File under W for wood. Spanish wines by Philip Bernot

Spain is the largest user of American oak in the production of wines, and if you are a fan of sweet American oak, here's a group you will love.
Note: This article falls under the category of "we taste a lot more then we can stock," so there is a very good chance we don't have all of these selections in stock:

Azabache Reserva 2001, Rioja~ 70%Tempronillo, 30% Graciano, we have stocked the lesser expensive version of this wine in the past, which I felt was a very good value. The Reserva is undoubtedly a better wine, but the less expensive wine is actually a little more user-friendly. Good stuff, but not my favorite of this very good group.

Castell de les Pinyeres 2003, Monsant~ Probably the softest and easiest to drink of the group, this wine is 45% Grenache, 30% Carignan, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet, and 5% Tempronillo. Apparently the kitchen sink didn't ripen fully, or I would have expected a small percentage of that too! I liked this wine for its forward nature and woody underpinnings, but ultimately it is not terribly complex; surprising when you look at the blend. Solid, but not spectacular.


Emina 2005, Ribero del Duero~ This wine is part of the "GRUPO MATARROMERA," a complex of wineries, a restaurant, a for-rent country house, and something called a "wine interpretation center." This wine is 100% Tinta del pais, or "country red grape;" my understanding is this term is the local vernacular for Tempronillo. Twelve months in a combination of American and French oak yields a dark and rich wine with a decidedly woody finish. The winery web site says this wine ". . . goes well with red meats, roasts, cheese and blue fish." I'm not sure if "blue fish" is the same as Bluefish, but while I can see the wine working with hot-smoked Bluefish, the idea of serving this with a grilled Bluefish fillet kind of makes me ill. Solid and enjoyable wine.

Emina "Prestigio" 2005, Ribera del Duero~ I frequently find "reserve" wines of this type to be a little too much of everything, often obliterating the subtle charms of a given wine in exchange for more oak & tannin. Not so here, "Prestigio" actually has more richly integrated fruit than the standard blend. That's no doubt because the wine is aged in 100% French Alliers oak for 16 months; no American oak. Before I am accused of being a Francophile (again!), the old stands of European oak have a much tighter grain then their American cousins, which impart less sweet woody vanillin's to the wine. The upside of this is the natural fruit of the wine can show through, and the overall structure of Prestigio is much more balanced than the regular blend. Very good wine, this one.

Matarromera Crianza 2004, Ribero del Duero~ There is a lot of world class wine made in the Ribera del Duero, some of the most famous and expensive wines in Spain come from this area. I honestly don't know whether this example is near the top of the heap or not; I just haven't tasted Vega Sicilia, Tinto Pesquera, etc. recently. I will say that I thought this wine was quite fine, exuding class and distinction throughout the flavor spectrum. Here the Tempronillo is aged in 100% American oak to very good results with the oak perfectly integrated into the overall structure. Superb wine with much to commend.

Galena 2004, Domani de la Cartoixa, Priorat~ While grapes have been grown in the Priorat since before Da Vinci doodled; the region is a relatively new wine producer in any real sense. Now some of Spain's best and most expensive wines hail from the rocky, inhospitable terrain. Garnacha negra (Grenache) 35%, Cabernet Sauvignon 25%, Merlot 25%, Cariñena (Carignan)15% aged 12 months in French(80%) and American(20%) oak yields a wine of intense concentration and weight, with a nicely integrated but prevalent oak finish. The big brother of this wine, Clos Galena, scores big points on the review circuit, and this wine is quite impressive as well.


Zarus Barrica, Ribera del Duero~ I often see people go ga-ga over wines that I consider to have fatal amounts of oak; and while not corrupted by oak, this wine is for folks who love the anesthetizing feel of wood on their tongue. A little surprising considering that this 100% Tempronillo wine sees only seven months in French & American oak. This wine defines the value quotient of Spanish red's as you can you can get this one for around twenty bucks. This wine is what I call a "crowd-pleaser," as long as the crowd is oak junkies!


I can honestly say that all of the above wines are quite good. If you are interested, stop by and see us & we will give you price & availabilty quotes.