superb product? I hate that! But I still believe that being offered to taste some wine, while I am shopping for wine, is quite different.

Here are some of the most usual excuses I heard from people, invited to taste wine in the stores (while shopping for wine):

* I can’t taste wine, I am driving….
(you’re not getting 6oz of wine to taste, I promise, and there is such a thing as a spitting bucket)

* I got a headache

* I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference (can’t really argue there)

* I only drink beer (yet buying wine, can’t really argue there either)

* I only drink White Zinfandel (OK, got it. There is no point then.)

* Thanks, but not today
(but that’s the ONLY day I am here with this wine open, you know?)

* I don’t like Californian (Italian, Spanish, French… whatever works here) wine!
(Really?? Did you try them all??)

That’s what I don’t get. Wine is such a personal thing. Who better than you can decide what kind of wine you like? As passionate wine drinker as I am, I never miss the opportunity to taste wine, if offered. It’s all about you, your chance to try something new. It’s your chance to figure out if you like it or not., without buying it first. Buying a new wine based on the label alone is quite risky. And no, you DON’T have to buy what you just tasted. Not every salesperson is the same, I can promise you that I am never trying to talk a hole into your head while you are tasting.

Wine tasting

So why not taste everywhere you can, especially when it’s in the wine store, and for free? The worse thing that can happen is that you will remember never to buy that wine! Unless you just want to stick to few of your favorites – nothing wrong with that.

Just one other thing worth mentioning. If you taste wine in the store, and don’t care for it, there is no need to volunteer giving your honest opinion out loud. Simple ‘thank you’ is more than enough. I got it if you just walked away, and you’re not hurting my feelings. It’s not your style, it doesn’t work for you – that’s fine, at least you tried. Why would I be offended?

But please, please, don’t make a fool out of yourself by trashing it down and spoiling it for everybody else! It may be just you, who doesn’t appreciate a perfectly good wine. Everybody’s taste is different, and if you don’t like it, it doesn’t automatically mean the wine is bad. I remember one “classy lady”, who took a sip of great Loire white wine and made a ‘throw up’ gesture. Seeing her later, walking out of that wine store with “her favorite wine”, I was tempted to return the favor. Being professional, I hesitated and smiled kindly instead. I have noticed though, how her unnecessary remark influenced the other people around, tasting and enjoying that same wine. Suddenly, they were taken back by her gesture, and immediately looked at their glass in disbelief, questioning their own taste.

Wine store

So, next time you go to your favorite wine shop and there is a salesman pouring new wines, don’t just pass because they look cheap (the wines, I mean). Give it a try. Seriously. It’s fun! Who would like to stand there, wasting a perfect afternoon, staring at opened wines and watching people walking by? You never know, you may just discover your next fantastic wine to surprise your friends with.

Here are some “insider’s” rules for wine tasting to be cool:

10 Golden rules of wine tasting

* Trust the person who conducts the tasting about the sequence of the wine. They are lined up in certain sequence for a reason

* Be respectful of wine and others

* Even if you usually put ice cube into your wine, don’t do it this time – your white will be chilled enough

* Take your time to enjoy it, smell it, taste it, ask questions, if you like – we love to talk about wine and enjoy that you are interested

* The spitting is perfectly acceptable, professionals do it all the time, especially at large wine tastings

* If you taste more wines in the row, have a sip of water or cracker in between – to clean your palate

* It’s all about tasting, not lecturing the crowd around you – or the person who hosts the tasting, about your excessive wine knowledge

* It’s all about wine (not the complimentary cheese

* Don’t touch the tasting bottle and resist the temptation to pour yourself (in some instances it could even get the person, holding the license, in trouble)

* One stem (or plastic cup) is enough to taste multiple wines. (Really, I have seen many people that threw my plastic cup away after each wine, and asked for another to taste the next wine).

Wine tastings are fun, so enjoy it and drink up! In the words of a classic: You don’t have to understand the opera in order to like it!

Is Spanish Jumilla a new Barossa?

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Vera C.

Some say that Jumilla, a southern part of Spain, became a region of big, fruity bombs, similar to popular Australian Shiraz. Perhaps there are some Jumilla’s winemakers that recognized the increased demand for such wines and did step in, to satisfy the global thirst. Sadly, it would be at the expense of the unique characteristics of Monastrell which has the best conditions to grow just in Jumilla’s soils. I bet there are a few. But to refute that argument, I reminded myself of great Jumilla’s vintners, such as Jose Maria Vicente at Casa Castillo.

Casa Castilla (Photo Vera Czerny)

I was fortunate to meet the current head of this (family owned) wine estate during my Spanish visit, few years ago. His ancestor, Don Jose Sanchez-Cerezo originally acquired the property Casa Castillo (built in 1870), in 1941 to grow rosemary bushes.

Jose Maria Vicente, Casa Castillo, photo Vera Czerny

But the second generation, Nemesio and his son Jose Maria Vicente, had a different idea. In 1985 they started restructuring of vineyards and planted new varieties in its difficult soil, that could be described as calcareous soil full of stones, stones and some more stones. In 1991 they reformed the winery building with the respect to the original structure. Finally in 1993, a first vintage of new wine, called Casa Castillo Crianza 1991, came to the world.

Jumilla’s soil, Casa Castilla (photo: Vera Czerny)

Jose Maria Vicente and his lovely wife were kind enough to welcome us at their estate the very first night of our trip. While Jose Maria walked the vineyards and winery with us, his wife worked hard in the winery’s kitchen to prepare all locally sourced, a full course dinner. Just 174 hectares of the whole property (total of 402 hectares) is devoted to vineyards. The most planted, native variety Monastrell is followed by Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon.The rest of the land is devoted to cultivation of almonds, olive and pine forest and conservation.

Jose Maria Vicente (right) with his wife and sales manager (photo Vera Czerny)

The current owner told us with a wink and a smile, how in order to keep his workers busy even off season, he asks them to build the entrance to the winery’s cellars with stones, removed from the vineyards. Looking around, it sounded a lot as Sisyphus journey. They can likely build thousands of such entries and keep busy for years.

The entrance to the Casa Castilla’s cellars (photo: Vera Czerny)

As a sharp contrast to the original argument – if Jumilla is becoming a new mass production of Barossa, Casa Castillo winemaker aims to produce wines with personality, taste and character of each vineyard plot. Enhancing the quality and respecting the tradition of the area, they produce wines that express the characteristics of the soil and different microclimates of their vineyards. Located in the shade of the Sierra del Molar, spread on steep slopes at 760 meters above the sea level.

Casa Castillo Tasting room (photo Vera Czerny)

When we were finally seated in their beautiful tasting room, the dinner started with local bread dipped in winery’s own olive oil and sparkling wine, which name I really don’t remember anymore. I do remember it was a crisp and yummy cava, though. Plates of roasted peppers, eggplants, anchovy, jamon followed…. When we said goodbye four hours later, it was hard to recall all those delicious courses, served to us, to compliment a line of Jose Maria’s exquisite wines.

One of the delicious courses at Casa Castillo (photo Vera Czerny)

Each Casa Castillo wine have its own, distinguished character. Jose Maria makes sure of it. He is a devoted vintner, who respects the tradition of the region, soil, quality of local fruit, while aiming to constantly improve it all, and preserve it for the future generation. He spoke of his wines with such a passion, it was admirable. So for anybody, who believes that Monastrell is just another big, fruity bomb, I dare you to taste Casa Castillo’s wines! You will be very, very surprised…

Casa Castillo’s wine portfolio:

Casa Castillo wines (photo Vera Czerny)

CASA CASTILLO: 100% Monastrell, fermented in stainless steel tanks with a short aging in French and American oak, to highlight the freshness and aromas of the Monastrell.

VALTOSCA: 100% syrah from the Valtosca vineyard macerated for 5 days in underground vats, end of fermentation in large 500 L French oak barrels. Wine then aged in French oak barrels for about a year. Valtosca was bottled unfiltered.

LAS GRAVAS: A blend from Las Gravas vineyard, a selection of Monastrell, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Percentage vary each vintage – usually the Monastrell makes at least 50%. Each variety was macerated separately in small vats underground (6,000 liters). Aging still separately for about 16 to 20 months (depending on the vintage). After barrel aging varieties are blended and bottled unfiltered.

PIE FRANCO: Fruit from Solana vineyard where Monastrell plantation rootstock were originally planted in 1941. Fruit macerated in vats underground, where it underwent the alcoholic fermentation. After 10 days it was transformed into New French oak barrels for full malolactic fermentation on its lees Wine then aged for a minimum of 22 months, unfiltered. Due to a poor performance of this plot, Pie Franco is very limited, based on the production of each vintage.

Borsao Rosé 2011

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Vera C.

When I saw this year’s new release of Borsao Rosé on the shelf, I could not resist. How could you go wrong with a rosé wine from the famous Garnacha region (Campo de Borja), that only costs $6.99 a bottle?

I am a big fan of Borsao wines – and it’s not just because I was lucky enough to visit their vineyards and the winery few years back.

I already enjoyed their wines before that, for years. But when you are given the opportunity to meet the winemaker, to see the soil, vines and people involved in all that labor, the love for the brand gets another vibes.

Old vines Garnacha (Alto Moncayo Mountains, Borja

It’s is mainly because their wines are consistently really good. From the cheapest (or better said inexpensive) line of bottles such as Monte Oton, Borsao Tinto – that range around $5-8 retail, to their incredible Tres Picos, unbelievable value for under $20. Not to forget about their newest project, Borsao got involved in, the superb Alto Moncayo wines.

Therefore I am familiar with the taste of Garnacha wines coming from this winery, especially the old vines with their very typical spice, sweetness and a very concentrated dark fruit flavors. Credit to those attributes goes to the high quality old vines (the winery doesn’t have records on some of their oldest vines, to figure out how old they really are), and the very unique soil of red clay (rich in iron), mixed with red slate, that they were planted in. The Borsao vineyards are located high in the Alto Moncayo mountains (I still remember how sick I felt when Inigo Alberto drove us, very fast, up and down those mountains, on the dirt roads, in his little car.)

Our guide Inigo and Jose Luis – the Borsao’s winemaker

So how was the Borsao rosé? Lovely, rich salmon pink color, as the Garnacha grape gives it a lot of color from its thick skin. Refreshing, fruity scent of raspberries and dark fruit. At the first sip, it felt like – OK, lovely, not particularly exciting wine, nice for summer (and great for that price, right?). A lot of fruit, I missed the acidity to balance it out, it almost felt (as my husband put it), a little flat. Still, much better than many rosé wines I tasted lately, for a much higher price. Don’t forget, for years I am being spoiled by Muga Rosé, that I consider one of the best Rosé wines made in Spain. So balanced, so rich, simply delicious.

But then we took a bite into our turkey sandwich, I prepared with sweet roasted peppers, lightly drizzled with hot Sriracha. The other sip of Borsao rosé was very surprising.

Hey – the wine’s true colors showed up! The heat of the sauce brought up the spices in the rosé, suddenly it felt balanced much better, it was vibrant, it woke up all our senses. I loved it – and must say, it’s a damn great bottle of rosé for that price!

I just hope that since my last visit, my new Spanish friend Inigo finally got his desired hummer that I strongly advocated for with his bosses!

I love vino

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